Not upheld: Pension transfer advice complaint against Profile Financial Solutions Limited
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-4350378 of 2023-12-04T00:00:00+00:00. Pension transfer advice complaint against Profile Financial Solutions Limited. Outcome: Not upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-4350378 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2023-12-04T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Profile Financial Solutions Limited |
| Product | Pension |
| Claim type | Pension transfer advice |
| Outcome | Not upheld |
| Remedy | Profile Pensions to refund the initial adviser fee plus 8% compounded interest (to be put back into Mr H's pension); refund all ongoing adviser fees plus 8% compounded interest (to be put back into Mr H's pension); pay £200 compensation for distress and inconvenience; provide a clear breakdown of calculations if requested; ensure Scottish Widows has Mr H's correct contact details and sends information directly to him. |
Summary
Mr H complained that Profile Pensions switched his two personal pensions from Phoenix and Standard Life to Scottish Widows in 2017 without his consent, discovering this only in 2023. Profile Pensions acknowledged the error, attributing it to human error, and offered to refund the initial adviser fee with interest plus £200 compensation. The investigator requested additional refund of ongoing adviser fees, which Profile Pensions agreed to. The ombudsman upheld Profile Pensions' offer as fair, finding that Mr H suffered no financial loss because his pension fund with Scottish Widows (£33,959.71) was higher than the combined estimated value of his previous pensions (£32,482.06), and that £200 was appropriate compensation for the distress caused by the unauthorized switch.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman focused on whether Mr H suffered financial loss as a result of the unauthorized switches. Although Profile Pensions acted prematurely without Mr H's explicit consent, the ombudsman found that Mr H was financially better off because his pension fund with Scottish Widows was higher than the combined value of his previous pensions would have been. The ombudsman rejected the request to unwind the transfers as impractical and noted that the aim of redress is to restore the consumer to their original position financially, not to punish the business. The ombudsman considered £200 compensation for distress and inconvenience appropriate for a large single mistake, and found the refund of initial and ongoing adviser fees with interest to be fair.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Profile Financial Solutions Limited, all decisions | 22 | 46% |
| Pension transfer advice, all decisions | 7,542 | 54% |
| Pension, all decisions | 15,579 | 47% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website