Mr Shaw explained to his adviser at NatWest that he did not want to take risks with his money when the bank approached him about investing some of his savings.
He was recommended a Guaranteed Investment Bond where the value of the capital cannot dip despite stock market fluctuations. He invested £16,000 in 2005 and was very disappointed when three years later he got back his initial investment with only £80 interest.
When we looked into his circumstances at the time of the sale it soon became clear that the advice to invest into the bond was not suitable. His risk profile had been incorrectly assessed and the plan had not been explained correctly. No advice was given in respect of his outstanding mortgage and no mention was made of penalties when the plan ended.
Our report to NatWest resulted in a payment of £3,700 being made to a very happy customer.