Equitable Life

The Treasury's handling of Equitable Life policyholders' compensation has been "unacceptable poor" and hindered by "delays and spiralling costs", the Public Accounts Committee will say later.

The Treasury has admitted destroying a disc which contained the details of 350,000 Equitable Life victims' names and addresses.

The Treasury has claimed that the Equitable Life payments scheme is on track to close on schedule in 2014, despite claims it has been hit by delays and mistakes.

Severe delays and errors have hit the payment scheme set up by government to compensate victims of Equitable Life, a report from the National Audit Office (NAO) has found.

FIVE THINGS

Pensioner pressure groups have mounted campaigns in Eastleigh in a bid to capture attention as national media focus on the shock by-election.

An IFA is planning to raise with the Financial Services Authority (FSA) concerns he has that some closed fund companies are not treating customers fairly.

The Equitable Life payment scheme has made payments to 288,823 policyholders, totalling at more than £277m, since its launch in June 2011.

Eight in ten Equitable Life savers who were promised compensation are unhappy due to ongoing delays receiving their payments, a survey suggests.

SAVIOUR