Money Puzzle

A Message from Lord Pickles and Lord Blunkett, followed by Money Puzzle's best practice article

The ability to listen and learn from one another has always been vital in parliament, in business and in most aspects of daily life. But at this particular moment in time, as national and global events continue to reiterate, it is uncommonly crucial that we forge new channels of communication and reinforce existing ones. The following article from Money Puzzle is an attempt to do just that. We would welcome your thoughts on this or any other Parliamentary Review article.

Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett, MP

Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles, MP

www.themoneypuzzle.co.uk

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

38 | MONEY PUZZLE

Co-director Norma Mackey

Money Puzzle is a claims management company based

in Glasgow, specialising in pensions mis-selling, in

particular self-invested personal pensions. Founded

in 2009, Money Puzzle is dedicated to providing an excellent

service for clients for whom the whole process can be traumatic

and stressful. They are challenging the status quo within the

financial services sector. With 55 years’ experience between

them, Co-directors Norma and Trevor Mackey discuss the

development of the business and explain how their work is

questioning established financial regulation.

We established Money Puzzle in the midst of the financial crisis in 2009. Initially,

we dealt with PPI claims. We were then asked in 2013 to consider a potential

mis-sold pension. After an in-depth interview with the client regarding the

circumstances behind the sale, we agreed that further investigation was necessary.

After reviewing the relevant documentation, we were able to submit a successful

complaint against the firm responsible. Despite our experience within financial

services, we were still required to carry out a large volume of research regarding

pensions and providers. It became apparent that firms, in particular pension

administrators, were not aware of their regulatory responsibilities.

In 2014 we submitted our first complaint against a pension administrator for their

failings. This was rejected by the firm and subsequently referred to the Financial

Ombudsman Service (FOS) for consideration. Initially, the FOS did not believe that

cases against the administrators could progress; however, we believed this not to

be the case. We continued to fight the regulator on the matter and in early 2017

we received our first adjudication from the FOS confirming that they found in

favour of our client. This was a monumental turning point for the business and our

clients. With our knowledge, experience and determination we have fulfilled our

promise to clients “to leave no stone unturned in achieving justice”.

Customer-focused business

We are not a large corporate but a small firm providing a tailored and personal service

to our clients. Clients will often deal with the same person from start to finish during

their complaint process. This allows us to build a solid client relationship offering

trust, consistency and reassurance. Our clients do not fit into any particular profile;

we have worked with people who are white-collar professionals to those who are

unemployed. We carefully assess each new claim on its own merits. Every potential

client takes part in an in-depth interview about their potential claim. We also obtain

client files from any firms involved so that we can investigate matters thoroughly.

If we determine there has been a mis-sale, we will take all necessary steps to win

our client compensation. We work on a “no win no fee” basis, and our fee is one

AT A GLANCE

MONEY PUZZLE

»Co-directors: Norma and

Trevor Mackey

»Founded in 2009

»Based in Glasgow

»Services: Independent claims

management company

specialising in financial mis-

selling

»No. of employees: 5

»Money Puzzle is proud to be

supporting adults with autism

into work in conjunction with

the National Autistic Society

»www.themoneypuzzle.co.uk

Money Puzzle

39MONEY PUZZLE |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2019

of the lowest in the industry. Fees

within this industry are often a negative

talking point and we are pleased to

see that other firms have started to

reduce their fees in line with us. We

have also carried out some pro bono

work for particularly vulnerable clients.

We are very aware clients have lost

pension funds and we want to ensure

clients retain as much compensation as

possible. We are totally committed to

clients, and this has led to working on

certain claims for nearly five years.

We manage around 450 to 500 clients

at any time. Having worked with off-

the-shelf client management systems

we decided that many were either

too generic or worked on a reactive

basis. This was not how we wanted to

manage client complaints. We therefore

decided to invest in our own system,

giving us the ability to proactively drive

cases forward. This, combined with

our rigid processes for each part of

the claim, allows us to manage cases

efficiently and effectively.

Overcoming challenges

We have always confronted our

challenges head on, and we take the

same determined approach, whether

we are dealing with pension providers

or regulatory bodies. To continue to

service our clients, we need to be

aware of evolving regulation and

legislative changes. Our company

ethos embraces compliance and we

recognise the benefits of it.

