5 Porkies Your Pension Companies Use!

Ever have trouble reaching your pension company, getting a valuation or any information regarding your policy? We have a superwoman whose job it is to put up with all the hurdles and naughty tactics that your pension companies (some of which are still only using a fax machine!) use to try and make our life as difficult as they make yours. Here are just five of the shocking tales that make their way back to us in our reports:

1) I never received/ we have lost the form

This is one we actually get quite frequently. In order to get any information we must first submit a form. Frequently we are told that they have received the form and request and will provide us with the information within ten working days. When the information hasn't been sent to us and we call to chase them they say that they never received the original or they have lost it. Luckily we track and record everything so after escalating it with evidence we get what we are after usually within hours. Before we implemented our tracking system, one company had claimed to have lost or misplaced this form a total of twelve times!

2) What pension?

On more than one occasion we have been told by the pension company that the client does not hold a pension with them. Luckily we are ready for these sorts of claims and present them with evidence to the contrary at which point the pension has mysteriously surfaced. We wonder what happens when clients take their initial word for it...

3) You have the wrong department, let me put you through

Our superwoman has two open lines as she is placed on hold for so long so often. Their hope is that we will eventually give up! Once we deal with a pension company once she details the direct line and contact to sidestep this painful tactic every time we go back to them in the future. On one occasion it was nearly a whole hour of painful hold music that could only have been composed to get the client to hang up!

4) The multiplier

One pension company somehow managed to have built a clients pension across 14 sub plans making it impossible for us to narrow down exactly what fees were being charged and where.

5) Beware of pension scams...

More often then not, when we receive your valuation we will also get information saying 'Beware of pension scams' with images of scorpions on it. This will also be sent to the client. Recently a client had spent seven months trying to get a valuation and information on his pension plan. When we got in touch to get the information on his behalf he received one page of basic information regarding his pension accompanied by 14 pages of warnings regarding pension scams...

If you would like our superwoman to help you get information regarding your UK pension plan(s) please email: superwoman