As the FISCA volunteers will be familiar with this matter after handling many similar cases, they will be able to help the consumer to gather the relevant documents and evidence to make a good case.
The consumer has to pay an administrative fee of $50. The FISCA volunteer will spend some time to listen to the consumers, identify the documents needed to support the case and draft the complaint.
The work of the FISCA volunteer does not constitute legal or financial advice. They are using common sense knowledge to help the consumer. Consumers should be aware that legal and financial advice are costly and cannot expect the same kind of professional advice from FISCA for an administrative fee of $50.
The FISCA volunteer will usually be well educated and knowledgeable people, although they are not practicing law or financial advice. They can give good guidance to the consumer from a consumer's perspective.
If the consumer needs legal or financial advice, the FISCA volunteer will guide the consumer to the appropriate expert.
14 comments:
Please also provide a review service for people who want to know if they have been mis-sold products or product misrepresented by insurance agents or recommendations by agents not of reasonable basis.
This service is critical to flush out the rubbish consumers may have in their policies otherwise they will be kept until it is too late.
If any mis-selling is uncovered during review ,FISCA can help to recover losses or refund from the insurance companies and lodge a complaint to MAS or to help take legal action against the agent and the company.
FISCA will be the watchdog of the consumers.
Thanks for this initiative. It will broaden FISCA service & scope and along the way help to bring in more members. Keep up the good work!!!
I need volunteers to help FISCA carry out the service to review the sale of insurance. If you wish to volunteer, please write to kinlian@gmail.com
The review will cover the following areas:
a) Verbal represenations on the product given to the consumers
b) Go through the key terms of the benefit illustration
c) Would the consumer be happy with the product, if the correct facts had been presented?
d) Recourse available to the agent.
The admin fee for this review will also be $50. Half will be kept by FISCA. The other half goes to the volunteers.
Dear Mr Tan
Bravo to you & your team for your efforts in rendering real help to Singaporeans in need.
Below is a hyperlink to the American Association of American Investors. In case there are services or ideas in there that FISCA may wish to adopt.
http://www.aaii.com/
Hi TKL,
Maybe FISCA can help on this "execution order only" business model which is very confusing.
Phillip Securities claimed they are only "execution order only" business model thus does not need to conduct customer risk analysis etc.
MAS report in July 09 indicate:
i) PSPL business model is "Execution order only"
ii) PSPL allowed their FA to provide finanical advise on MB1 and MB2.
iii) PSPL change model and allow FA to provide only product features advise for MB3 onwards.
What is MAS position in this "Execution order only". On one hand they claim execution order only, on the other hand, they encouraged, advise, promote, market products. So are they execution only or not?
In the future, if a retail investor approach PSPL to seek investment opportunity, must they be told PSPL only execute order only and cannot allow to provide financial advise or will not be held responsible if wrong advise is given. Retail investors must be inform of PSPL business model upfront in every product they wish to buy.
This is a investor protection as retail can be cheated again in the future as PSPL will continue to practice "execution order only" but wrongly marketing and advising financial products.
To 12:15 PM
FISCA can help you write a complaint. But, we cannot act as a lawyer. You have to find a lawyer to act on your matter, and it will be costly.
FISCA Voluntee=Social Worker concern for personal finance.
VERY GOOD !
Please inform all VWO of your service. Thanks.
We must bring rogue insurance agents and RMs to face the law. They must be allowed to go scotch free if they commit mis=selling and mis-representation. They are the scourge of our society. They plunder many poor people and as a result as many 91% of Singaporeans cannot retire according to a Oxford University survey.
These people are dumped with wholelife and endowment products which are poor in saving and protection.The only people or criminals who benefit from these products are the conscienceless insurance agents and their companies..We must expose them and I hope that FISCA can help expose them.
Warning!!!!!!
When an insurance agent says he or she would like to review your insurance what they actually mean is they want to check if they can sell you another policy or they have already a product to peddle to you.
You will not be surprised to hear that you have a shortfall . The shortfall was created the last time they reviewed your insurance. Even if they "top up" the shortfall there will be a shortfall still. Why? they could not top up full becuase you can't afford the full top up.How to be full when they peddle to you whole life products.The shortfall is perpetual so is their review business.
Mr TKL,
You may wish to clarify whether the $50 service fee is to be levied on FISCA members or non-members? If this service is to be offered to ALL consumers (and I feel it should), then there should be a sharp difference in the pricing. This will incentivise more people to sign up as FISCA members.
TKL, can you answer this posed by a friend?
"The question is whether you [refering to the government ]are going to protect people who are stupid enough to put their money into nothing more than somebody's word."
He gives example of "how simple some scams are ..."
"the guy simply got ppl to give him over $1mil - and he said he would give them 20% return by passing the money on to his anonymous friend involved in anonymous but legal bizness. 1 year on and guess what - anonymous friend has disappeared. "
Trust is exploited. Trust...trust..
If you can gain the trust you can do almost anything.
Example: why ntuc products sell by itself. It is NOT the agents. Buyers still think ntuc products are value for money and which are not.But customers trust the brand and are buying because, ignorantly and foolishly, they are still good.
That is why many customers got trapped in products like revosave and vivolife and capital plus.
Trust is always behind the exploitation.
To 11:51 PM
For the time bing, the admin fee of $50 (which is really quite small) is imposed for the service to members and non-members.
Later, the Membership Committee will decide on the benefits to members.
For the time being, we need more financial and other support to build up FISCA as an organisation. Please come forward to be a member and to use the service (which is being priced at a nominal rate using volunteers).
To A Tan (11:48 AM)
I will be posting my reply to your question on Monday 8 AM.
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