In Focus: When things go wrong  

Case study: I felt encouraged by the govt to transfer my pension

Davis says he thought investing his pension in this way was what the government wanted him to do. 

He maintains that when he called his civil service pension provider he was told there was no legitimate reason for him not to transfer and that many other people were doing it. Then his pension was transferred out.

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The government maintains there was plenty of advice available for people thinking to transfer their pensions. It also introduced Pension Wise, a free pension guidance provider, to help people make financial decisions, something the government deems to be their own responsibility.

Davis says he wanted a better income in retirement but he was always looking for stability and guarantees.  

Taking on a lot of extra risk was never part of the equation, and the way Davis says the investment was sold was not as more risky, just different, and more appropriate for his retirement needs.

Aitchison did mention the risk of investment returns fluctuating, just as they would do with his existing pension.

Davis invested £110,000, of which £78,500 was put in two fractional ownership shares in an off-plan hotel development in the White Sands resort in 2014.

As the resort was not yet operational, Davis was offered an agreed percentage return on his investment until the resort opened, at which point he would be rolled into the rental programme, when returns would depend on the occupancy of the rooms.

However, the shares were then switched to a single fractional share in an apartment in Llana Beach, a different resort that was to open sooner, and £32,000 was invested in another fractional share in Llana in July 2015.

Once rental income started on his £32,000 Llana Beach investment in April 2016, the first to become operational, returns were not as he had expected.

Covid-19 had made the investors' situation worse, as hotels were unable to operate, which created huge backlogs for payments and disagreements over when and why fees should be paid.

Many investors like Davis decided to stop paying the fees associated with their investment during that time.

TRG did not comment on Davis's allegations but says it has now reached an agreement with the Cape Verde government that will secure funding for the completion of the White Sands resort, which it dubbed as a "turning point for investors", pending satisfactory due diligence of the project.

"We have consistently promised that we will deliver White Sands," says founder and executive chairman of TRG Rob Jarrett. "This is an important turning point for all stakeholders in White Sands, our clients, our own team and not least for the people of Cape Verde."