Upheld: General financial advice complaint against Scottish Equitable Plc trading as Aegon
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6439742 of 2026-06-30T00:00:00+00:00. General financial advice complaint against Scottish Equitable Plc trading as Aegon. Outcome: Upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6439742 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-06-30T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Scottish Equitable Plc trading as Aegon |
| Product | Pension |
| Claim type | General financial advice |
| Outcome | Upheld |
| Remedy | Scottish Equitable plc trading as Aegon should pay Mr W £1,500 for distress and inconvenience. Aegon has already backdated contributions to correct dates, added units to cover investment growth losses, and provided corrected transaction details and contribution calculations. |
Summary
Mr W complained that Aegon failed to correctly collect and apply his stakeholder pension contributions following a system upgrade in August 2024, and provided him with inaccurate information about his pension for an extended period. Aegon's errors meant Mr W's contributions were not deducted and invested on time for many months, and he received incorrect information in his online account, pension statements, and communications, causing him considerable distress and inconvenience. After investigation and remediation, Aegon backdated contributions to correct dates, added units to cover investment growth losses, and increased its compensation offer to £1,500. The ombudsman upheld the complaint and found Aegon's £1,500 compensation offer to be fair and reasonable, confirming that Aegon had taken reasonable steps to restore the pension to its correct financial position, though some online account display discrepancies remained due to ongoing technical issues.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman accepted that Aegon's errors were undisputed and that the firm had taken reasonable steps to restore Mr W's pension to its correct financial position through backdating contributions and adding units to cover investment growth losses. While Mr W experienced considerable distress and inconvenience from incorrect information and the extended period to resolve the issues, the ombudsman found that Aegon's reassurances from the start that Mr W would not lose out financially meant he should not have been concerned his pension no longer existed. The ombudsman rejected claims that Aegon was abrupt or rude, and found that the £1,500 compensation offered fairly reflected the distress and inconvenience caused. The ombudsman noted that while online account display discrepancies remained, Aegon's underlying systems held correct information and the firm had taken reasonable steps to provide the information Mr W requested.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Scottish Equitable Plc trading as Aegon, all decisions | 6 | 33% |
| General financial advice, all decisions | 4,854 | 36% |
| Pension, all decisions | 15,621 | 47% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website