Complaints process
A complaints adjudicator determined that the advice given by deVere was not unreasonable and that the firm was not liable for any events after she told them she did not want them looking after her pension.
They added, however, that deVere should have looked at transferring the Rops earlier but any transfer before 2016 would have incurred exit charges.
In response to the adjudicator, Mrs M accused deVere UK of “passing the buck as they said they would look after Cyprus office clients”.
She said it could have been more beneficial for her to pay the early withdrawal charges and transfer into a new UK-based lower charge plan, believing that the move could have saved her thousands of pounds.
The adjudicator recommended £300 in compensation for the trouble and upset caused by the lack of advice and the number of advisers that Mrs M had had to deal with.
FOS referral
Mrs Ms complaint was passed to the Ombudsman, who determined that the portfolio recommended by deVere was not inappropriate for someone with Mrs M’s risk profile.
“It is clearly disappointing for Mrs M that having paid higher fees in the hope of obtaining higher rates of return that these were not achieved.
“However, it is important to note that the higher returns were not guaranteed and unfortunately did not arise.”
The Ombudsman concluded: “I uphold this complaint against deVere and Partners (UK) Limited but only in part. I award Mrs M the sum of £300 for the distress and inconvenience she has suffered.”
