After a six-month search, I admit defeat

Mrs V.R. writes: My husband took out two annuity policies in 1980 with Property Growth Pensions & Annuities Limited, based in Croydon. I understand Barclays Life took the company over and we have tried to contact it, but to no avail. THIS is a classic case of companies merging, being bought out, changing name – and leaving customers downright confused.

The Croydon company did become part of Barclays Life.

This in turn became BL Telford Limited, run by a different company called ReAssure, itself controlled by the giant Swiss Re. But not all policies followed this chain of events.

I traced your husband’s annuity policies to yet another company, Phoenix Group.

Phoenix helpfully dug through old records to find that in May 2000 both policies – worth £22,707 – were transferred yet again, this time to MGM Assurance.

MGM Assurance no longer exists as such. Part of it is now called Retirement Advantage, but lots of the business was transferred to Scottish Friendly.

This rang a bell and you found your husband is receiving £134 a month from Scottish Friendly.

It told me this was just one of your husband’s policies, so I tried Retirement Advantage which is now part of Canada Life.

It even engaged an outside firm to scour the databases of companies and policies it had absorbed, but we hit a dead end.

There was no trace of your husband, so after six months of searching, I have to admit defeat.

It illustrates how important it is for all of us not to lose touch with any investment firm, or to rely on it still being in business decades after we trusted it with our cash.