A 68-year-old former senior executive has received £85,000 in compensation after he was wrongly advised to transfer his pension into an ‘unsuitable’ Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS).

The compensation value is the maximum the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) can award.

The retiree was misadvised to move his pension, worth over £864,000, to the QROPS by the now defunct Omega Financial Solutions.

He was subsequently asked to pay numerous administration fees and lost thousands of pounds that would have accumulated through interest.

Two pension pots, one in a defined benefit scheme and one in an individual pension scheme, were transferred.

Legal advice was sought by the victim and his wife in July 2020 through High Street Solicitors, which turned to the FSCS due to the adviser firm being in administration.

The FSCS’s decision to award the highest compensation it could offer was based on the hypothetical transfer of the pension that had been transferred.

Commenting on the outcome, the former senior executive said: “I’m very happy with the outcome and can only thank High Street Solicitors for the service that was provided.
“Initially, I was sceptical to seek legal advice, and although it was a long process, the financial mis-selling team explored every avenue and ultimately, secured £85,000 in compensation.

“I’m delighted that the FSCS could see that we did have a claim and we have been able to recover some of the loss and costs we’ve paid out thanks to High Street Solicitors.”

High Street Solicitors mis-selling manager, Julie Adams, added: "Receiving negligent financial advice can be devastating for clients and their families. In this case, the gentleman was subjected to a series of administration costs, whilst also losing out on thousands of pounds of interest.

“Myself and the team are delighted with the outcome and that the FSCS agreed that there was a viable case where the client deserved to be compensated for his losses.”

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