Argent Wealth Ltd was a financial advice firm based in Houghton Le Spring.
They also traded as Orchard Financial Planners, Morley James Asset Management, Lifestyle Wealth Management and Carlton Smith Private Wealth.
Argent Wealth Ltd were liquidated and declared in default by the FSCS in January 2022.
They are one of several firms associated with claims regarding the British Steel Pension Scheme.
In June last year they were told to compensate a client after the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) found its advice to transfer out of the BSPS was “insufficiently compelling” and should not have gone ahead.
In 2017, British Steel Pension Scheme members were asked to decide about the future of their pensions, as part of a restructure of the scheme.
This saw around 8,000 members transferring out of the scheme, to a collective value of £2.8bn. Many were advised to transfer into a private pension arrangement or Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP).
Unfortunately, this advice was not the best advice for most British Steel Pension Scheme members.
Transferring from a Defined Benefit (DB) pension, like BSPS, into a private pension arrangement meant many would lose the benefits they had built up in the British Steel Pension Scheme.
It may not have been realistic to achieve the same level of benefits from the new plan.
The FSCS confirmed that they had received 17 claims against Argent Wealth which it is currently investigating, relating to pension transfer advice.
Eight of these claims are in respect of the British Steel Pension Scheme.
If you received pension advice from Argent Wealth now is the time to check if you have a case to claim compensation for mis-selling.
The BAD News:
Pension mis-selling has cost pension savers BILLIONS of pounds.
The GOOD news:
Compensation payments are hitting record figures every year.
Our free initial assessment can tell you if we think you have a case and what you can do about it.
Have a brief chat with one of our friendly assessors who will happily answer all your questions and let you know where you stand.
We are mis-selling experts with years of experience assisting people with successful claims.
We are 100% pension mis-selling claims
We win more than 9 out of 10 complaints
Our fee is 15% +VAT on the total monies offered for a successful claim and is capped at £7,500 +VAT
There is no charge for unsuccessful claims
You are not required to use our services to pursue your claim. You can also seek further advice or shop around subject to any time limits within which a claim must be made.
It is possible for you to present the claim for free, either to the firm or person against whom you wish to complain or to the statutory ombudsman (Financial Ombudsman Service or Pension Ombudsman Service) or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, whichever is applicable to your claim.