Pension Rip Offs Exposed Panorama

leave you open to being ripped off. You should be very wary of anybody

who approaches you regarding a free pension review because at the end of

the day, they are there to make money.

And the people whose retirement dreams are ruined. People have

killed themselves. I am aware of that happening. Suicides, break-ups

and yet they don't seem to care. We go undercover to investigate one man

whose company targets pensions to help fund a foreign property empire.

And we ask, should more be done to keep our pensions safe? It sounds

good, but it ain't good. Don't do it. It's not worth it.

Whatever your hobby, whether you want to relax or you prefer

something more active, the perfect retirement is proving harder to

achieve. Planning for retirement is one of the bigger financial

challenges we face. We are living longer and we are staying healthier,

which means it is harder to fund even the most modest of lifestyles

for when we stop working. In April 2015, the government introduced a

package of pension freedoms. Pensioners will have complete

freedom to draw down as much or as little of their pension pot... To

explain the new rules, the government also introduced a free

telephone advice service called Pension Wise. Pension Wise, set up

by the government offers free impartial guidance on the options

you now have. What we aim to do is to help you

understand your pension better and also to signpost you about where to

go, what questions to ask and the things you need to be aware of. But

some companies have been quick to work out if they also offer free

advice, it could be the first step to getting their hands on people's

valuable pension pots. You should be very wary of anybody

who approaches you regarding a free pension review, because at the end

of the day, they are there to make money, and you need to be really

clear before you accept any offer from them.

There are free -- fears the new freedoms could trigger pensions

mis-selling on a grand scale. For the last six months, we have

been investigating a call centre in Derby which offers free pension

reviews. We sent in an undercover reporter. First stop, the classroom.

The company is run by a company called Lifestyle Connections. Holly,

one of the trainers tells the class they will be calling on the of

sister company First Review Pension Services. Their job is designed

people up for a free pension review. Another trainer says their clients

are offered a comprehensive range of pension options. New recruits are

told they are not allowed to give financial advice as they are not

regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Staff get a salary plus

commission for every client they sign up for a review. When training

moves from the classroom to the call centre, our reporter picks up some

tips from lifestyle's quality control officer Bobby.

It is all about keeping people on the phone. Once the call centre gets

them signed up, they are passed to First Review Pension Services, just

across the road. They're self-employed consultants do the

reviews face-to-face, but there is more to this company's structure

than meets the eye. So, it is the Resort Group, the

parent company that is really calling the shots. It does not sound

like it has anything to do with pensions at all. In fact, it is a

property developer with a string of resorts in Cape Verde, an emerging

tourist destination of west Africa. Quality control officer Bobby who

told our reporter to lie to clients explains.

So, our reporter should not tell clients that the motive for the

pensions review is to help fund the Resort Group's Cape Verde

developments. Well, they may not want you to know it, but First

Review Pension Services and Lifestyle Connections are both in

fact owned by the Resort Group. What's more, the Resort Group

describes them as their marketing and sales arm. Pensions expert Alan

Higham has advised the government on pensions policy. We showed him our

footage. What do you think? Well, there is clearly no doubt this is

all about selling an investment in Cape Verde. It is not about a proper

pension review, it is not about taking your individual circumstances

into account and working out what is best for you, it is about finding

the best line to sell you this investment in Cape Verde. So who is

behind the Resort Group and those luxury hotels in Cape Verde?

When it comes down to the rest of you guys, I love you! Rob Jarrett, a

former financial adviser. Last year, his Resort Group made nearly ?11

million profit. Rob Jarrett owns the call centre, the pension review

service and the company that builds the swanky hotels. Here he is with

celebrities Kerry Katona, Tinie Tempah and Ms Dynamite launching one

of his new resorts. Everybody here I think has a close personal relation

to the Resort Group or the development that we do in Cape

Verde. Kerry works in the call centre and

as a consultant. for his empire. Thank you. After

four days of training at for his empire. Thank you. After

Two years ago, Monica Dyer was called by

Two years ago, Monica Dyer was end of the phone asking

Two years ago, Monica Dyer was pension to another pension? He said

this is better pension to another pension? He said

better. She agreed to meet a consultant

better. She agreed to meet a Resort Group. It was a woman who

better. She agreed to meet a pension I was in to this new one.

better. She agreed to meet a be risks attached to the pension?

to help. The only thing I could think of was to do an application

for a transfer of the Cape Verde pension but we kept continually

hitting buffers in terms of trying to get the money repatriated from

the Resort Group. It went on for months and months and months. Monica

eventually got her money back but she lost more than cash. The pension

she transferred out of was a final salary scheme. It has put me right

off answering the phone because I do not want to be caught up in that

ever again. As I am getting older, I don't want to get myself caught up

in this kind of predicament again. Never ever. Final salary pensions

guarantee retirement incomes. As Marion will now explain. A final

salary pension gives you an income in retirement based on a proportion

of the salary you were on in the job that provided that pension. Anybody

promoting the idea that they should take one of these things, transfer

it and invest it in an overseas property scheme, that has warning

bells ringing all over for me. I would not do it. We wanted to see

for ourselves what a consultation with First Review Pension Services

looks like. Our man also has a final salary pension. He gives them a

call. It is Holly, one of the women who

trained our undercover reporter. Can you tell me a bit about what you do?

