In Focus: When things go wrong  

How a bad investment decision has devastated my life

Jenkins' Sipp, along with others in Rowanmoor's books, were sold to Alltrust in March 2023.

"I feel let down by the companies and organisation who are out there to protect my interests and they continue to fail me and this includes Rowanmoor, now Alltrust, the Fos, FSCS and the FCA, and I’m exhausted by it all.

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"TRG dictate when and how payment will be made and if they don’t want to make the payment Rowanmoor/Alltrust seem helpless other than to accept it.

'I feel let down by the companies and organisation who are out there to protect my interests' (Carmen Reichman)

"It took well over a year for the Fos to rule against Rowanmoor. I had submitted my claim to the Fos 18 months before Rowanmoor went into administration. I had a few months of hope that this was going to be all over for me.

"Under the Fos, I would get the majority of Steve’s investment back and perhaps get rid of the asset so I would have to pay no more Sipp fees, or at least get some compensation to cover the ongoing fees.

"But no, Rowanmoor was allowed to collapse and I was back to square one again, anxious and worried what to do next and angry with those who allowed this to happen.

"Now I’m waiting for a decision from the FSCS to see if they will rule against Rowanmoor. However, I’ll only get a maximum of £85,000 and I’ll still have the asset and Sipp fees to worry about."

Rowanmoor told Jenkins in February that TRG had agreed to put a payment plan in place from July 2023. It has been unable to confirm the structure of this payment plan but told Jenkins it would be handled by her new Sipp provider Alltrust.

But Alltrust told FTAdviser it was not aware of any details of such a payment plan at this stage and that it had only taken over the Sipp book, not the trustee company Rowanmoor Trustees Limited, which was in administration and would handle issues dating back to before March 3.

James Floyd, managing director of Alltrust, said: "We are committed to providing the best possible service to our clients, including Mrs Jenkins. We will continue to do whatever we can to assist her during this challenging time.

"The issues Mrs Jenkins has raised regarding the perceived failure of companies and organisations to protect her interests are related to processes set up in 2018.

"While we understand her frustration, these processes are beyond our control and should be directed to Rowanmoor Trustees Limited."

He added: "While we cannot discuss the specifics of a client's pension, we can confirm that for assets currently held with the FSCS, we do not pursue fees. This is in line with our commitment to ensuring fair treatment for all our clients."