Hugh James has been approached to take legal action against The Better Retirement Group Limited (‘BRG’) in relation to advice given by BRG to transfer out of occupational pension schemes.
BRG Ltd is a regulated financial adviser firm based in Northampton. It was incorporated in 1992 and now has a single controlling director, Stuart Bayliss.
Since 6 January 2022, the Financial Ombudsman Service has upheld five complaints against BRG relating to advice to transfer pension benefits from defined benefit occupational schemes.
Two of the upheld complaints concern advice to transfer out of the British Steel pension scheme. The issues arising out of the closure of the British Steel pension scheme have been the subject of an earlier Hugh James blog, where the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found that in 79% of cases, the advice given to the steel workers was either unsuitable, or unclear.
The other three cases involved advice to transfer out of defined benefit occupational schemes and into self-invested personal pensions involving Momentum Pensions Limited and SVS Securities PLC.
In all five cases the final decision upholding the complaint directs BRG to carry our redress calculations and compensate the individuals concerned for their pension losses. The Ombudsman has also made various compensatory awards in these cases including for the cost of fees relating to the management self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs) as well as for distress and inconvenience.
Hugh James has been approached by Mrs P who is the complaint in reference DRN-3190075 to take legal action following BRG’s failure to comply with the Ombudsman’s decision.
We are therefore now reaching out to other BRG clients who are considering legal action against BRG in relation to pension advice.
