She held all of her retirement savings in a private pension fund valued at around £36,000. She was inexperienced with financial dealings and was reliant upon this money for her future retirement. As a result, she required a low risk pension option which would keep her capital secure.
She was contacted by a company who advised that she could achieve significantly better returns by transferring the full amount to a Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) with Berkeley Burke.
She agreed to the transfer and Berkeley Burke then allowed the SIPP to be invested into teak tree plantations in Brazil. This was a high risk, unregulated and speculative form of pension investment. Ms C has not received any return on this investment and the fund is now illiquid. The prospects of her receiving any sort of return on the SIPP are deemed to be low.
We are currently representing her in a no win, no fee claim against Berkeley Burke to recover the full capital amount that she invested, plus interest. We are claiming compensation of over £36,000.