Financial Mis-selling Claims — Frequently Asked Questions

Financial mis-selling occurs when a financial adviser, firm, or institution sells or recommends a financial product that is unsuitable for the specific customer — without properly explaining the risks, without assessing whether it matches the customer's circumstances, or while withholding material information. In the UK, financial advisers regulated by the FCA have a legal duty to ensure advice is suitable (FCA COBS 9). Where they breach this duty and you suffer a loss, you may be entitled to compensation.

Common signs include: (1) you were never asked about your attitude to risk; (2) the product was much higher-risk than you understood; (3) you were cold-called or approached by someone you did not know; (4) the investment or pension transfer lost significantly more value than the general market; (5) the company that advised you has since gone bust or been fined by the FCA; (6) you were not shown or given a written suitability report.

Yes. The primary limitation period is 6 years from the date you received the advice or from when the loss first occurred. However, section 14A of the Limitation Act 1980 gives you an additional 3 years from when you first knew (or should have known) that the advice was unsuitable. This means claims older than 6 years may still be viable. Do not assume your claim is time-barred — contact us for a free limitation assessment.

Yes. If the firm was authorised and regulated by the FCA, you can make a claim to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS pays up to £85,000 per eligible claim and is funded by the financial services industry. Making an FSCS claim is free — you do not need a solicitor, though a specialist solicitor may improve your outcome, particularly for complex cases or losses above £85,000.

The FSCS is the UK's statutory compensation fund for customers of failed, authorised financial services firms. It covers: investment advice and pension transfers (up to £85,000 per claim); deposits at banks and building societies (up to £85,000 per institution); and insurance policies. The FSCS is free to use. As of 2024/25, it paid £327 million in compensation including £176 million in investment, pension, and financial advice claims.

The FOS is a free, independent service that resolves complaints between consumers and financial businesses. Where a firm is still trading, the FOS is often the fastest and cheapest route to compensation — up to £455,000 per complaint. The FOS received 305,726 new complaints in 2024/25 and upheld 34% in consumers' favour. For SIPP-related complaints, the uphold rate was 57%.

No Win No Fee means you pay us nothing unless your claim succeeds. If you win, a success fee is deducted from your compensation award. The exact percentage is set out in your client care letter, which you sign before we start detailed work. Under FCA and SRA rules, we must tell you the maximum fee you could pay before you commit.

This depends on your specific losses. For FSCS claims, the maximum is £85,000 per eligible claimant. For FOS complaints, the maximum is £455,000. For court claims, there is no cap. Average FSCS loss in pension transfer cases is £82,600 (FSCS data). Average SIPP mis-selling FSCS claim is approximately £47,000.

No. We can obtain most documents ourselves — pension transfer records, suitability reports, investment statements — using your written authority. All we need to start is your name, contact details, and the name of the firm that advised you.

No. A compensation claim does not affect the pension or investment itself. You are claiming financial redress for the difference between what your pension or investment should be worth and what it is actually worth due to the mis-selling.

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is the UK's statutory compensation fund for customers of failed FCA-regulated financial firms. For investment advice and pension transfer claims, it pays up to £85,000 per eligible claim. It is funded by levies on the financial services industry and is entirely free to use. In 2024/25, the FSCS paid £327 million in compensation including £176 million in the investments, pensions, and financial advice sector (FSCS Annual Report 2024/25). You can claim directly at fscs.org.uk without using a solicitor.

The Financial Ombudsman Service is a free, independent service that resolves disputes between consumers and regulated financial firms. Where a firm is still trading, the FOS can award up to £455,000 per complaint. In 2024/25, the FOS received over 305,000 new complaints and upheld 34% of cases in consumers' favour. For SIPP mis-selling complaints specifically, the uphold rate was 57%. You can complain directly at financial-ombudsman.org.uk without using a solicitor.

FSCS is used when the firm that mis-sold to you has failed and been declared in default. It pays up to £85,000. FOS is used when the firm is still trading. It can award up to £455,000. We assess which route is appropriate for your specific situation as part of your free claim check.

Possibly yes — and it is worth investigating urgently. The FCA found 47% of defined benefit pension transfer advice reviewed was unsuitable. The average loss in FSCS cases is £82,600. If your adviser did not conduct a proper Transfer Value Analysis, did not clearly explain what you were giving up, or recommended a high-risk investment for your transfer value, the advice was likely unsuitable.

Contact us immediately. Rowanmoor was declared in default by the FSCS in December 2023 with an estimated £124 million potential liability. Hartley Pensions was declared in default in February 2024. FSCS claims are being processed for both. The earlier you file, the sooner you will receive your assessment.

Quite possibly. The UK High Court ruled in August 2023 that Qualia Care Group's care home room investment scheme was an illegal unauthorised collective investment scheme. The court found its director made false statements to investors who lost £57 million. This precedent applies broadly to similar care home room, hotel room, and fractional property schemes. Contact us to discuss your specific investment.

This depends on how the money was transferred and whether any regulated firm was involved. If you transferred money via your bank and were deceived, the PSR's new mandatory APP fraud reimbursement rules (from October 2024) require your bank to refund you up to £85,000. If the scam involved an FCA-regulated firm or a clone of an FCA-regulated firm, additional FSCS routes may exist. Contact us for a free assessment.

Not necessarily. Signing a risk warning does not waive your right to claim if the advice itself was unsuitable for your personal circumstances. Courts have consistently held that risk acknowledgement forms do not override an adviser's suitability obligations under FCA COBS rules.

Yes. We handle claims for clients throughout England, Wales, and Scotland. Northern Ireland claims may involve slightly different procedures but we can advise. Clients living abroad at the time of the advice can also claim if the adviser was FCA-regulated in the UK.

Contact us today. The most important thing is to act before any limitation deadline passes. Fill in our free claim form at /start-your-claim — it takes 60 seconds and there is no commitment. We will review your details and call you within 24 hours with an honest assessment of your situation.