Hi, well for the last 18 months Hubby has been trying to sort out his Pension(he's 62) as some of you may know we're going to live in Greece in a couple of years. He has 2 plans going. He wanted to take one as a lump sum(so we could buy a boat) ands also pay off the Endowment for his ex wife(only £7,000) after battling for answers etc for 18months...NOW the advisor tells him he can't take it as a lump sum(even 25%) which has totally ruined our plans PLUS we now need to find 7 grand!! The administrators of the Plans want him to make a complaint about the Advisor(which we will be doing...but how can we find out WHAT we can do and WHAT we can't!!!Where do we go for help??  The advisor is employed by Dereks Company and of course they will be getting a complaint too...Had we known we couldn't take it(after April 2006, the rules were changed) he would have taken it last year!!! Thanks, Dawn

Perhpas an independant financial advisor may be able to help
or perhaps even the CAB (Citizen's advice) on where you should go to
complain...

Yes, but where and who??? How do you know who you can trust!?

Try here :) http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/

Thanks Teri!!!

what ever you do just read ALL THE SMALL PRINT  many people including myself have been caught out not doing this. Luckilly no harm was done in my case but i do read every bit of paper now before siging etc... just to be on the safe side :rolleyes: hopefully you might find a loophole letting you have some of it.

Are there Certified Financial Planners where you live?  It is an international designation though each country administers the program a little differently.  You may have to search to find one specializing in pensions and particularly with relevant foreign experience but they, CFPs, must uphold certain standards and should provide you with  a list of those standards and complaint resolution protocols.  You should expect to pay a fee for their service.

Thanks for that Jetstone!

If you want to make a complaint about the financial advice received, then the first step is to write to your advisor and state your complaint. If he is an IFA, then he will probably be a member of a network that will handle any claims on his behalf. He should pass the complaint on to them and then you take it from there.

Thank you all for your help...we found the Financial Ombudsmans web site and we have an appointment with the Pensions Advisor at my bank(hubby is opening an account there too) next Monday...here's hoping we get something sorted out!! Thanks again, DawnX :D