You have only yourself to blame for this £2,500 loss
R.C. writes: I was advised by JNF Capital that it could make me a lot of money. I pointed out that I am unemployed and in a wheelchair – paralysed from the chest down after an accident – and rely on personal injury compensation.
I invested £5,000 and lost half within a matter of weeks. I complained that JNF Capital had given bad advice, but the boss said the company was not liable. IT WAS hard to read your letter and not be sympathetic. To lose £2,500 in a short time is bad news for anyone, but your circumstances emphasised the loss. Of course, simply losing money on an investment is not in itself grounds for complaint. I explained to you that a lot depended on what you told JNF Capital about your financial situation and your willingness to take risks.
You told me that you were called out of the blue by JNF Capital. You completed a fact find, answering questions about your finances and attitude to risk. But you added that you had no copy of this and when you answered the questions you were unwell and on medication. What was clear, though, was that you were investing in short-term movements in the FTSE 100 Index. This is a risky area, unsuitable for most ordinary investors because a lot of money can be lost quickly.
It was only when I contacted Jonathan Green, head of JNF Capital, that it became clear you are no ordinary investor after all.
Your accident took place more than 30 years ago. You then studied for an accountancy qualification and you worked as an accountant until retiring three years ago. You have been an active investor since 1989, and in recent years you have used several different broking firms to trade in exactly the sort of investments offered by JNF Capital.
You have built an investment portfolio worth £650,000 and your income from this and from property is more than £30,000 a year, on top of which you have disability allowances of almost £5,000.
All these facts, which you have confirmed to me, are relevant. None was mentioned in your letter. Nor did you mention a fact revealed by Green, which was that his staff repeatedly explained the risks and advised you not to part with more than £2,100. You chose to invest £5,000. Despite all this, it would not be right to market this sort of highrisk deal by cold calling, so I pressed the point with JNF Capital.
It was hard to imagine that this firm, authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, hit on an investor like you, with experience and capital, purely by chance. It replied that its call was in response to an enquiry you made after seeing an advert on social media.
So let me repeat: simply losing money on an investment is not enough to justify a complaint. You are an experienced investor, and no matter what tips are offered by any broker, you know enough to make decisions yourself and then to take the credit if you win, or the responsibility if you lose. If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, Room 301, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.