AEGON SIPP (PO-7334)

Ombudsman’s Determination and reasons

I agree that part of Mr N’s complaint against AEGON should be upheld, but there is a part of the complaint I do not agree with. To put matters right, AEGON shall pay Mr N £1,000 in recognition of the distress and inconvenience caused to him by delay in authorising his instructions and £199.90 for the “loss interest” on the £20K transferred to the Barclays Wealth brokerage account in September 2012.

My reasons for reaching this view are explained in more detail below.

Complaint summary

Mr N complains that AEGON and Capita did not follow his instructions on a timely basis to:

• approve a new stockbroker, Barclays Wealth, for the SIPP which prevented him from making potentially profitable investments based on their advice; and
• transfer cash into a new Barclays bank deposit account he had opened within the SIPP which offered a higher rate of interest.