Treasury - Fifth Report

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Here you can browse the report together with the Proceedings of the Committee. The published report was ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 25 February 2004.

CONTENTS

Terms of Reference

Summary

1 Introduction

2 Endowment mortgages

The product

With-profits policies

The role of the tax system

Projected investment returns and the role of actuaries

Conclusions

3 Endowment Mortgage Mis-selling

Regulatory action on mis-selling

The scale of mis-selling

Changes needed in the regulatory environment

Tackling the underlying issues that encourage mis-selling

4 Shortfalls

Asset allocation and poor investment returns

Actions taken to keep customers informed

The current scale of the shortfall problem

The position of policyholders in closed funds

Aligning company and consumer interests

5 Advice to consumers

Advice on dealing with a shortfall

Advice on financial services generally

6 Complaints and compensation

The complaint and compensation process

Level of complaints and compensation

Time limits

Companies' complaints handling processes

Complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service

7 Conclusions

Lessons for the future

Conclusions and recommendations

Formal minutes

Witnesses

List of written evidence

List of Reports from the Treasury Committee since 2001

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Prepared 11 March 2004