About Mis-Sold SIPPs

Have you been mis-sold a SIPP investment and find yourself out of pocket? Have you lost thousands due to negligent financial advice? Find out if the experts at Copious Law can help get your pension pot back.

Every year, thousands of UK residents are receiving inadequate financial advice in relation to their pension and investments. Many individuals are losing their hard-earned savings due to irresponsible financial advisors and SIPP providers. 

Mis-sold Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs) are unfortunately becoming more prevalent in the UK. Many are being advised to transfer out of their final salary/defined benefit pensions into the high-risk SIPPs, and end up losing huge sums of money. This sort of “DIY” pension pot is only suitable for a particular type of investor who understands the risks involved.

Losing money in this way can be daunting, and you may not know who to turn to. This is where the experts at Copious Law can assist. With years of experience in the mis-sold pension claim world, we can guide you through a potential claim, letting you know if you are eligible, and your next steps if we believe you have a valid claim for compensation.

Get in touch today to find out how we can help. We offer a completely free, no-obligation review of your case.

What is a SIPP?

A SIPP, or Self-Invested Personal Pension, is known as a “do-it-yourself” pension which allows an investor to draw together more varied investments than most standard pensions. They offer flexibility with the types and quantity of investments you can enter into.

This can be a positive for someone who understands investments and is aware of the potential risks. However, if the financial advice is reckless, or the investor doesn’t understand the risks, they can end up losing huge sums of money or, in some tragic cases, their whole pension pot.

Generally speaking, SIPPs should only be offered to:

• Experienced investors who are comfortable with their own decisions
• People with a larger pension pot than most
• Investors who understand they may lose their money
• Investors whose attitude towards risk is relatively high

Financial advisors often receive a commission for transferring people out of final salary pensions into SIPPs. This can sometimes lead advisors to not act in their client’s best interests.

Why Are SIPPs High-Risk?

Due to their DIY nature, SIPPs allow people to invest into high-risk, unregulated, and inappropriate schemes. These investment schemes often end up becoming massive headaches for those involved, and sometimes fail completely.

Many financial advisors are not carrying out enough due diligence when encouraging their clients to invest into these types of schemes. Schemes like:

• Overseas Investments
• Hotel and Holiday Properties
• Green Energy Investments
• Car Park Scheme
• Storage Schemes
• Biofuel Investments
• CFD Investments

If you have lost money after investing into any of the above via a SIPP, you may be owed mis-sold SIPP compensation. Copious Law Solicitors can inform you as to whether you are eligible to claim.

How Could I Have Been Mis-Sold A SIPP?

The mis-selling of a SIPP usually stems from poor financial advice, but there are a number of ways this can present itself. You were potentially mis-sold a SIPP if:

• You were advised to transfer out of a final salary or defined benefit pension
• Your financial advisor stated that a SIPP was better than traditional pensions
• You were not provided with all of the information in relation to the risks involved
• You were told about the tax benefits of SIPPs rather than the pension benefits
• You were not made fully aware that you may lose all of your pension investment
• You were not given control over crucial investment decisions
• You felt pressured into transferring your pension
• Your financial advisor took a hidden commission
• You were not given a list of alternative products available
• There was no assessment in relation to attitude toward risk
• The investments the SIPP provider offered did not meet the liquidity rules

Do any of the above scenarios sound familiar to you and your situation? If you believe you have been mis-sold a SIPP investment, our experts can help guide you through a potential claim for compensation.

Types of Pensions That Are Transferred To SIPPs

We find that the types of pension that are most commonly transferred out of are:

• Final Salary Pension Schemes - Also known as a Defined Benefit scheme, this is a type of occupational pension where the amount of retirement income is based on your final salary
• Workplace Pension Schemes - Also known as a Company Pension Scheme, this is a pension that is set up by your employer while you are employed by them
• Personal Pensions - Personal/Private pensions are usually arranged by you individually, not an employer
• Stakeholder Pensions - These work in a similar way to personal pensions, where you pay money into your pot to build your pension fund

Did you transfer out of any of these pension pots and into a SIPP? If you did, and you have lost money, you could be owed thousands in compensation.

How Much Compensation Can I Claim?

Every mis-sold SIPP claim is different and the amount you can look to recover will depend on a number of factors. The amount investors can receive can range from hundreds to thousands of pounds.

For acts or omissions on or after 1st April 2019, the FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme) can pay up to £85,000 per case, while the FOS (Financial Ombudsman Service) can compensate £350,000, per eligible person, per firm. Which service you are referred to will depend on your circumstances.

Our expert team will inform you how much you should look to recover after we have done our investigations.

How Long Will a Claim Take?

Again, every claim of this type is different, and the length of the case will depend on the complexity. If the financial advisor or pension provider is still trading, and they wish to fight the claim, this could significantly prolong the process. If they accept responsibility, however, and are quick to respond, your case could be resolved in as little as 6-9 months.

Cases where the IFA or pension provider are no longer trading are referred to the FSCS. Generally speaking, these cases are a little bit quicker. We find the majority of mis-sold pension claims take around 12-24 weeks to settle through the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and 6-12 months with the Financial Ombudsman. However, this is not guaranteed.

Our team will keep you up to date throughout the claim process in relation to timelines.

How Can We Help?

Do you believe you have been mis-sold your SIPP? Have you been left out of pocket due to negligent, careless advice from a financial advisor? Copious Law Solicitors can help you bring forward a mis-sold SIPP claim against your financial advisor or SIPP provider.

Even if your financial advisor or SIPP provider is no longer trading, we can help you claim via the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

We make claiming easy:

• Claim Up To £85k of Your SIPP Back
• No Win, No Fee Service
• Fully Regulated by The SRA
• No Obligation Review
• Financial Claim Experts
• Stress-Free Service

Begin your mis-sold SIPP compensation claim today by getting in touch with our mis-sold SIPP solicitors. Simply fill out our easy to use enquiry form and we’ll be in touch with your next steps.