Recovering all the information required

for a claim can also prove a challenge.

Firms can be obstructive, and they often

aren’t forthcoming with information.

Data loss by firms is commonplace and

this makes formulating a cogent claim

moredifficult.

However, our largest challenge to date

is undoubtedly bringing claims against

the pensions administrators. Overturning

the opposition was a momentous

occasion and we are very proud to have

made such an impact. While we have

achieved successful decisions, there

are still challenges ahead before these

cases can conclude. To ensure that we

consider all potential outcomes, we have

consulted with barristers and solicitors

in the City of London. Their review of

our cases was positive while their input

was invaluable andreassuring.

Looking forward

We have had offers for the business,

but so far there hasn’t been an offer

that makes sense for us. While we don’t

want to turn into a large corporate, we

have ambitions for sustainable growth

that will allow us to work with more

clients, but retain our personal service.

The opportunity to lobby the Financial

Conduct Authority and The Pensions

Regulator to improve regulation and

policing of this market would be

very welcome. Substantive change

in regulation could lead to a huge

reduction in the number of mis-sold

pensions, and our experience in

the sector would allow us to offer

vital expertise to the process. First

and foremost, we are committed to

preventing financial mis-selling, and

we will continue to pursue this in the

future through Money Puzzle.

Co-director Trevor Mackey

We therefore

decided to

invest in our

own system,

giving us the

ability to

proactively drive

cases forward

“

www.themoneypuzzle.co.uk

This article was sponsored by Money Puzzle. The Parliamentary Review is wholly funded by the representatives who write for it. The publication in which this article originally appeared contained the following foreword from The Rt Hon Theresa May MP.

The Rt Hon Theresa May MP's Foreword For The Parliamentary Review

By The Rt Hon Theresa May MP

This foreword from the then Prime Minister appeared in the 2018/19 Parliamentary Review.

British politics provides ample material for analysis in the pages of The Parliamentary Review. For Her Majesty’s Government, our task in the year ahead is clear: to achieve the best Brexit deal for Britain and to carry on our work to build a more prosperous and united country – one that truly works for everyone.

The right Brexit deal will not be sufficient on its own to secure a more prosperous future for Britain. We also need to ensure that our economy is ready for what tomorrow will bring. Our Modern Industrial Strategy is our plan to do that. It means Government stepping up to secure the foundations of our productivity: providing an education system that delivers the skills our economy needs, improving school standards and transforming technical education; delivering infrastructure for growth; ensuring people have the homes they need in the places they want to live. It is all about taking action for the long-term that will pay dividends in the future.

But it also goes beyond that. Government, the private sector and academia working together as strategic partners achieve far more than we could separately. That is why we have set an ambitious goal of lifting UK public and private research and development investment to 2.4 per cent of GDP by 2027. It is why we are developing four Grand Challenges, the big drivers of social and economic change in the world today: harnessing artificial intelligence and the data revolution; leading in changes to the future of mobility; meeting the challenges of our ageing society; and driving ahead the revolution in clean growth. By focusing our efforts on making the most of these areas of enormous potential, we can develop new exports, grow new industries and create more good jobs in every part of our country.

Years of hard work and sacrifice from the British people have got our deficit down by over three quarters. We are building on this success by taking a balanced approach to public spending. We are continuing to deal with our debts, so that our economy can remain strong and we can protect people’s jobs, and at the same time we are investing in vital public services, like our NHS. We have set out plans to increase NHS funding annually by an average by 3.4 percent in real terms: that is £394 million a week more. In return, the NHS will produce a ten-year plan, led by doctors and nurses, to eliminate waste and improve patient care.

I believe that Britain can look to the future with confidence. We are leaving the EU and setting a new course for prosperity as a global trading nation. We have a Modern Industrial Strategy that is strengthening the foundations of our economy and helping us to seize the opportunities of the future. We are investing in the public services we all rely on and helping them to grow and improve. Building on our country’s great strengths – our world-class universities and researchers, our excellent services sector, our cutting edge manufacturers, our vibrant creative industries, our dedicated public servants – we can look towards a new decade that is ripe with possibility. The government I lead is doing all it can to make that brighter future a reality for everyone in our country.

British politics provides ample material for analysis in the pages of The Parliamentary Review

The Rt Hon Theresa May MP
Prime Minister