SIPPs can only be provided by types of
organisations that HMRC has agreed can do
so. Those organisations are regulated by the Financial Services Authority
(FSA).
Sales and marketing complaints against a SIPP provider can be
referred to the Financial Ombudsman
Service or the Financial Services
Compensation Scheme (which sorts out complaints against firms
that have ceased trading). Maladministration complaints
against a provider can be referred to the Pensions
Ombudsman.
Q & A's
In the first instance, you should complain to the adviser or
provider who sold you the SIPP. Give them a chance to respond to
your complaint. If the matter is not resolved, then the Pensions
Advisory Service may be able to advise you on the merits of your
case. We may be able to mediate a resolution between you and the
company that sold you the SIPP. Ultimately, the matter may
have to be referred to the FOS.
First of all you should check that the charges are listed in
your policy document and explanatory brochure. The provider should
tell you in advance about the level of charges they will deduct and
the terms on which they can increase the charges.
If you cannot find the charges listed, write to your SIPP
provider or broker. Do note that it can be hard to challenge any
charge where the amount is down to the provider's discretion or
commercial judgement. But do ask about comparable rates in the
market place.
Check to see if the policy document or explanatory brochure says
the provider can do this. Sometimes providers reserves the right to
cash in investments to meet charges if there is not enough cash in
the SIPP bank account to pay the charges.
If not, you could have a case against the provider for
maladministration if they cannot prove that they have the power to
act in this way and/or show that they have taken steps to inform
you about this power.
However, if the charges themselves are part of the agreement you
signed up to when you took out the SIPP, you will still be
contractually obliged to pay them when due.
TPAS may be able to mediate between you and the provider to
reach a mutually agreeable solution. If your complaint relates to
the way the SIPP has been run, we can advise you whether the
Pensions Ombudsman would be able to determine your complaint.
However, if your complaint relates to the performance of
investments, the Pensions Ombudsman will not accept your case.
If you are complaining that you were mis-sold the SIPP, you will
be able to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service (the normal
arbitrator in such cases).
The Pensions Advisory Service gets involved before the Pensions
Ombudsman, who is normally the final arbiter in the matter. We do
not have any statutory powers and can only resolve cases through
persuasion and conciliation. The Ombudsman on the other hand has
similar powers to a court of law.
Our advisers are all pensions experts; some are volunteers who
carry out this service free of charge in their own time. Their
first task is to gather as much information as possible from you
and all other parties involved. If our adviser, in the light of the
information available, does not believe you have a sustainable
case, he or she will tell you this, explain why this conclusion has
been reached and close the file.
No opinion expressed by us is in any way legally binding and you
still have the right to take your case to the Pensions Ombudsman,
as long as it is within his jurisdiction.
If our adviser believes you have a case, however weak, he or she
will assist you and the other parties to come to a resolution.
Sometimes this may result in you getting everything you want but
often it may involve a compromise and a negotiated settlement. If,
at the end of our efforts, you are not prepared to accept the
outcome, you are still free to take your case further.
