Investment fraud is financially devastating and emotionally distressing. It can harm your mental health and have a lasting impact on your life.
If you have been affected by investment fraud, the good news is that you might be able to get some, or all your money back. At KP Law, our expert Investment Fraud & Mis-Selling team can help you get back what you are due. We may even be able to claim additional compensation for any trouble and upset you’ve experienced. But where does the money come from?
Investment fraud funds
There are two key services available to help victims of investment fraud and mis-selling:
Financial Services Compensation Scheme
If you were advised to invest and the provider or adviser (e.g. bank, building society, credit union, financial advisor, insurance company, investment company, pension scheme) has since gone out of business, you may have a claim with the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
The FSCS exists to protect consumers when financial firms fail. If a UK-regulated adviser has given bad advice concerning an investment or a pension, and the provider or advisor has since gone out of business, the FSCS may be able to help.
The FSCS can pay compensation up to £85,000.
Financial Ombudsman Service
If you were advised to make an unsuitable investment and the firm/advisor has not gone out of business, you may be eligible for compensation via the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). When looking at your complaint, the FOS will examine your case’s specific circumstances. As well as reviewing the information you provide, it will also consider the points put forward by the advisor/provider.
Before pursuing a complaint with the FOS, KP Law will first allow the financial business to respond and put things right. If the FOS upholds your complaint, it will tell the advisor/provider what it needs to do. This could take the form of financial compensation.
Other ways to get your money back
As well as the FSCS and the FOS, there are other avenues to pursue after becoming the victim of investment fraud. They include:
Getting your money back from the bank
Depending on the nature of the fraud, your bank might reimburse you.
If you did not authorise the payment, banks must refund victims in full if they have not been grossly negligent. In addition, many banks have adopted the contingent reimbursement model (CRM), a code of practice designed to help victims of authorised push payment (APP) scams get their money back (if they have acted appropriately). Push payment fraudsters trick you into thinking you are making a payment to someone you can trust.
However, many banks are still reluctant to refund victims of financial scams and often find reasons not to refund victims. If you are refused your money back, you can complain to the Ombudsman.
Litigation
While it can be challenging to track down the criminals behind investment fraud, it’s not impossible. And once you have identified those responsible, you might be able to take legal action to help you recover your funds.
At KP Law, our cyber investigators are experienced in tracing and recovering the proceeds of fraud. With tried and tested investigative methods, we can help to identify the individuals or companies running investment scams. And, using all our legal expertise, we bring civil cases against the guilty parties so our clients can pursue damages from those responsible.
While launching a case to get your money back, our expert investment fraud solicitors have a whole range of tools that we can use to stop a bad situation from becoming even worse. This includes interim freezing orders and search and seizure orders to prevent fraudsters from moving misappropriated assets before we recover them.
We can also help you to make professional negligence cases against financial advisors who have given bad advice on an investment that turned out to be fraudulent. To make a professional negligence claim, you first need to demonstrate that you were owed a duty of care, that the professional involved breached this duty, and that this breach caused you to suffer a loss. This can be hard to prove, and a professional is not expected to be right 100% of the time. To win your case, you must show that another experienced professional in the same field would have given different advice or that the professional failed to follow recognised good practice. As such, it is important to appoint a solicitor with a history of handling these types of claims effectively.
Use an expert investment fraud lawyer to claim compensation
Representing people across England and Wales, at KP Law we help our clients claim back what they are due via the FSCS, the FOS, the banks, and litigation.
We can advise on complex investment fraud claims, including those with an international element. And, if you appoint us as your expert financial fraud and mis-selling lawyer, you’ll stand the best chance of success.
Claiming with KP Law is straightforward. It is free to sign up and only takes a few minutes. We act on a strict no-win, no-fee basis, so, as our client, you will not pay us anything upfront.
If you believe that you are the victim of investment fraud, contact us to find out more about how we can help you.
