GDPR and Consent
First of all, Data Protection Rules have changed – companies are no longer allowed to contact you without your consent. And even if you dealt with them a number of years or months ago they can’t use your contact details or sell them onto other firms without your consent.
So any company calling you unexpectedly is most likely breaching the regulations and could be fined.
And if it’s not your original sales agent calling, it means they have sold your data and will be earning commission from any money recovered on your behalf!
Aspire Business Management
Last week one of the big newspapers reported that an unregulated introducer that promoted Greyfriars’ Portfolio Six (P6) investments to advisers, has set up a claims management firm.
They explained that the unregulated firm Aspire Business Management, run by Brendan and Nicola Quinn, worked with at least three financial advice firms which set up SIPP’s in order to arrange investments through Greyfriars Asset Management. The Greyfriars portfolio reached £40 million before the company went into administration!
Aspire became a claims management company when the SIPP providers changed their view on accepting high risk or unregulated investments due to pressure applied by the regulatory bodies.
Bearing in mind that these firms already earned big commissions (15-25%) when selling you the original investments, they have now set up in business to charge up to 20% on any money they recover for you!
As with most unregulated introducers, Mr Quinn was previously a regulated financial adviser trading as BN Consultants and VIRTUAL NET.
This is not the only time we have seen the people responsible for the promotion of high risk and unregulated investments are moving into the industry.
The Pensions Office/United Claims Management
In 2016 it was reported that a claims firm had been sold the client database of the IFA firm The Pensions Office by its liquidator, for £3,500.
The IFA firm had been run by Keith Popplewell and his wife, who owned the claims firm that bought the database, was a 50% shareholder.
In 2016 Popplewell said ‘some’ of the claims processed by his wife’s firm, United Claims Management, were former clients of The Pensions Office, but ‘not all of them’.
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme has already paid out at least £17.2 million from the collapsed IFA firm!
Do your Homework
Before jumping into the appointment of a claims firm to recover your money, check their background and make sure you are not paying the same people twice. Find an independent claims firm that is on your side and can help you claim SIPP Compensation.