Subject

Mr Finney’s complaint against Scottish Life is that they provided him with incorrect policy valuations. He asks that they honour the value they had led him to believe that he had since 2008.

The Deputy Pensions Ombudsman’s determination and short reasons

The complaint should be upheld against Scottish Life because they underpaid the transfer value that was due and have also sent Mr Finney a number of erroneous statements over the years. However Mr Finney has no entitlement to a transfer value greater than that which was available under the Plan.

Subject

Mr Blacker complains that Prudential’s sales representative improperly persuaded him to pay additional voluntary contributions (AVCs) to Prudential. He alleges that the sales representative’s advice was heavily weighted in favour of AVCs rather than Past Added Years (PAY).

The Pensions Ombudsman’s determination and short reasons

The complaint should not be upheld against Prudential because there is no evidence that injustice was caused to Mr Blacker as a result of any maladministration on the part of Prudential.

Subject

Mr Townley would like the Trustees to honour the pension statement issued to him in 2006, by Capita, as he took decisions based on the statement, which cannot be reversed.

The Deputy Pensions Ombudsman’s determination and short reasons

The complaint should be upheld against the Trustees because the incorrect statement raised Mr Townley’s expectations and as a result he has suffered distress and inconvenience.

Complaint summary

Dr Crawford’s complaint is that she was:

PENSION SCHEMES ACT 1993, PART X

DETERMINATION BY THE DEPUTY PENSIONS OMBUDSMAN

Subject

Mrs M’s complaint against the Trustee is that it provided her with incorrect information about the application of the State Pension Deduction to her pension. In addition, the Trustee has not correctly applied and misinterpreted the provisions of the rules to the Scheme.

The Deputy Pensions Ombudsman’s determination and short reasons

Complaint Summary

Mr Moynihan complains that Prudential’s sales representative improperly persuaded him to pay additional voluntary contributions (AVCs) to Prudential. He also alleges that the sales representative did not inform him that he could purchase past added years (PAY) in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme.

Complaint summary

Mrs Fewings has complained that Capita Hartshead, the former scheme administrator, provided incorrect information resulting in the overpayment of her pension benefits, which she is now required to repay.

Summary of the Ombudsman’s determination and reasons

The complaint should be upheld against MyCSP, the new scheme administrator, because Mrs Fewings relied on the overpayment in good faith and changed her position to the extent that it would not be equitable to require her to repay the money.

Subject

My Civil Service Pensions (My CSP) provided an incorrect pension quotation on which Mr Hession decided to retire.

Summary of the Deputy Pensions Ombudsman’s determination and reasons

The complaint should be partly upheld against My CSP.  Errors were made when calculating Mr Hession’s final retirement benefits.  Although I am unable to conclude on balance that he would not have retired anyway, the level of compensation for distress and inconvenience should be higher than the sum currently offered.

Complaint Summary

Mr Reynolds has complained that the Trustees gave him incorrect information about his early retirement benefits which he relied upon to his detriment. He says that the compensation they have offered him for their errors and for having to pursue his complaint with them was insufficient.

Complaint Summary

Mrs Horsnell has complained that she was given wrong and misleading advice concerning the tax status of a redundancy payment that was paid into the Scheme.

Summary of the Ombudsman’s determination and reasons

The complaint should be upheld to the extent that Mrs Horsnell has incurred some unnecessary fees and distress.  However, she has not suffered a direct financial loss.