Kevin Corns from Dudley got back £6,000 from Halifax

In 1997 Kevin had built up a lump sum by saving regularly and his local Halifax branch suggested he speak with a financial adviser to discuss the options he had for his money.

Kevin was advised to invest £6,000 into a Personal Equity Plan (PEP) as the adviser told him that it was a tax free investment that could grow over the years. He had never invested before and happily agreed to do as the adviser recommended.

Kevin left the investment in place for almost 7 years before cashing it in and received back just £5,027 – losing almost £1,000. Kevin remembered the adviser telling him that he could potentially lose money and thought it was ‘just one of those things’. However, Kevin heard Goodwin Barrett’s ad on the radio and contacted us to see if this was something we could help with. We discussed Kevin’s personal and financial circumstances when he invested and believed that he had been wrongly advised. Halifax advised Kevin to invest into the UK Growth Fund which invested solely into shares. This was too high in risk for a first time investor and Kevin should have been advised to take a lower level of risk.

We submitted our claim to Halifax and explained why we felt Kevin was advised wrongly. They agreed and admitted Kevin should have invested in a fund with less risk and agreed to pay him £6,063 calculated in accordance with the regulatory guidelines.