Self-starter: Meet the adviser with a DIY complaints long-stop

LONG-STOP

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As the Association of IFAs (AIFA) lobbies politicians and regulators for the re-introduction of a long-stop on complaints, one adviser has implemented a scheme of his own...

Phil Castle, managing director of Financial Escape, asks his client to sign a terms of business (ToB) agreement which specifically says it will rely on a 15-year limit during which the client must review the advice they were given. It also provides background to the issue, including the efforts by AIFA and Adviser Alliance to challenge the Financial Ombudsman Service to accept complaints after 15 years. The passage in the ToB relating to complaints runs as follows: "You have a responsibility to: 1. Bring a claim for damages within six years of the date when the transaction complain...

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