Despite knowing he was giving up a guaranteed pension, Lentz said the client decided to opt out, but not transfer any existing benefits, and start a personal pension.
Lentz said his requirements, given there were no rules, were for them to meet annually to review his decision as the client could always opt In later again if required, and that the client needed to review the funds chosen and their performance, along with any pay rise he'd had.
Following that, Lentz said the client only met him once even though in those days there was not any charge to meet annually and review things; it was simply part of the service given the renewal commission paid regardless.
He said the client failed to review the funds or reply to an offer to have his pension reviewed for free.
“He asked for a review many years later, I did a report but he failed to agree to meet,” he said.
The Fos case
The client then retired early, at 55, took his pension and then complained to Fos.
Lentz said: “Fos ignored all the above and the fact I'd pointed out he'd ignored the annual reviews and options, pensions review and so had contributed to his losses.”
He also then had to take his professional indemnity insurers to court, as they were refusing to cover him - should the Fos award against him.
“We went to the Royal Courts of Justice where I won twice, they then said we had to make the complainant and offer to stop legal fees continuing, at which point the Fos said they were closing their file, as the complainant had accepted an offer out of court.”
Lentz explained that this case went on for five years, costing him £150,000 in court and legal fees, and the Fos never awarded against him in the end.
“I did not get my money back from the Fos; I had to sue my PII for refusing to cover the incident and despite winning in the High Court in London three times, they never paid all the money I was owed back,” he said.
Following this, he wrote to MP Shapps calling for the restoration of the adviser's right to have the option of a 15 year longstop.
In civil actions in the courts, there is usually an overall “long-stop” requirement that the matter complained about should have happened within the last 15-years.
According to the Fos website, this limitation does not apply to complaints to the ombudsman as there is no 15-year “long-stop” rule in the complaint-handling rules made under the legislation that set up the ombudsman service.
