01-2026-1152

Missed call today, no message

this is a brokers who send out pension reports if you have a frozen pension( which I do) they explain everything on the phone. I didn't have to give them any information * as they had my name and address and number) They send all your pension data via a coruier and if YOU wish to contact them after you have read the information you can if not they wont contact you again. Usually I don't pick up these type of calls but this way it outs a stop to it!

When you get the paperwork, it would be wise to check out "Pension Release Scam" on the Action Fraud website as this is a popular scam at the moment.  There is a tax implication in taking money from a frozen pension, i.e. the Tax man will want a slice of it.  In addition, some of these firms "invest" the pension in one of their own schemes and you caan lose the lot.

As previously posted, this is a total SCAM.

The company is Avacade Investments and their website http://www.avacadeinvestments.com gives their address as:-
Asher House
Barsbank Lane,
Lymm, Cheshire
WA13 0ED
United Kingdom
Tel +44 1925 750985

The website address was confirmed by the caller.

What they will do is promise you can take money out of a pension early, by setting up a Self Invested Personal Pension, which you can do and it is legal.

They will charge you a load of fees for setting it up.

IF you get any money out of it you will get a fraction of what it was worth, could be as low as 10% and you will be lucky to get that, they will then charge you their fee and a few months later the HMRC will send you a tax bill which will scare the poop out of you as you have taken money out of a pension before the due date.

You will now be severely out of pocket and owing the UK Government a fortune, so you will try to complain to the regulator, now it gets even worse, this shower will not regulated in the UK and you will have no course to recover your money, and YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY THE TAXMAN.


If you do not believe me, read about it here on the Financial Standards Authority website - http://www.fsa.gov.uk/consumerinformation/sca ... n-schemes.shtml

You can search the FSA register here - http://www.fsa.gov.uk/register/firmSearchForm.do

I have found no registered business using any of the information from the website above.

YOU WILL LOSE EVERYTHING IF YOU DEAL WITH THIS SHOWER.

The published director information for Avacade Investments http://www.avacadeinvestments.com/company.php
shows the Managing Director as Craig Lummis.

Craig Lummis seems to hold directorships under 5 variations of his name:

http://companycheck.co.uk/search/results?Sear ... 0.x=48&yt0.y=13

I can't be bothered to check the rest, but suspect they are similar.

Here is a sterilised version of an email I received from the Financial Conduct Authority regarding this bunch of scammers (in view of what the FCA said, I think "scammers" is a fair term.:-

Thank you for your email received on 15 October 2013.

We welcome any information that consumers bring to us and on this occasion I understand that you would like to report the contact from Avacade Investments regarding 'Trapped or Frozen' pensions.

The Financial Services Register lists all authorised and regulated firms and individuals by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and having checked this, I can confirm that Avacade Investments is NOT authorised or regulated by the FCA.

I will pass on the information you have given us regarding this firm to the relevant department within the FCA for their consideration, however I should explain that we are unable to confirm the progress of any investigation, as the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 imposes restrictions on us which require us to keep such matters confidential.

The FCA are aware of pension unlocking schemes and urge you to be wary of any schemes that offer the chance to take money from your pension by unlocking some of your retirement pot early. I attach a link to our website on pension locking that provides further information including the risks involved:

www.fca.org.uk/consumers/financial-services-p ... nsion-unlocking

If you need to make decisions regarding your pension, I would recommend that you seek independent financial advice from a qualified advisor. Some types of pension activities need FCA authorisation and you can check whether or not a firm is authorised using the FS Register. I have attached a link for your information:

www.fsa.gov.uk/register/firmSearchForm.do

Please be advised that if you deal with a firm or individual that should be authorised by the FCA but is not, you would not have access to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) or the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) should anything go wrong.

On a final note. although the FCA regulates firms and individuals that promote, arrange or provide stakeholder and personal pension schemes, the Pensions Regulator work with pension scheme trustees, scheme managers and your employer to help protect your workplace pension. For further information on what The Pensions Regulator do, I attach a link from the website below:

www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/individuals.aspx

I thank you for bringing this to our attention and trust that the information I have provided is of assistance to you.

Yours sincerely

DO NOT GIVE THEM ANY INFORMATION AND DO NOT TRUST A WORD THEY SAY.

Had a call from this number did not answer it as it appears to come from abroad and will probably be some scam or other, do not trust numbers ike this