Pension cold calls are now illegal

We welcomed some very positive news this week, legislation has come into force which makes it illegal for companies to cold call you about your pensions.
Companies breaking this law could face fines of up to £500,000.
It’s an important change in the law because pension fraud has such a devastating, lasting impact on its victims, leaving them financially vulnerable in retirement.
The UK government has taken action to ban pension cold calls because these are one of the most common methods used by scammers to gather information about pensions and then defraud their victims.
The Money Advice Service is a body set up by government to give free, impartial money advice.
The Money Advice Service said in October 2015 there could be as many as 250 million scam calls about pensions every year in the UK.
Our regulator the Financial Conduct Authority has said that these fraudsters stole on average £91,000 from each victim in 2017.
Our guidance to anyone on the receiving a cold call about their pensions should try to obtain as much information as they can about the caller, including their company name and phone number.
This information should then be reported to the Information Commissioner on 0303 123 1113 or via their website at https://ico.org.uk/
If you think you have been the victim of a pension scam, you should report it to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040 or via their website at Action Fraud
It’s also important to take immediate action if you think you’ve been targeted by a pension scammer. Call your existing pension provider immediately to tell them you are worried as they may be able to stop any transfer of monies.
Always check that any financial adviser is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. You can do this by checking the Financial Services Register at Search Financial Services Register
Only by working with an authorised and regulated adviser do you get recourse to the Financial Ombudsman Service and Financial Services Compensation Scheme, should things go wrong.
As always, we are happy to speak to anyone who is considering a transaction or transfer that you feel is not quite right.