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.
Are you the victim of a missold DB transfer for your Strathclyde pension?
If you worked for local councils and public institutions in Scotland, they might have enrolled you in the Strathclyde pension scheme. Depending on when you joined the scheme, you may be entitled to a final salary pension, an increasingly rare type of pension. Final salary pensions provide a guaranteed income in your retirement years, based on the final salary of your career.
If you once held a Strathclyde pension but were convinced to switch to an inferior private pension scheme, you may be the victim of a missold salary swap.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) warns Strathclyde pension holders to be wary of independent financial advisers putting their own financial concerns above their clients’ needs. In many shocking cases, they failed to consider their clients’ unique circumstances and instead focused on earning a commission.
These negligent financial advisers were often only paid on a “contingent fee” basis. They failed to warn clients like you about the risks of a missold DB transfer and caused people to lose their valuable final salary pensions.
If any of this sounds familiar, you may be entitled to make a defined pension claim, and the expert Allegiant team can help. If successful, you could receive the final salary transfer compensation you deserve.
If you worked for a Scottish council or public institution, you might have been awarded a Strathclyde final salary pension. These pensions are often considered ‘gold plated’ – they are extremely desirable. This desirability has made them the target of missold DB transfer scams.
Final salary pensions are often called defined benefit pensions. They continue to pay out monthly for the rest of your life, no matter how long you live. DB pensions keep up with the rate of inflation, ensuring that you’re never priced out of your standard of living, and they have no fees or admin costs.
Negligent financial advisers gave bad advice to clients like you, recommending that they cash in their final salary pensions for a ‘Cash Equivalent Transfer Value’ (CETV). They took hefty commissions from the CETV and advised that clients invest the remainder in a private pension scheme. In many cases, they also earned commissions for enrolling new clients in the schemes.
Private pension schemes are risky and are not suitable for most retirees. Trading a final salary pension for a private scheme is a big downgrade, and it’s only beneficial in rare circumstances.
Pension transfers are usually unsuitable, and they’re especially risky when making the transfer from a final salary pension to a private scheme. If your financial adviser recommended this to you, they were likely negligent.
Thankfully, you can now open a defined pension claim, and Allegiant can help. If successful, you could be eligible for final salary transfer compensation.
To have your prospects assessed by our specialist team, simply fill in our online form.
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Click to ReadThe Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has identified ‘serious and ongoing failings’ by both Individual Financial Advisers (IFAs) and Self-Invested Personal Pension Providers. Typically, mis-selling is related to the “wrong” type of investor being given poor or misleading advice as to what investments were relatively safe and right for them. In this summary, we look at What a SIPP is, and how they have been mis-sold, together with the FCA’s review into sector malpractice.
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.