Investment Testimonials

"EMCAS - the best fairy Godmother you are ever likely to meet! EMCAS has restored my faith in the financial world. Life is not all about bills, bank charges and bureaucracy; I have seen the silver lining, thanks to EMCAS. An amazingly well organised and helpful organisation which made the claiming process very easy and streamlined. Staff members helped me at every stage and responded quickly and efficiently to all my queries. Above all they achieved spectacular results which far exceeded my expectations. I thoroughly recommend this company; they deserve an accolade in today's financial world where service, respect and efficiency often leave much to be desired.

A big thank you to all the staff at EMCAS and well done for your efforts on my behalf. I would be very pleased to recommend you to anyone who might be thinking of making a claim. My advice would be, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain, especially when dealing with EMCAS."

"I would like to thank you for the service I have received from you while reaching a successful conclusion to my complaint. While dealing with my case you have shown care and compassion towards me. Whenever we have spoken over the telephone you have explained each step we had to take while dealing with my case. You have always returned my calls and kept in touch throughout. I have always found you to be very understanding and easy to communicate with. Whenever I received a letter that I did not understand you would spend time going through every point with me until it became clear. During telephone conversations you always took the time to ask how I was feeling and expressed warmth and empathy towards me."

EMCAS win a South Devon couple £42,325.54 on a mis-sold investment claim.

At the point of sale Mr S was 70 years old and Mrs S was 66 years old, both were retiring from having run and owned a successful business for many years.

In November 2007, they sold their business with a view to retiring and they asked for advice on their financial situation at a local Abbey branch (now Santander). They discussed with the adviser that they wanted the best possible return from their investment of £128,000 as this had to last them throughout their retirement. They both wanted a product that would produce a yearly income to top up their pensions and that was also tax efficient whilst keeping their original investment safe. This request is verified on the ‘Fact Find’ where the adviser wrote “You are both already retired and do not wish to invest into an area that you could not ultimately obtain a full return of capital upon if required in the future.”

The adviser spent very little time (approximately 25 minutes) with Mr & Mrs S and proceeded to inform them of how good the product was, its advantages and how much money their investment would make over the forthcoming years. The possibility of their investment losing money, fees, penalties and market adjustments was skipped over and other more suitable products were not discussed.

The complexity of the investment product and its associated documentation meant that it was unsuitable for Mr & Mrs S who had no previous investment experience. As a result of this, they trusted everything that the adviser told them.

The money was invested in the Inscape Investment Portfolio. This portfolio presented significant risk because it resulted in approximately 54% of Mr & Mrs S' £128,000 investment being invested in UK equities and 36% being invested in overseas investment equities.

After eleven months, Mr & Mrs S withdrew the investment as it had already lost over £30,000 from their capital investment. By withdrawing the investment early they also incurred penalty fees and a market value adjustment fee.

In June 2009, Mr & Mrs S approached EMCAS to make a complaint to Abbey on their behalf.

The FOS upheld the complaint on the following grounds:

• They had no previous investment experience and were totally reliant on the advice of the firm.
• They did not want to accept any risk with their capital investment and the ‘Fact Find’ clearly reflected this statement.
• The portfolio recommended presented significant risks which was not suitable for Mr & Mrs S.
• The business did not provide Mr & Mrs S with an explanation of their assessed profile of ‘grow real wealth’.
• Mr & Mrs S were not provided with a formal ‘risk warning’ about their investment fund.

Redress

The FOS’ aim was to put Mr & Mrs S back to the position they would have been in if the incorrect advice had not been given. In full and final settlement of the complaint, Santander was to award Mr & Mrs S compensation.

The total amount of compensation won on behalf of Mr & Mrs S is £42,325.54.

"We never thought for a moment that you would be able to achieve the result that you have. Needless to say we are absolutely thrilled and would like to congratulate and thank all of your staff who assisted in making what seemed impossible, possible. We would not hesitate to recommend your company to any of our family and friends who may find themselves in a similar situation. Once again a big thank you."