Partially upheld: unsuitable pension advice and failure to provide ongoing service complaint against St. James's Place Wealth Management Plc
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6327781 of 2026-04-30T00:00:00+00:00. unsuitable pension advice and failure to provide ongoing service complaint against St. James's Place Wealth Management Plc. Outcome: Partially upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6327781 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-04-30T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | St. James's Place Wealth Management Plc |
| Product | pension |
| Claim type | unsuitable pension advice and failure to provide ongoing service |
| Outcome | Partially upheld |
| Remedy | SJPWM should refund charges taken from January 2025 to 15 May 2025 with interest at 8% simple calculated from the date of the offer to the date of final decision. SJPWM should pay £150 compensation for distress and inconvenience. If income tax is required to be deducted from interest, SJPWM should inform Mr R of the amount and provide a tax deduction certificate if requested. |
Summary
Mrs R complained that SJPWM gave unsuitable pension advice leading to unsuitable employer contributions to her pension and recommended unsuitable pension switches between 2015 and 2020. The complaint arose after Firm X became insolvent and an Insolvency Practitioner queried pension contributions made during loss-making periods, resulting in a settlement requiring repayment. The ombudsman found the pension switches suitable and determined SJPWM could not reasonably have known Firm X lacked funds to make contributions. The only upheld element was SJPWM's failure to provide Mrs R's annual review due in February 2025 before her funds transferred in May 2025, during which charges continued. SJPWM was ordered to refund those charges with interest and pay £150 compensation.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman found that SJPWM's recommendations for pension switches were suitable as they met Mrs R's objectives of receiving ongoing financial advice, consolidating pensions, and maintaining suitable investment advice. Regarding the 2020 ad-hoc contribution, SJPWM could not reasonably have known that Firm X lacked funds to make the contributions unless explicitly told, as it did not have access to company accounts and received no indication of insolvency. The recommendation that contributions come from Firm X's business account was reasonable in normal circumstances. The only upheld element was the failure to provide the annual review due in February 2025 before the May 2025 transfer, during which charges continued to be taken.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| St. James's Place Wealth Management Plc, all decisions | 683 | 26% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website