Investment FAQs

If you have taken advice from a bank, insurer or any other financial adviser with regards to how to invest your capital then that advisor is required to make sure that the advice you receive is suitable and specific to you and your needs. If it should ultimately transpire that the advice you have received was not entirely suitable or that information about your investment or savings plan was withheld or misrepresented then you will have grounds to make a complaint.

Other factors which are likely to be influential in your decision to make a complaint may be that your plan does not meet your requirements to be entirely tax efficient, you required more flexibility in terms of contributions or withdrawals than the plan you were recommended allows, you were given "guarantees" which can no longer be relied upon, you have recently learned about charges, hidden commissions or market value reductions which you were previously unaware of and so on...

Due to the complex and dynamic nature of the investments and savings arena we suggest that you contact us to discuss your individual circumstances and your potential complaint so that one of our specialist claims managers can evaluate your grounds for a claim for compensation and advise you personally in this respect.

Click here to start your claim now.

Due to the fact that each complaint is individual and the circumstances of each case are entirely specific to the complainant, compensation amounts do vary. In all cases we will strive to ensure that you are put back into the position which you would have been in had you received the advice which would have been suitable at the time you took out your plan. This may involve a lump sum cash payment based on a comparison of what you could have been earning if your capital had been invested elsewhere.

EMCAS will ensure that any final offer of compensation is suitable and that you are effectively compensated for any losses which you may have incurred. Our specialist claims managers will liaise with all the parties involved including the Financial  Ombudsman Service if necessary, to make certain that you are aware of all of the facts before you settle your complaint. We regularly dispute offers which we do not believe are sufficient and have a high success rates in such circumstances.

You will only be charged by EMCAS if your complaint is successful and you receive compensation as a result. If the claim is carried to its conclusion and is lost, you will not be charged for work carried out on your behalf.

Before EMCAS start your claim we will provide you with written correspondence detailing our service and our Terms of Engagement. After returning the required documentation you will then have a 14 day 'cooling off' period. Once this 'cooling off' period has expired EMCAS will;

• Assign you a dedicated Claims Manager who will review your investment/savings plan in accordance with what information you have given us about your circumstances/attitude to risk at the time you chose to invest.
• Compose an initial letter to your Insurer, Advisor or Fund Manager stating your reasons for complaint and requesting a copy of your file and any other documentation relevant to your case. This letter will instruct them to direct all correspondence and any questions or matters relating to the claim to your claims manager at the EMCAS claims office. Included will be an authority for EMCAS to deal with your complaint.
• Provide a copy of correspondence for your own records.
• Act as an intermediary between you and your Insurer, Advisor or Fund Manager including replying to and managing all correspondence relating to your complaint and taking the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman service/Financial Services Compensation Scheme if necessary.
• Ensure that any compensation offered has been correctly calculated and covers all aspects of the complaint.
• Will consider any rejection of your complaint alongside the evidence provided by the company to determine whether their rejection is justified. If in the opinion of EMCAS there is insufficient evidence to reject the claim, EMCAS may appeal against the decision directly to the firm stating our reasons for doing so.
• Take the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service if necessary. There is no extra charge for doing so. If EMCAS believe the rejection is justified then we will inform you of the outcome promptly. If you are unhappy with our decision then you have the option of taking the claim to the Financial Ombudsman Service independently.

In the majority of cases your policy or plan will not be affected by your complaint and it will continue to run as if nothing had happened.

In rare cases where it can be demonstrated that the investment or savings plan was entirely unsuitable and your capital should not have been invested at all,  we may be able to retrieve a full refund of the premiums paid into the policy/plan along with interest and some additional compensation. In these cases,  your policy/plan may be cancelled as part of the settlement. 

Should you choose to instruct EMCAS to act on your behalf, we will at all times endeavour to:

• Act fairly and reasonably in all dealings with you
• Ensure that any service offered is one that meets your needs
• Ensure that all information given to you is clear, transparent, fair and not misleading.
• Advise you to only pursue a claim if it is in your best interest to do so

If you are not completely happy with our service, EMCAS would like to hear about it – that way, we can do something to put it right. Please contact the Customer Services Manager on 01803 697 541 or Email Us.

Yes you can. As with anything in life you may elect to "do it yourself" in the same way that you can prepare and file your own tax return without the use of an accountant, or buy and sell your own property without the use of a solicitor. Most choose to employ the services of someone who is an expert in their field.

EMCAS is a professional, regulated complaint handling company. We are one of the longest established companies operating exclusively within the financial sector. We aim to take away the hassle of making a complaint and undertake to manage all aspects of your claim from start to completion, making the whole process as painless as possible for you.

Our track record speaks for itself. To date we have successfully won over 78,000 claims against financial institutions providing more than £150 million in compensation payments for our clients. We have a comprehensive knowledge of Financial Services products and the regulations that should have been adhered to when selling them as well as the complaints and administrative procedures required to make a successful claim.