Financial Advisor and Mortgage Broker Negligence

Duncan Lewis Professional Negligence Solicitors – Financial Advisor and Mortgage Broker Negligence Claims

Independent financial advisers (IFAs) who provide a negligent service and mortgage brokers who have mis-sold mortgages can cause clients real hardship.

Many consumers rely on the advice they receive from IFAs and mortgage brokers to ensure their future financial security, so negligent advice from a financial advisor and/or mortgage broker can cause lasting financial damage, including wrong advice on financial products, investments and mortgages.

Claims against financial advisors and mortgage brokers might also involve an IFA or mortgage broker who made an error in calculations – or who mis-sold an investment product or mortgage.

Financial advisors and mortgage brokers usually work on a commission basis – and so the incentive to sell as many financial products as possible can be a driving force in giving the wrong advice about investments or mortgages, whether this was intentional or not.

Mis-sold pensions investments, for example, usually last for the duration of a client’s working life – and it may not be until years after the initial advice and investment that a client realises they have been given negligent advice from a financial advisor or mortgage broker.

Suing banks for mis-sold investment products and mortgages

Financial advisors and mortgage brokers working for trusted high street lenders also work on a commission basis – and although many work to a high professional level when offering advice on financial products, cases of mis-selling of investment products and mortgages resulting in financial loss for clients are not unknown among major lenders such as high street banks.

The controversy over endowment mortgages is one example of where a mortgage client might have been mis-led about a financial product that turns out not to be suitable for their needs years later.

Another example of mis-sold investment scandals centres on the mis-selling of long-term investment bonds to elderly investors and SMEs.

In cases of IFAs, mortgage brokers and high street lenders like banks mis-selling financial products, it may be possible to make a compensation claim if the claim involves a client:

• Being sold a product without the financial advisor or mortgage broker fully explaining the costs involved
• Being sold a financial product which is unaffordable for a client’s personal circumstances
• Being sold a financial product without being advised of the risks of the investment
• Being sold a financial product without being aware the financial advisor or mortgage broker is receiving commission
• Being sold a financial product by an “independent” financial advisor or mortgage broker who is acting as an agent for an investment company or lender (eg is working for an “independent” financial firm which is part of another company and promotes their products without disclosing this) and sells the product regardless of whether it is suitable for a client.

In cases where an individual or business is sold and investment product or mortgage by an IFA or mortgage broker who is negligent and cause them financial loss, Duncan Lewis professional negligence solicitors can advise on making a financial advisor and mortgage broker negligence claim.

Making a Claim for Mis-sold Mortgages or Mis-sold Financial Products

Clients who suffer financial loss or other loss as a result of an independent financial advisor who is negligent or a mortgage broker who is negligent accountant who is negligent should first make a complaint through the accountancy firm’s own complaints handling procedure (CHP).

In cases where an IFA or a mortgage broker may have gone out of business or been taken over by another company, the Financial Conduct Authority deals with consumer complaints about financial services companies such as mortgage brokers and financial advisors.

Clients considering suing a financial advisor or a mortgage broker for professional negligence have six years from the date of the event constituting negligence – or three years from the date they first realised negligence had occurred – in which to make a claim.

Because of the complexity of suing financial advisors and mortgage brokers – and proving that they failed in their duty of care towards a client or acted negligently in carrying out their duties – Duncan Lewis professional negligence solicitors advise clients whose IFA or mortgage broker has let them down to get in touch as soon as an issue occurs for an assessment of their case.

Duncan Lewis professional negligence solicitors are a leading firm of claims solicitors – and can instruct financial experts as expert witnesses in cases of IFA negligence or mortgage broker negligence, if required.

Funding Professional Negligence Claims for Mis-sold Mortgages and Mis-sold Investment Products

Duncan Lewis offers Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) funding to clients making professional negligence claims, with a fixed fee for the initial client meeting and assessment of the claim, so our clients know in advance what they will be paying.

If you are a business or private individual whose financial advisor or mortgage broker has given wrong advice leading to financial loss, call Duncan Lewis Professional Negligence Solicitors for more information about making a compensation claim for financial advisor or mortgage broker negligence on 020 7923 4020