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Financial Conduct Authority issues warning against scam pension firms

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05/10/2018

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued a warning about scam pension firms. Read on to find out the impact it could have on you.

What is the difference between authorised and unauthorised scam pension firms?

An authorised firm is regulated and registered with the FCA. Unauthorised scam pension firms are not. Clients taking advice from them are at risk of financial mis-selling. This is because unregulated firms are not held accountable by anybody.

Regulated firms are more likely to have completed due diligence on the investments they offer. They also have a duty of care to their client. If they fail their client, they may face legal consequences.

Unauthorised scam pension firms

Unauthorised firms are increasingly posing as ‘clone firms’. They pretend to be genuine firms. The FCA has warned that these scammers may give out false details. They cold call people and then mix the information they give with the correct details of a registered firm.

The FCA states that these firms are knowingly running scams such as ‘boiler rooms’. Investors are targeted by fraudsters who cold-call offering high returns. However, the shares are often worthless, overpriced and even non-existent.

Are you protected?

It is important to check if the firm you are taking financial advice from is authorised. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) will protect victims of failed investments and pensions if the advice was taken from an authorised firm. However, if the firm is unauthorised then there is no protection under the FSCS and FOS.

Before investing any capital with any firms check the FCA website for a list of regulated authorised firms.

If you have lost investments or pension funds as a result of bad advice from a scam pension firm, get in touch. Our legal experts can offer support and advice on securing compensation on a no win, no fee basis.