Re: IFA - took shortcut

The guidance on the Financial Ombudsman Service's website refers mainly to endowment mortgage complaints, but I suspect the principles are similar.

They make a distinction between forgery committed for financial gain, and forgery committed for other reasons (eg the advisor forgot to get a customer to sign one of a number of documents and was too lazy to go back to the customer). For endowments, if the forgery was committed for financial gain, the standard form of redress is to refund premiums paid plus interest, plus a (modest) sum for distress and inconvenience. Where the forgery was not for financial gain, the standard approach for endowments is to put the customer back in the position they would be in had they not taken an endowment mortgage - usually by comparing their endowment mortgage with a repayment.

In your case, whatever the reason for the forgery, you might be able to argue that if your relatives hadn't taken out a precipice bond they would just have left the money in the bank. If the FOS agree with you, they are likely to suggest that the firm refunds premiums plus interest regardless of why advisor forged the signatures.

HTH

Laura.

As far as I can see the only gain has been the probably not insignificant commissions ..

He compounded the offence by forging the relatives' signatures on new transfer docs when the bonds matured recently. Luckily it was when I contacted the bond issuing company direct to cancel the transfer (successfully), the misdeeds came to light. Something I guess the IFA thought would never happen. The (very large) bond company has just told me that all transactions involving this IFA have been put on hold as he has probably done it to other clients and the FSA/police have been informed. I wouldn't be surprised if he skips the country ...