THE SITUATION
Mr R. served in the Armed Forces from August 1999 to July 2006.
In June 2014, Dave Clark, representing Caledonian International Associates (CIA), approached him and referred him to Cowley and Miller Independent Financial Services (CMIFS), claiming, “You will create more wealth by transferring your army pension, but if you leave it where it is it won’t grow.“
Shortly afterwards, Mr R. was advised by CMIFS to transfer his Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS) to a Personal Pension plan with Royal London. The Service Personnel & Veterans Agency confirmed that the amount transferred to it was £27,247.36.
By 2023, Mr R.’s pension with Royal London had increased in value to £35,001.73, therefore, he saw no reason to question the pension advice he had received from CMIFS, nor that he may have incurred a financial loss by transferring his AFPS. However, after speaking with a friend who had successfully claimed with Money and Me Solicitors (MMS), Mr R. contacted us to look into the advice he had received from CMIFS.
OUR APPROACH
MMS conducted a thorough investigation and we established that had Mr R. remained in the AFPS, the equivalent ‘hypothetical value’ of that pension would have been £105,214.81. This
meant that he had suffered a significant loss of £65,478.19. In March 2022, CIMFS went into liquidation, prompting MMS to submit a claim to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
THE OUTCOME
On 12 September 2024, we were pleased to inform Mr R. that we had achieved a successful outcome for him in just ten months. The FSCS awarded him £65,478.19 in compensation for his losses.
It should be noted that Mr R.’s Royal London pension remained in place and was unaffected by the claim or his subsequent award.
Mr R. was delighted with the compensation we secured for him and the speedy resolution.
He mentioned that he wouldn’t have sought advice if he hadn’t been encouraged by his friend and client of Money and Me Solicitors. He plans to use the life-changing compensation as a deposit for a buy-to-let property.
