Endowment Mortgage Risks

Viewing the endowment risks objectively

The objective of this web-site is to make you aware of the problems surrounding the mis-selling of endowment policies linked to the repayment of your mortgage and the problems that can arise in the complaints process. With many policyholders yet to make a claim, it is wise to acquaint yourself with the risks associated in making such a complaint and the matters arising from this action. You will then have sufficient information to decide what to do, bearing in mind your personal and financial circumstances. It is important to realise if your endowment mortgage is on a critical path it is entirely your responsibility to fulfil your mortgage debt.

Over 8 Million Endowment Mortgage Policies were sold in the UK during the '80s and '90s

Policyholders were not given sufficient or accurate information concerning the risks involved in linking an endowment policy to the repayment of their mortgage at the time when it was sold and are now entitled to compensation (redress) as a result.

Endowment Risk #1 - the risk of doing nothing.

Having failed to do anything so far with regard to your endowment complaint, it must be assumed you are satisfied with the advice you were provided with at the point-of-sale. If that is not the case and you have been "waiting and seeing" you will no doubt have received reprojection letters from your endowment provider forecasting the future "high risk" of a shortfall at maturity.

Some of the firms sending these letters are trying to mitigate their own losses and are using these warning letters to implement a time-bar, under the Limitation Act. Should this underhand tactic work (and the Regulators seem happy with this) you will have no means of achieving any form of redress unless you react within certain time constraints and the forecasted shortfall will have to be paid from your own resources. As the consequences of not mitigating your loss are obvious, I would recommend you take action and the sooner the better.

We at CPH / Endowment Risk see the risk of doing nothing as by far the greatest risk. It would mean all the efforts of the Regulator and the £millions spent by my firm and others in highlighting this problem would have been wasted which would be a shame in getting it satisfactorily resolved because your compensation is what you are entitled to. Please at least make the effort and contact CPH before it is too late.

Endowment Shortfalls are now a certainty...

All CPH / Endowment Risk complaints have the communication of risk and its suitability as its central theme, which is at the heart of the modern endowments claims handling. For the future, our main task is to get the message across to the hundreds of thousands of endowment policyholders, who hitherto have done little or nothing to help themselves who have been hoping against hope that something will "turn up". Frankly, in our view it is too late in the cycle for things to resolve themselves naturally as bonus rates on these policies continue to fall significantly. It is time to take action, as your redress is waiting for you because the Rules have been put in place to protect you from mis-selling. If you would care to complete the "policy review" section and allow one of the CPH Advisers to discuss the options open to you (under no obligation) you can then make a decision of how best to proceed. You may not realise that your home could be at stake if you do nothing. In addition, your retirement could be ruined by having to extend your mortgage when you should be enjoying the "fruits of your labour".

If you are forced to sell your property consider the true cost of downsizing; the cost of stamp duty and bills from solicitors and estate agents and the sums needed of bringing your new home up to standard is 'dead' money. All because you were sold an endowment mortgage which more than likely you didn't want in the first place!

Endowment Risk #2 - A significant percentage of people fail when handling their own endowment complaint...

The claims procedure involves the 'tortuous' process of proving beyond doubt the mis-selling of your endowment policy. So far only a small percentage of policyholders have taken any action, with mixed results.

Our research on this matter has revealed a reluctance of people to embark on a process of which they often have no knowledge and understanding. It occurs to us that it must be difficult to complain about something you don't know much about, as the compliance issues raised in mounting a successful claim are often deeply complex. Moreover, one must prove beyond reasonable doubt that one was mis-sold a policy as the mere mention of performance issues will guarantee rejection. The onus of proof is on the complainant.

This is where the invaluable experience of CPH can help explain your complaint in the most relevant and appropriate way, in order to get the correct result for you.

CPH has developed a unique approach to complaint handling. This largely does away with the sorting out of who said what to whom at the point-of-sale, as this often occurred many years ago. Instead we concentrate exclusively on the evidence available (which the Firm holds) as this provides the only thread which links the situation then with the events which occurred today. We therefore expect to win every case we take because our interpretation of the evidence available is likely to prove that mis-selling took place. CPH provides the money to back-up your claim, as we operate on a no-win, no-fee basis.

The people who seemingly need the most help are the ones being failed by the system, which has been put in place to assist them in obtaining what is, after all, their entitlement. If you are worried how the complaints procedure works it is all done informally by letters, there are no appearances in court, no cross examination, or (hopefully) little involvment by yourselves. Finally on this subject you can only make one claim so make sure it is handled correctly by using CPH / Endowment Risk.

City Regulator decides against review of all endowment sales.

When Sir Howard Davies, Chairman of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), took the final decision in 2000 not to launch a pro-active review of all previous endowment sales, the battle lines were drawn. The only way forward for a policyholder to seek redress was the 'tortuous' process of making a complaint through existing procedures. Whilst no one was happy with this development at least it was a Decision and people could make their arrangements accordingly. Endowment mis-selling claims began in earnest in 2002. It was then that CPH launched their first website to help create a general awareness of the Endowment mis-selling Scandal.

Polite Notice : If this is your first contact with CPH Financial Advisory Services please complete the 'review policy' form. We will then be in a position to fully discuss your situation in the light of accurate information.

Legal Disclaimer
In the preparation of this site every effort has been made to offer the most current, correct and clearly expressed information possible. Nonetheless, inadvertent errors can occur and applicable laws, rules and regulations often change. Further, the information contained herein is intended to afford general guidelines on matters of interest. The application and impact of laws can vary widely, however, from case to case, based upon the specific or unique facts involved. Accordingly, the information in this site is not intended to serve as legal, accounting, tax or financial advice. Users are encouraged to consult with CPH Financial Advisory Services professional advisers for advice concerning specific matters before making any decision and CPH Financial Advisory Services disclaims any responsibility for positions taken by individuals for any misunderstanding upon the part of users. Not all products/services are regulated by the Financial Services Authority (F.S.A.) and in particular the complaint handling process described above. Claims are handled by CPH Financial Advisory Services of the Bath Master's House, Davenport Street, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK10 1JE The Principal of which is Mr. Michael J. Cooper.