When my small pension investment matured I withdrew 25% and reinvested the balance in an ARF with the same company. This was described as a deposit with a named building society with a specified interest rate. The term of the investment was year to year.
Imagine my surprise when I received my annual statement which showed that the pension company had withheld about 10% of my money (about €1,200), and only put the balance on deposit. I should mention at this stage that the company levied its "management" fee on the entire 100% of my money.
When I took this matter up with the pension company it said that the sum withheld was to cover their fees and the levy. However, when I pointed out to the company that the total of their fees and levy came to less than €300 it became very defensive and referred me to the voluminous (and incomprehensible) literature it had sent me after its agent had persuaded my to reinvest my money in this ARF.
Of course, the net effect of this apparent sleight of hand is to give me an interest rate return materially less than the return represented to me in the company's promotional material.
I feel angry and cheated. Is this sort of thing normal practice? Is there anything I can do to step out this practice? I have only lost about €35 net, so it is hardly worth my time and effort going to the FSO (who friends in the financial industry assure me is a waste of time anyway and who wouldn't address the systemic issue - only my isolated complaint)
Imagine my surprise when I received my annual statement which showed that the pension company had withheld about 10% of my money (about €1,200), and only put the balance on deposit. I should mention at this stage that the company levied its "management" fee on the entire 100% of my money.
When I took this matter up with the pension company it said that the sum withheld was to cover their fees and the levy. However, when I pointed out to the company that the total of their fees and levy came to less than €300 it became very defensive and referred me to the voluminous (and incomprehensible) literature it had sent me after its agent had persuaded my to reinvest my money in this ARF.
Of course, the net effect of this apparent sleight of hand is to give me an interest rate return materially less than the return represented to me in the company's promotional material.
I feel angry and cheated. Is this sort of thing normal practice? Is there anything I can do to step out this practice? I have only lost about €35 net, so it is hardly worth my time and effort going to the FSO (who friends in the financial industry assure me is a waste of time anyway and who wouldn't address the systemic issue - only my isolated complaint)