I'm completely stumped as to what to do next, and very annoyed by these shenanigans, so perhaps someone can suggest where I should go from here?
Last year I began an endowment mis-selling complaint against Sun Alliance in relation to the low-cost endowment policy I took out in May 1987 to purchase our first (and current) house for 28,300 in Newport, S.Wales.
Sun Alliance stated that they did not sell me the policy, an employee of Hartnell Taylor Cook (the estate agent at the time) did. The partnership secretary of the only bit of HTC I could still find, in Bristol, subsequently wrote and told me that the assets and liabilities of HTC Financial Services had been sold many years ago to the Halifax PLC.
So I then made a mis-selling complaint to the Halifax, who replied stating that they had previously sold their shares in HTC Financial Services, and that with that sale went their legal obligations and liabilities. They then went on to consider my mis-selling complaint as a "matter of goodwill", and to dismiss my complaint out of hand, basically because they have no paperwork relating to the policy sale. They finished their reply by adding that as they had considered the complaint on a goodwill basis, the Financial Ombudsman Service might decline to consider the case.
My first thoughts were that if Halifax had sold the HTC shares and weren't now responsible, I ought to find out who was now responsible and complain to them, and this is where things get sticky. Halifax refuse to tell me who they sold the shares to, and a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service produced the reply that this was a matter that "... does not appear to be one we would deal with."
The Financial Ombudsman Service also confirmed that Halifax' statement regarding them declining complaints considered on a goodwill basis was also true.
At this stage I cannot see the point of writing a line by line rebuttal of HTC's dismissal if they aren't actually responsible. I feel it would be like complaining about my postman to the previous owner of my house.
So - Halifax say they aren't responsible as they have sold the HTC shares, but they won't tell me who *IS* now responsible. Meanwhile the toothless wonders at the FOS stand idly by and look the other way.
I do have some evidence to support my mis-selling claim (which is a *LOT* more than Halifax has), as I have a Sun Alliance pamphlet given me at the time with all the extravagent claims of the late 80's on it, hand annotated by the advisor who actually sold me the policy. However, I seem to be in this catch-22 position where I am not being given a fair hearing.
If there is anyone in a similar position who has managed to break the log jam, or can offer some sensible advice as to what I might be able to do next, I would greatly appreciate it.
Sparky