If you believe you have been mis-sold and negligence can be proved, we can make a claim on your behalf.

We offer you a free no-obligation consultation. If after a review of your case we believe you could be due a pay-out we can represent you on a ‘No Win-No Fee’ basis.

What financial products can be mis-sold?

You may have grounds for a financial mis-selling claim if you have lost money because:

• You were sold a financial product that was not suitable for you
• You were not given a proper explanation about the risks of an investment or pension
• You were not given enough information to enable you to make an informed decision about the financial product
• A financial services provider has failed to give you a competent level of service
• You have bought goods or a service using finance or a credit card, and you believe the goods or service was misrepresented to you at the point of sale (for instance, if you bought solar panels which are under-performing)

Grounds for making a claim

Where negligence can be proved it is possible to make a claim.

Some of the common mistakes that can give rise to successful claims are:

• Failing to correctly assess the risk profile of an investor when selling a regulated service or product
• Selecting investment products or funds with excessive risk
• Failing to warn of, or mis-representing, the risks associated with an investment product or other service or goods
• The failure of an IFA to disclose a conflict of interest, e.g. a financial interest in a recommendation or transaction, such as receiving commission on the sale of a product
• Promoting investments in unregulated collective investments schemes in the absence of a recognised exemption

Losing money on an investment, other financial product, service or goods does not give grounds for a compensation claim on its own. If however you were mis-advised and the adviser failed to follow the FCA code of conduct or there is negligent/deceptive conduct, the situation is different and a claim may be possible.

How to claim and what happens if the company has gone out of business?

Depending on your personal circumstances and the extent of the loss you have suffered, you may be entitled to make a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). The FOS can provide an efficient mechanism for resolving lower value complaints, particularly ones that are relatively straight forward. However, it is less suitable for larger and/or complicated matters and you will not usually be entitled to recover compensation for any legal costs that you incur as part of the complaints process.

If your claim is about negligent advice from an FCA regulated firm, which is insolvent and has been declared as being ‘in default’, you may be able to make a claim against the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). While this is a statutory body, which is both independent and free to access, there are relatively modest limits placed on the amount of compensation that it can award.

Unfortunately, neither of the above options are likely to be available to you if your financial product was sold to you by an unauthorised financial adviser or a business that is not regulated. An unauthorised financial adviser, also referred to as an unregulated financial adviser, is one that is not recorded on the Financial Services Register, which itself comprises a list of all those firms and individuals that have been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to undertake regulated financial activities.

Where recourse to either the FOS or FSCS is either not appropriate or not possible, many claims are commenced by correspondence and by following the procedures set out in the Pre-Action Protocol for Professional Negligence. While in some cases it may also be necessary to institute court proceedings, a considerable number of claims are resolved without the need to do so.

If your claim is about a product you purchased using finance, then Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act will protect you as long as you paid more than £100 using a finance agreement or credit card. The credit card company or finance provider is jointly liable for any breach of contract or misrepresentation made by the seller, even if that sales company has ceased trading.

The advantages of instructing a solicitor

You are not obliged to instruct a solicitor to advise and represent you in a claim against a financial adviser, but it is usually sensible to do so. Professional negligence claims against financial advisers are often complicated and time consuming and a successful outcome can very much depend on the way in which a claim is prepared and pursued.

Funding claims

Before embarking on any professional negligence claim it is imperative to consider how it will be funded. In comparison to other more routine forms of litigation, professional negligence claims can be more complicated, more time-consuming and more costly to resolve.

Fortunately, there are a number of ways to fund litigation. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages and can be more or less suitable, depending on individual circumstances.

We typically work on a no win no fee basis for most claims. How the claim is to be funded will be discussed in the initial consultation.

Specialist legal advice

If you are contemplating making, or even currently pursuing, a professional negligence claim against a financial adviser and would like to arrange an initial consultation with us, free of charge or commitment, please do not hesitate to contact us