ILLUSTRATION: NINA KRAUSE
I am 96 years old and enjoying my retirement after 40 years of service in the Royal Air Force. My financial adviser has been helping my wife and me with some estate planning and recently recommended that I should surrender (not something I ever had to do when I was a squadron leader, I can assure you!) a bond I have held with Aviva for many years.
She expected that the firm would pay the money within a few working days, what with its recent company performance and established reputation. Imagine my disappointment when this turned out not to be the case, and weeks later I am still waiting for the money. The amount of about £90,000 is tied up in the bond and is needed as part of our plans for distributing some of our wealth. I would like to see my grandchildren enjoy it in my lifetime. What is most infuriating is that Aviva has ignored my adviser’s requests for an update.
I wonder if you would please help me get hold of the money by finding out what has gone wrong. I don’t understand the delay behind what was a simple and straightforward request.
Bill, Oxfordshire
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Holly Thomas writes
You told me that you feel financially comfortable and that you don’t need some of the money you have tied up in investments. This includes the Aviva investment bond, which you have held since 1999.
These bonds contain a mixture of investment funds that are run by a manager and are open-ended, with no maturity date. As such they can be surrendered at any time.
You originally invested £50,000, and that capital has almost doubled in 27 years. With an investment bond like this one, you can choose to cash in some or all of it or set up regular withdrawals to provide income. You gave your financial adviser the go-ahead to request the entire value of the bond last month so that you can distribute the £90,000 or so equally among your five grandchildren who are in their thirties and forties.
You told me that your adviser is very efficient in money matters and an email from her dated March 30 confirmed that she had already raised a second complaint with Aviva because the money hadn’t yet appeared. After a lack of response from anyone, you wrote to me.
With my help Aviva pushed through your request, which it said should typically only take a maximum of ten working days. The value of £92,695 has now landed safely in your account, which could mean a gift of at least £18,000 per grandchild.
Aviva also paid an additional £176.95 in late interest and offered you £200 in compensation, which you have accepted. Aviva said that the delay was caused because the original withdrawal forms were sent to the wrong team for processing — they could have languished there for months if we had not tracked them down.
You said: “Thanks to you we can get on with our financial plans. At this age we just want to do things once a decision has been made. We are very grateful for your help.”
Aviva said: “We are very sorry for the delay experienced when surrendering this investment bond with Aviva. We have carried out a loss assessment to ensure he was put back in the position he would have been in if the delay had not occurred.”
If you have an issue withdrawing money from an investment bond for any reason, you can make an official complaint to the bond company and claim interest and compensation. If you still don’t have your money eight weeks after lodging your complaint, take your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
I’m pregnant and my flight was cancelled. Now Tui won’t pay for our hotel
My husband and I are having difficulty with a compensation claim from Tui for travel costs after a flight cancellation. In March our flight from Lanzarote to London Gatwick was cancelled because of an electrical storm that affected all flights leaving the island that night.
At 11pm, the Tui team told us that our flight would depart the next evening and to await further updates. Because of the large number of cancellations that evening, they could not guarantee hotels for everyone.
I was seven months pregnant at the time, so staying overnight in the airport was not a safe or appropriate option for me. The Tui team kindly told us to book a hotel ourselves so I could ensure somewhere safe and comfortable to stay. We were assured that our hotel and taxi costs would be reimbursed as long as we kept receipts.
After our return to the UK, we sent our hotel and taxi expenses to Tui but it has refused to reimburse us on the grounds that we do not have written confirmation that we were instructed to arrange the accommodation and transport. As a result we are almost £400 out of pocket.
Beatrice, London
Holly Thomas writes
The holiday to Lanzarote was a babymoon with your husband, as you are expecting your first child in June. Cancelled flights are exasperating enough, let alone when it’s late at night and you’re seven months pregnant.
After being told in no uncertain terms that there might not be a hotel room for everyone on the cancelled flight, it must have been an enormous relief to be assured you were free to find your own accommodation, rather than wait in a queue with only the hope of a bed for the night.
Your expenses claimed were modest and included a taxi from the airport to the hotel at £52.35, one night’s stay at £283.80, and a taxi back to the airport for £45.03.
I spoke to Tui on your behalf and there was a speedy change of heart on your claim. It explained that the initial rejection was a result of human error, apologised and has now reimbursed you the full £381.18.
You said: “This refund is really important to us, as we have a long list of essentials to buy for the baby and we are also saving to cover my maternity leave. I’m a self-employed personal trainer so don’t have maternity benefits beyond the statutory payments. We had saved for quite some time for this trip and, naturally, hadn’t budgeted for the extra costs caused by the flight cancellation. Many thanks for your help.”
Tui said: “We would like to apologise and thank the customer for her patience and understanding while the matter was resolved.”
Under UK law, airlines have to provide you with care and assistance if your flight is cancelled, including accommodation if you do not fly that day.
Transport to and from the accommodation should also be covered. If you are verbally advised that you can reclaim costs associated with a disrupted travel plan, it doesn’t hurt to get this in writing.
Even when you just want to get on and find a bed, and there’s a queue of distressed travellers behind you, take the time to note the name and job title of the person who gives you the information. If they are willing to write something down, even better. If the airline plays hardball, you can provide the name of the individual member of staff — and quote your legal rights.
£749,316 — the amount Your Money Matters has won back for readers so far this year
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