Thursday, January 22, 2009

Make a donation from your 100% compensation

In America, some lawyers are willing to take a case on a contingency fee. If they win the case, they receive 10% to 30% of the amount recovered. If they lose the case, the client only pay the expenses.

Some noteholders are interested to engage lawyers on a contingency fee to recover their money. But contingency fee is not allowed in Singapore.
Think again. Many volunteers have spent several hundred hours of time and their expertise to help the noteholders to recover their money, without any promise of payment. As a result of their work,  1,280 of the noteholders will be getting back 100% compensation.
I like to ask these noteholders to consider giving a donation, if you have directly benefit from the work of any specific volunteer. This is just a small donation (far smaller than the contingency fee expected by the lawyer). It is for the volunteer to decide if they wish to accept it. Some of the volunteers are able to spend the time because they are not working. They do need an income.
If you wish to make a general donation of say 5%, I will put the money in the legal fund to engage a senior counsel or queens counsel to give a legal opinion to help the other noteholders. If there is any balance in the legal fund, I will contribute it to the financial services consumer association (FISCA) that will be establised to provide financial education to the public.
If you wish to make a contribution to the legal fund or any volunteer, you can contact me at kinlian@gmail.com.  I will appoint someone to manage the accounts. Be generous. Remember - you could be one of the noteholders who has been rejected or have been offered inadequate compensation.

18 comments:

Tan Kin Lian said...

There is one troublesome person (probably acting for a financial institution) who posted a negative remark. In deleting his comment, I also deleted two other comments by mistake. Please repost your comments.

Anonymous said...

That's very gracious of you. Thanks for your service. :-)

Nick said...

This posting is out of kindness and helping act. I don't see why these people should give any negative remark unless they have guilty conscious of what they had done.

Let them be, Mr. Tan. They will be haunted by their guilty conscious forever.

Concerned said...

Very good idea. Those who have received compensation should reciprocate and help their less fortunate fellow investors. By such action, FIs and their RMs will open their eyes and not dare to lie and mislead investors again and no more unjust products will be thrown out by the FIs. In the past FIs only think of bigger profits and bigger and bigger and bigger bonus for themselves disregarding the interest of their customers and keep on recruiting more RMs every year.

Anonymous said...

Yes, i will do it.
Still waiting for reply from the bank.

Anonymous said...

I am still waiting for reply from the bank. Will be happy to donate when I receive my compensation from them. Mine is Pinnacle Notes.

Admin said...

Dear Kin Lian,

At one of the Minibond gathering at Hong Lim Park, one victim actually approach me. He could only speak Mandarin but he told me, he doesn't mind to donate all his Minibond Money to fight any lawsuit because these money are given to him by his belated father.

I asked him why? He said, it is afterally, not his money in the first place!

I was pretty touched back then because there is such a person that is not greedy and public spirited.

Singapore will have hope as a caring nation if we could have more of such persons.

Goh Meng Seng

Anonymous said...

If only 1 or 2 RMs commit misrepresentation, then these RMs are black sheep that ought to be punished. But when there are so many RMs misrepresenting about structured products, then we ought to ask whether there is a real mastermind behind these schemes, and what measures we are taking to identify these masterminds.

Anonymous said...

Although authorities did not say it openly, I suspect the so many cases of compensation are actually the result of the awareness created and meetings conducted at Hong Lim by Mr Tan Kin Lian and the team. The group efforts have paid off. Our sincere thanks to Mr Tan and team. Now, those have successfully compensated could contributed support in kind to those who are still pursuing the case.

Anonymous said...

As an alternative to donating, join FiSCA when it asks people to join.

Yr S$36 a yr, will go far to prevent more mis-selling.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Mr. Tan that those who have been successful for full compensation should help with a token 5% to help engage legal suit against the FIs and the RMs. This is not only for the aggrieved but also for the future so FIs and salespeople will not conspire to cheat consumers.
As you know FISCA is in the formation , it needs financial support and membership. FISCA will provide education on financial matters and life insurance.
For consumers with existing life insurance or investemnt can approach FISCA for help to check their policies to see if their insurance agents or advisers had cheated them, misrepresented or mis-sold. This is a very important service, not only to catch agents cheating on their policyholders but
to help consumers realise if their life insurance is inadequate or incorrect inusrance and quickly have them put right, right away instead of labouring under a false sense of security. MAS already said Singaporeans are under insured.This should give you enough reason to go for a second opinion or review and don't wait until donkey years to find out. The insurance agents will not be happy because this will expose their crime and wrong doings.
So support and show solidarity and help your fellow investors and consumers.

Concerned consumer

Anonymous said...

Yes indeed those who got compensated should donate, is the right thing to do

Anonymous said...

4 months passed already since complaint made, still no news. Called them, said still under investigation, does this mean chances of compensation good or bad, after all investment amount is only 50K. I am a 60 years old retiree and have secondary education.

Anonymous said...

Before setting up the fund funded by those who got compensation, I think that Mr Tan should demand that investors who want to sue should come forward and start a fund for the same purpose: funding a legal opinion.

Anonymous said...

I am concern about those who bought from broking houses. The future looks bleak because no one cares about them after the vulnerable group has been taken care of.

Anonymous said...

Could someone help to co-ordinate all those who bought from broking houses with a view of class action?

Anonymous said...

I got the reply from the bank, they only compensate about 30% of the total amount. Should i take it? If i accept, i plan to donate it all out. any advice?
thanks!

Anonymous said...

my gut feeling is majority would be compensated at most 20% - 30%. They are only doing it as a gesture of goodwill and to safeguard their image.

Blog Archive