INVESTMENT RIP-OFF
With interest rates at an all time low, you may be considering a stockmarket investment - but think twice before taking advice from your bank, says Michelle Barrett, Operations Director of Goodwin Barrett, a financial claims company.
It seems the moment someone pays in the proceeds of an inheritance, pension payout or other windfall, the bank staff are on to customers pestering them to seek financial advice from their ‘experts’.
“You need to be really careful you don’t get robbed at the bank counter. Don’t be taken in by the smooth talking cashier or customer adviser promising all sorts, they are doing nothing more than daylight robbery by selling you risky underperforming investments” says Michelle Barrett.
Bad financial advice
The consumer group Which investigated the investment advice given by banks and building so- cieties and found serious flaws in what customers were being told.
The majority recommended inappropriate products without properly explaining the risks.
Elderly bank customers are particularly vulnerable in their bid to boost retirement income. William Thornley from Bolton was aged 64 when he was persuaded to invest £50,000 into a risky 5 year plan. He lost over £15,000 when he cashed it in. “I was shocked and could not believe what happened to me” he said.
Many financial advisers recommend products which offer a guarantee of at least getting back your initial capital. Customers are often lured into thistype of product without really understanding the underlying risks.
But even if stockmarkets do plummet and you get your capital back, that doesn’t mean you haven’t been ripped off.
Michelle Barrett says “What customers often fail to realise is that even if you get back the money you invested – you have still lost. You have not had the opportunity of earning the interest from a normal savings account and inflation haseroded the true value of your money” In the words of Which “When it comes to investing your money, getting good advice is vital. Unfortunately, if you visit a high street bank, it’s something you’re highly unlikely to receive”.