Financial Services, Pensions & Banking Professional Negligence

Our experts have a detailed understanding of bringing professional negligence claims in respect of financial misselling or financial services – whether that is against Financial Advisers, retail and investment Banks, Accountants or Pension Operators. We will be able to guide you through the steps required to bring about a successful conclusion to your case. This includes explaining the options for funding a claim, the different routes for pursuing a claim and the legal procedures required to bring a claim through the court.

We are able to offer a no obligation initial telephone assessment to give you an understanding as to the merits of your potential claim, so please feel free to contact us or complete our contact form and we will call you back to discuss your case.

Suing for financial misselling

Both individuals and businesses may be involved in seeking financial advice and purchasing financial services and products. This may be in relation to pensions, loans, mortgages, tax schemes, hedging products or investments to name but a few.

When providing financial services and products, professionals owe a duty of care to their clients to provide advice with reasonable skill and care. They also owe duties set out in statutes, such as the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (“FSMA”). If they fail to do this and you suffer a loss as a result, then you may be able to bring a claim against them.

Examples of financial misselling

The list below is not intended to be exhaustive, so if you think you have a claim for financial misselling, and you cannot see an example below, please contact us for a no obligation initial telephone assessment.

• Advising clients to purchase a financial product or investment when it is not suitable.
• Advising individuals about personal pensions, making recommendations to transfer one pension from an existing structure to another more unsuitable structure and executing the same.
• Advising clients in relation to tax schemes which have failed when the risks of failure were not properly explained to them.

How Nelsons Can Help You

Financial misselling claims can be brought by both individuals and businesses alike. Here at Nelsons we have experienced Partners and Solicitors lead by Cathryn Selby and Daniel Brumpton, leading individuals recognised in the independently researched legal directories, who can help and guide you through these complicated claims from start to finish.

We have acted in numerous financial misselling claims, for example:

• We acted for an individual who invested in a scheme which was itself invested in unregulated collective investment schemes and esoteric investments, including green energy, storage pods and off-plan property in the Caribbean.
• We acted for an individual who had been advised to transfer his pension from one provider to another when the return from the new pension fund was not as good as the old one. We were able to bring a successful claim against the Financial Adviser who recommended the transfer for the difference between what the pension fund was worth and what it should have been worth had he remained in the old fund.
• We acted for an individual and his business in respect of a claim against his high street bank in relation to the sale of interest rate hedging products which also involved a claim about the conduct of the review process and the bank’s classification of the individual as an elective professional.
• We acted for individuals in a claim against SIPP Operators for allowing investments to be made within the SIPP without any proper due diligence having taken place by the operators and trustees.
• We acted for an individual in relation to negligent advice about the operation and implementation of structured products.
• We acted for an individual in relation to financial planning advice and representation provided by a large firm of Accountants. The advice specifically related to the protective steps required of pension holders in advance of “A Day” to mitigate tax payable upon future receipt of pensions. Our client had significant pension funds and incurred tax charges in excess of half a million pounds as a result of the failure to take the necessary protective steps.
• We acted for two individuals against Solicitors who had dealt with their investments into an offshore property scheme in Brazil where the Solicitors had failed to properly understand and advise the clients as to the structure of the scheme.
• We acted for an individual who was advised to transfer her estate into a trust for herself and her children. The trust ultimately failed to achieve what the client required and so the Solicitors were held to be negligent.
• We acted for a small business owner who was given advice to enter into a tax avoidance scheme which actually increased his liability to tax.
• We acted for a husband and wife who had been advised to invest all their savings in one toxic fund. We were able to bring a claim against the Financial Adviser and successfully settled the claim at mediation.
• We acted for several individuals who were advised to invest in open ended investment schemes which were clearly unsuitable for their needs.

For more information about Nelsons’ professional negligence services, email us or call 0800 024 1976 for a guaranteed response.