Petition Launched To Ban Pension Cold-Calling
A petition has been launched to ban cold-calling to sell pensions and investments, with 2,997 signatures already on it at the time of writing. Once 10,000 signatures have been reached the government will respond to the petition and at 100,000 signatures it will be considered for debate in Parliament.
As the petition itself explains, cold calling practices to members of the general public can lead to unregulated investment and scams. Banning it would reduce the numbers of those who do fall victim to fraudsters dramatically, thus preventing them from losing their savings and pensions.
City of London Police figures, obtained by investment firm AJ Bell, show that £13.3 million worth of pension fraud was reported to the force in the first six months after then-chancellor George Osborne’s reforms were brought in back in April last year. This is one-quarter more than was originally estimated, meaning that this kind of fraud has climbed 146 per cent.
Tom Selby, senior analyst with the company, was quoted by the Daily Express as saying that this spike in fraud is serious and means misery for thousands of people in the UK, adding: “Yet the government continues to sit on its hands when it comes to taking meaningful action to deter scammers.”
Mr Selby has joined others, including Baroness Ros Altmann, the former pensions minister, to call on the government to ban this kind of cold calling, saying that it could make a huge impact where the fight against pension fraud is concerned. “Total UK losses from pension-related fraud run into hundreds of millions. This does untold damage to both the victims and the reputation of pensions as a whole. Prime Minister Theresa May should strengthen the government’s response to the threat of pension scams,” Mr Selby continued.
Earlier this year, Citizens Advice research found that almost 11 million consumers in the UK had received a text or cold call regarding their pension, with up to 2.4 million of those aged between the ages of 55 and 64. Interestingly, the majority who were contacted were offered pension advice but when presented with a fake pension offer most were unable to spot the signs of a pension scam – which include suggestions of a free pension review or promises of high investment returns.
Once you’ve transferred your pension into a scam, it’s usually too late for anything to be done about it so it’s vital that you’re vigilant in this regard. Signs that someone is a scammer include mentions of one-off investments, upfront cash incentives, legal loopholes or time bound offers, as well as promising you access to your pension before you hit 55.
Protect yourself by checking the company in question is on the Financial Conduct Authority register and be on your guard if you’re approached out of the blue since reputable companies don’t usually make unsolicited calls.