endowment shortfall

[BACKSON]

a company has offered to help on a no win no fee basis. has anybody used a company similar ? your views would be appreciated.

[Name of individual company removed. Please avoid specifics when replying. Thanks. - AB Editor]

[Mrs_Pegasus]

Hi There

I have never heard of the company but I would be cautious.

The way I look at shortfalls is this.  If you have a mortgage with 20 years to run and you have a predicted shortfall of say �10k, think how much �10k will be in 20 years time.  It will feel like �2k????

Another thing to ask yourself is, are you planning on staying in your house for another 20 years?  If you sell then thats the time to dump the endownment mortgage and then start a repayment.  Many people I know took this option and have even continued with the endownment as a little nest egg for their children and it  has an element of life insurance attached for the total you took it out for.

Remember in this life there is no such thing as a free lunch and you have to ask what cost will it be if you are successful in challenging the endownment.  You could find yourself no better off once you have paid their costs.

Hope this helps.

 

[vicars]

Forget the company for now - these people have door to door sellers going all over the country trying to find people like you for their own advantage. All they do is what you can do by yourself. Find out what the official way to complain about your endowment is. The company you hold your endowment with will send you this literature. Work out why you are complaining. Are you complaining about the investment return? If so you are unlikely to succeed on this basis alone. Are you complaining about the advice given as well, i.e. your endowment will give a guaranteed return to repay your mortgage and a luxury car on top? If so then the company can check its records and try to challenge this but it is likely the company will check whetehr you were better off taking an endowment and refunding you the difference. If they do not do this then you can complain to the relevant Ombudsman (read the comany's literature as this will give all the relevant info). Private companies offering a no win no fee will only take a case where clearly you will get a payout and they pocket the profit. Advice - check it out yourself.