England, UK -- (SBWire) -- 12/04/2018 --Leading financial mis-selling claims specialists APJ Solicitors, announce an increase in the volume of complaints relating to mis-sold SIPPS. The firm, which handles claims against a wide variety of financial services providers, has identified this as a growth area for consumer rights with respect to the mis-selling of financial products.

With 40+ years' experience in challenging negligent advice and services in the personal financial sector, the firm is well placed to offer perspective (and support) on what is proving to be an increasingly problematic area for consumers. This rise in activity is reflected in the escalating number of complaints made to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The total volume of FOS SIPP complaints has almost doubled in 12 months.

SIPPS (Self Invested Personal Pension Schemes) were designed to give individuals more control over their pensions, for example with respect to choice of investments. They were also frequently pitched as an opportunity to enjoy guaranteed returns at high levels. However, as the rise in complaints indicates, the risks associated with SIPPS were all too often not made clear. As a result, many consumers made the decision to purchase SIPPS based on poor or misunderstood information.

"For many years, investors have been persuaded to invest significant sums into different SIPP investments. These investments were often positioned by advisors to be lucrative, but in reality were far riskier than they appeared," commented Managing Director, Anthony Wilson. "From ethical forestry investments through to luxury hotels, investors were persuaded to use SIPP investments as a vehicle to gamble their money."

"With the promise of significant – supposedly guaranteed – returns, investors were not informed of the huge risks associated with these non-standard investments. Many firms or individual brokers failed to consider the individual circumstances of their clients. APJ Solicitors have been helping to assist victims of SIPP mis selling to recover compensation."

Mis selling of financial products has been problematic for consumers who are often misled with respect to the risks vs. the benefits of the product being sold. Like the PPI scandal before it, the way SIPPS have been managed by providers could have created conditions for another widespread mis-selling scandal, with a tidal wave of claims about to break. For more information about Mis Sold SIPPs and financial mis selling at

https://www.apjsolicitors.co.uk/legal-services/mis-sold-sipp.

For any media enquiries please contact Emma Brand at Iconic Digital – 020 7100 0726.

For all other enquiries please contact APJ Solicitors – 0800 028 9791.

Notes to Editors:

For more information about APJ Solicitors mis-sold SIPPS services, please go to https://www.apjsolicitors.co.uk/legal-services/pensions-investments/

APJ Solicitors (Anthony Philip James & Co) is dedicated to investigating, negotiating and settling a broad range of claims against a wide variety of financial services providers. The team focuses solely on this type of work, challenging banks, advisors, lenders and investment providers regarding their negligent advice and services.