Good to know: You do not need to use a claims management company to make your complaint to your pension provider or intermediary. If your complaint is not successful you can refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Pension Ombudsman yourself for free if the firm is still trading. For eligible failed firms, you can refer a claim to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme for free.
If you worked for Marks & Spencer before 1st April 2002, you might have been awarded a final salary pension. Though final salary pensions are quite rare today, they are an extremely valuable and desirable option. Sadly, a number of former Marks & Spencer employees have been duped into missold DB transfer products. They were given negligent advice to swap their desirable defined benefit pension for a risky private scheme.
If you had a Marks & Spencer pension and were advised to switch, you may be the victim of a missold salary swap. If so, it’s time to make a final salary transfer claim.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) warns all Marks & Spencer pension holders to be very careful when dealing with independent financial advisers. In many documented cases, these advisers provided negligent advice that did not consider their clients’ suitability for a pension transfer. In some cases, this is a matter of negligence. However, in some shocking cases, advisers purposely misled their clients so that they could earn a hefty commission.
If you or someone you love is the victim of a missold DB transfer, you could be entitled to defined pension compensation – read ahead.
Marks & Spencer rewarded their employees with a desirable pension package called a final salary pension. Final salary pensions (also known as defined benefit pensions) are often considered the gold standard. They pay a monthly amount for the rest of your life, keeping up with the rate of inflation. When the cost of living goes up so too does your monthly pension payment.
They are far superior to private pensions, which are tied to the market and draw from a limited pot. When the money is gone, the money is gone. Unlike a final salary pension that continues to pay until you die, private pensions can leave you broke in your retirement years.
In rare cases, such as terminal illness, it’s beneficial to trade in your final salary pension for a ‘Cash Equivalent Transfer Value’ (CETV), which is a lump sum. This is only advantageous in rare circumstances. However, some Independent Financial advisers realized they could make money with CETVs. They have misled people like you into a missold salary swap, advising them to take the CETV payment and investing it into a fixed pension.
Of course, they take a hefty commission from the CETV and leave you struggling in your golden years. A missold DB transfer can cost you secured pension earnings in later life.
If any of the above sounds familiar, you may be eligible to make a defined pension claim. If successful, you will be awarded defined pension compensation, allowing you to recoup some of what you lost.
As the victim of a missold salary swap, you now have legal recourse. The Allegiant team offers expert guidance on final salary transfer claims, and we have worked with other Marks & Spencer pension holders. To have your prospects assessed by our specialist team, simply fill in our online form.
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Click to ReadPre complaint investigation and analysis. No paperwork? Don't Worry! We could still help.
Once we've assessed claim prospects, we make a pension complaint to the Ombudsman or FSCS, where appropriate
Pension complaint response received. We'll carefully analyse the response and advise you on how to proceed.
If appropriate resolution cannot be reached with a live firm, and we disagree with their stance, we will refer the claim to Ombudsman on your instruction.
As of the 1st March 2022 we have implemented a new fee structure which we have explained below. If you signed your contract with us prior to the 1st March 2022, please refer to your signed claims pack for our previous fee terms.
Our fees are owed upon a successful claim and will depend on the Gross Compensation you receive. “Gross Compensation” means the amount awarded to you whether this is paid directly to you or paid into an investment or pension, and prior to any deduction of any income tax due to HMRC on your award. Please refer to the definition of “Gross Compensation” and Section 5 of our Terms of Engagement for further information including a table showing how our fees work in different scenarios.
If successful, your fee will be calculated based on which band your redress falls into and will be charged by whichever is the lowest of:
The below table outlines the redress bands, the maximum percentage rate of charge and the maximum total charge is for each band.
Band | Redress | % Charge (with VAT) | Maximum charge (with VAT) (£) | Maximum charge (without VAT) |(£) |
1 | 1 – 1499 | 36% | 504 | 420 |
2 | 1,500 – 9,999 | 33.6% | 3000 | 2500 |
3 | 10,000 – 24,999 | 30% | 6000 | 5000 |
4 | 25,000 – 49,999 | 24% | 9000 | 7500 |
5 | 50,000+ | 18% | 12,000 | 10,000 |
Examples of how this would work in practice:
Band | Lower example | Higher example |
1 | You receive £100 in redress; our fee would be £36. | You receive £1499 in redress; our fee would be £504. |
2 | You receive £1,600 in redress; our fee would be £537.60. | You receive £9,999 in redress; our fee would be £3,000. |
3 | You receive £12,000 in redress; our fee would be £3,600. | You receive £24,999 in redress; our fee would be £6,000. |
4 | You receive £30,350 in redress; our fee would be £7,284. | You receive £49,999 in redress; our fee would be £9,000. |
5 | You receive £55,000 in redress; our fee would be £9,900. | You receive £100,000 in redress; our fee would be £12,000. |
Please note, the above fee examples are for illustration purposes only. They are not an estimate of the likely outcome or fee you will need to pay. Each claim depends on its own merits.
It is possible that our fee may become payable before you have access to your pension or investment which may result in you having to pay our fee from your own funds
You can cancel for free at any time within 14-days without giving any reason and without incurring any liability. You can communicate your cancellation by telephone, post, email or online.
You can cancel this agreement at any time after the 14-day cancellation period. However, if a complaint submitted by us is successful, the Success Fee will apply in the usual way.
You can cancel by post: Allegiant Finance Services Limited, Freepost RTYU–XUTZ–YKJC, 400 Chadwick House, Warrington Road, Birchwood Park, Warrington, WA3 6AE; (b) by email: [email protected]; (c) by telephone: 0345 544 1563; or (d) online at https://allegiant.co.uk/compliance/cancellation.
Our small, dedicated pensions team provide a personal touch
We’ll treat your claim as strictly confidential. Your personal information is safe with us.
We’ve serviced over 100,000 clients across all service lines since our inception in 2010.
We could still help if you don’t have all your paperwork or details. Our team are experienced in helping locate paperwork where possible.
Our online application system and claim audit surveys enable us to offer an efficient and convenient claims journey.
Good to know: You do not need to use a claims management company to make your complaint to your pension provider or intermediary. If your complaint is not successful you can refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Pension Ombudsman yourself for free if the firm is still trading. For eligible failed firms, you can refer a claim to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme for free.