Not upheld: General financial advice complaint against Hub Financial Solutions Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr C complained that HUB Financial Solutions Limited mis-handled the arrangement of his pension annuity with Canada Life, causing delays and financial losses including approximately £500 in extra tax. HUB had advised Mr C on 19 September 2023 that Canada Life was experiencing significant processing delays (8-12 weeks versus 4-6 weeks for other providers), and Mr C chose to proceed with Canada Life as it offered the best quote. The annuity took approximately 16 weeks to set up, finalised on 16 February 2024 but backdated to 1 November 2023. Mr C claimed the delays caused cashflow and tax planning issues. The ombudsman did not uphold the complaint, finding that HUB had provided reasonable advance warning of delays, processed the application promptly, and that the delays were caused by Canada Life's processing and fund reconciliation issues, not by HUB's actions.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that HUB had advised Mr C of Canada Life's delays and provided a reasonable expectation of timescales (8-12 weeks). While the actual delay was approximately 16 weeks (4 weeks longer than the high-end estimate), this was qualified as subject to Canada Life's processes. The delays were caused by Canada Life's processing issues and fund reconciliation problems, not by HUB's actions. HUB processed the application promptly and chased Canada Life multiple times. Although HUB could have been more proactive in suggesting Mr C contact Canada Life about tax year income, this would not have changed the outcome as the annuity details were on the illustrations provided and the timing remained uncertain. The tax and cashflow issues Mr C experienced were not caused by HUB but by circumstances outside its control.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website