What the service is? She wants our man to sign a letter

of authority giving access to his pension details. She sends a career

the following day. Two weeks later, it's time for our

free pension review. We have secret cameras in the house. I am listening

upstairs with pensions expert Alan Highham.

Parking sorted, let the review begin. Bruce is not a regulated

financial adviser and does not claim to be. He shouldn't offer any

investment advice. But he wasted little time telling our man what he

thinks of his final salary pension. Here suggesting that he leave the

inflation. He Here suggesting that he leave the

pension and transferred a lump sum into a self investment personal

pension, or SIPP. It enables the individual to choose where the

savings are invested. He has ?48,000 in his final salary pot. Bruce's

plan would involve half going into regulated UK investments and the

rest into a portfolio, including overseas property.

Bruce claims the overseas investments will grow by 10% a year.

But how risky are they? It is riskier than he is saying.

Bruce says the UK based investments will grow by the same amount.

You can't get 10% returns in a cautious fund. If you want 10%

return, you have to take a lot of risk. Now it is time for Bruce to

assess our man's financial circumstances and his attitude to

risk. It involves filling in a lengthy, detailed form. But Bruce

has a suggestion to speed things up. That is very leading. He should be

assessing his needs, not picking the one that will get through the advice

process. Bruce says he will send the form to

be assessed by an independent financial adviser. Take it away,

Margaret. An independent financial adviser, or IFA, is a personal

company authorised to give investment advice that is unbiased,

comprehensive and in the customer's best interests.

The best practice is that the man who should be advising him should be

doing this, not an intermediary. I would be horrified if I was the

adviser if this is how it had been completed, I would refuse to advise.

After two hours, Bruce confirms his election to Rob Jarrett's Resort

Group. Job done. Bruce, the man who is paid

on commission to flog Resort Group investments, heads off.

Stuart Dickson is a police officer from Northumberland. He fears he has

lost his final salary pension after inviting an unregulated consultant

into his home for a pension review. You were sitting around the table?

Exactly the same place. What did you say to him? I was very keen to be

able to access the pension at 55. That is 1.I was happy with. That is

what was getting advertised. The consultant was Graham Meikle, from a

different company, Viva Costa International, in Sunderland. He was

very relaxed. His role was to get all of my financial details and I

filled in what was called a rigorous assessment, asking what your risk

value was to money. I remember clearly saying low, on that sort of

money, and also about what my financial circumstances were. He

said we would have to find an IFA, we have a bank of these we use. We

will find one appropriate for you that will look at your figures and

make a decision for you. Stuarts did not have any direct contact with an

independent financial adviser. I was told the IFA company had found me a

scheme that was appropriate to me and then, you know, this is what it

would be, go ahead with that. Stuart signed papers to transfer his

?112,000 pot and a form saying he was a sophisticated investor. Soon

afterwards, he wished he hadn't. I got all the paperwork out and went

through it with a fine tooth comb. I really did, first of all, think

well, I am in a high-risk scheme, which I shouldn't have been. Stuart

contacted the pensions regulator. An investigation into the scheme

discovered it had bought four apartments in a Resort Group

development in Cape Verde. It ruled neither these or any of the other

overseas investments were suitable for the scheme. So far, Stuart has

not been able to get his money back. We are no further forward in knowing

what the value of our pension is, if it is worth anything. I've asked to

try to transfer it to a legitimate scheme, with any assets left, which

has fallen on deaf ears. Viva Costa International told us...

It is five weeks since our man had a visit from Bruce Nicholas, the

consultant from First Review Pension Services. He is back.

His plan has changed. He now wants half our man's pension to go to The

Resort Group's property fund. But he has a problem. The

independent financial adviser's report says our man's final salary

pension should stay put. If he transfers into other investments,

they are unlikely to grow enough to give the same guaranteed income.

What does Bruce think? Our man wants time to think it over.

But Bruce is going nowhere. When he thinks he might leave

empty-handed, he changes tack. Our man has told Bruce his wife

works in the city. Perhaps there is another way he can flog Resort Group

investments? He revealed himself as a salesman?

He did. He said he was getting 7% commission on selling cash

investments in The Resort Group. Perhaps he is also getting a 7%

commission for introducing this business? If he is really doing the

thick end of ?900,000 a week, that is a lot of money to be had. Therein

lies the motivation. That is yet another reason not to do it. The

sales pitch even continues as he heads for the door.

On the 25th of June, Panorama asked The Resort Group for a statement. It

replied... It also said it decided in February

that First Review and Lifestyle Connections would stop taking on new

business after the 30th of June. First Review Pension Services and

Lifestyle Connections said... We wanted to talk to the Department

for Work and Pensions, the Treasury, the Financial Conduct Authority and

the pensions regulator about the results of our investigation. None

of them were available for interview. The Department for Work

and Pensions have since said they are committed to protecting all

pension savers, including those seeking to access their pension

freedoms. But, in reality, we are largely on our own. We think the

biggest protection is just raising customer awareness and to get people

to do due diligence into the company they are doing business with. It

sounds good, but it ain't good. Keep your pension. Don't do it. It's not

worth it. Nearly 250,000 people have taken advantage of the new freedom

to take control of their pensions, but when it comes to protecting

yourself from being ripped off, the warning signs are all there. You've

just got to know how to spot them. Details of organisations offering

information and support are available at:

Reggie Yates is joining the Mexican army.

It can't be that safe if everybody is...this armed.

You could probably get shot at. Get shot at, OK.