Not upheld: commission payments without ongoing service provision complaint against Quilter Financial Planning Solutions Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr L complained that Quilter received commission payments from his investment since 2012 without providing ongoing advice or reviews. The investment was originally set up before the Retail Distribution Review with trail commission already in place. When Mr L transferred servicing to Quilter in December 2012, the commission was redirected to Quilter rather than the original firm. The ombudsman found that the transfer of servicing document constituted consent to redirect the commission, that pre-RDR commission was not intended to cover ongoing advice, and there was no evidence Quilter agreed to provide such service. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that the trail commission was established before Mr L transferred servicing to Quilter and was not intended to cover ongoing advice costs under the pre-RDR regime. The transfer of servicing document directed the investment provider to pay renewal fees to Quilter, but this did not create an obligation for Quilter to provide ongoing advice service. There was no evidence that Mr L was entitled to or paying for such a service from Quilter.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website