Fund charges - important information
We’ve identified some minor errors in the charges that were applied to a number of our unit-linked life and pension funds. We’re sorry that this happened.
We’ve carried out a comprehensive review of our processes to minimise the chances of a similar problem happening again. Additional quality assurance controls have been put in place and the errors have been resolved.
We've followed industry guidelines laid down by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) when working out and correcting the errors, and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has been kept fully informed.
In June 2008 we began writing to all our customers who are due a refund of £10 or more. The final phase of this mailing runs from early December 2008 and will finish early in 2009. The average refund is under £35 per policy. Less than 3% of Scottish Widows’ four million customers are affected. Some customers will receive a unit adjustment to their policy, while others will be sent a cheque. Any customers who benefited from our error will keep their gain.
Customers and their advisers do not need to take any action.
Policies where the overcharge is small (under £10) won’t receive an automatic refund. This is in line with ABI (Association of British Insurers) guidelines which recognise that, in circumstances like this, it’s not practical to make small refunds. Instead we intend to donate the money to charity. This way, Scottish Widows won’t benefit from the errors. The charities chosen, following customer research, are Save the Children, Shelter and Help the Aged. If any customer affected by this decision is unhappy with our approach we will, of course, reimburse them directly.
Help & Assistance
We’ve set up dedicated helplines for any queries:
0845 716 6720 Customers and Advisers
0845 716 6759 Employers, Trustees and Scheme Members
The helplines will be open from 8am-6pm Monday to Friday, and 9am-12.30pm Saturday.
0131 655 7693 Fax number
Media enquiries should be directed to the Scottish Widows Press Office on 0131 655 6818
Any written correspondence should be addressed to:
Scottish Widows plc
PO Box 28097
15 Dalkeith Road
Edinburgh EH16 5GW
