New Ireland Assurance fees commission charges

can anybody tell me if they have sucessfully worked out what New Ireland Assurance would have taken in fees etc over 10 years. I invested in the Everygreen fund/Elite Bond. I have asked the Company to tell me what the fees were for the last year but they told me it was in the statement. It isnt as they draw down their fees etc on a daily basis so in order for me to work out what they have taken I would need to know what the balance was each day. New Ireland will not assist me. These Companies needs to be held accountable just like the banks. We should all demand that these fees etc be shown in monitory value. Has anybody gone to the financial regulator on this issue and won or would I be wasting my time. New Ireland Customer Service isnt very good as they are messing me around. HELP!

I can understand why they won't help you with this query.

Their customer service staff can only give you the info in your policy schedule. To calculate the exact charges over the past 10 years would probably take an actuary a few hours. Do you know much actuaries earn? You can hardly expect life assurance company's to man their customer service team with actuaries on €65k+ a year.

The truth is, you agreed to the charges as laid out in the policy schedule. If you no longer wish to pay said charges you are free to cancel the policy.

The information life assurance company's are obliged to provide you with, as well as the frequency, is set out by the financial regulator. Your query is unreasonable. Not only that, it's also pointless, as the value of €1 10 years ago in today's money is much higher than the value of €1 today. So there's no point in adding them together to get €2.

Why not do a quick calculation.. if you paid €100,000 in over the years and the entry charge is 5%, you paid €5000 in entry charges. If the current fund value is €120,000 and the management charge is 1%, you pay approx €1200 a year. What have you to gain from knowing the exact fund management charge you paid 10 years ago?

From our experience , you are definately NOT wasting your time by going to the Financial Regulator / Ombudsman .

Follow the correct procedures , keep everything in writing , do your own research and keep note of everything .

Remember before you can proceed , you will need a final response letter from New Ireland

If you are looking for help you ain't going to find it in the case of New Ireland Assurance. Probably the most unhelpful company that there is. The fees are deducted on a monthly basis. I had a very serious case against them involving a substantial investment in October 2006. Brought the case to the Financial Ombudsman in 2008, he offered his finding one year ago and the matter still goes on and on and on. I was seeking my Investment returned and I got all the M Fees refunded and never to be charged a M Fee again as long as I hold the Policies. But the Ombudsman declared in writing that the case and file was closed but then it was reopened for New Ireland.

Am awaiting further clarification from the Ombudsman and depending on the outcome will trigger as to whether I go public with the entire case history. Have a Website ready to go with all the facts and figures which will hopefully deter all and sundry to make realistic decisions concerning their Investments.

I've seen it all -- from false figures to seeking fees simply to get a deal i was meant to be on. Unbelievable stuff. No wonder the BoI are been forced to sell the company. But hold off - unless I receive comfort up the site will go. Absolutely nothing libelous but pure facts as they presented it.

For a company with €12 billion under Management one would think that they would be more customer friendly.

laughter189 said:

you will need a final response letter from New Ireland

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In my case it took New Ireland close to six months to issue the Final Response letter.

what is a final response letter. Mercman I am very interested in your web page as I had the same idea. Tenchi you have no idea of the kind of fees this company could have taken and your calculations are way off. Just your argument alone shows how little you understand about their method of charging, or do you work for an Investment Company. I dont mind paying fees and I expect to do so for a service but I didnt get any. I have done my research and believe me it is frightening to say the least. Laughter 189 did you take a case on the same grounds. People need to remember that their Tied Agents who call themselves Qualified Finanacial Advisors is no more than sales men. Does anybody have any thought on the Goverment bond scheme over 5 or 10 years. I have a lot of ground to make up.

I had a successful case against a financial instution due to the intervention of the Financial Ombudsman ....Was to do with excessive interest though

A Final Response letter is a letter which the Financial Provider must issue before a case can be handled by the Financial Ombudsman.

FYI, the fees are deducted on a monthly basis. In my case the only bit of good news is that the Tied Agent got the boot last week (I think), and after near 15 years of service. But in this crazy country he will, no doubt, be up and selling for another co very soon.

Hi mercman The fees that are applicable to the policy are calculated on a daily basis and result in the daily unit price including a deduction in respect of the Fund Management Fee, which equates to the noted policy fees stated in the policy conditions/ Taken from an email received from New Ireland Assurance.

I'm not doubting the content of your e-mails, but according to my own Actuary who has had to reconcile the figures for me on a substantial Investment, the fees are deducted Monthly.

In most of NI funds the M Fees are 1.5% per year which means that the charges deducted are 1.5% divided by 12 equating to a per month deduction.

How does one get hold of an actuary. Did you happen to have an element of life assurance added to your investment. This was added to mine and I dont know if they had the same investment without this . I am wondering if they deducted a fee for this as well. I told the QFA that I didnt want any form of life assurance and for good measure he now note that he put me down as a non smoker. He knows very well that I smoke. I never looked as this paperwork until recently.

management charge is 1.65% on both investments which appears to be higher than yours.

Actuaries are expensive. It is a very specialist profession and they charge accordingly. Most of the NI policies include Life Cover -- something to do with overall corporate Tax. The most important thing that all new and existing Policy Holders must make certain is the need to get everything in writing.

Barbie Doll if you want the name of my Actuary, PM me and I will forward the details to you.

Barbie doll said:

management charge is 1.65% on both investments which appears to be higher than yours.

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Depends on which funds you are in. Check their web site and you should get the answer.

Will do and I have PM you. Thanks for your assistance. I will Keep an eye on this page for additional updates as I have a keen interest in what New Ireland is doing. They need to be shaken in the same way as the Banks.

PM sent to you. The best of luck to you.

Barbie doll said:

Will do and I have PM you. Thanks for your assistance. I will Keep an eye on this page for additional updates as I have a keen interest in what New Ireland is doing. They need to be shaken in the same way as the Banks.

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You'll get better bang for your buck by using a solicitor rather than an actuary to deal with New Ireland.

What makes you think I need a solicitor. Why would I get a better bang for my money. An actuary is required. New Ireland wouldnt want me publishing that report. It wouldnt be in their interest. People would then start to take a look at their own investment charges and question New Ireland. That's what needs to happen here. If their charges are not over the top then why wont they issue statements showing € amounts instead of shrouding eveything in mystery. You shouldnt need to higher an Actuary to see what the bottom line is. These statements should be transparent and their not. How do you know that they havent over charged? When I put this to New Ireland I was told they had reveiwed my record and were satisfied that everything was in order. So, if they have these figures why not allow me the oportunity to view them as well.

Barbie doll said:

What makes you think I need a solicitor. Why would I get a better bang for my money. An actuary is required. New Ireland wouldnt want me publishing that report. It wouldnt be in their interest.

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Take it from me, New Ireland couldn't give a damn what you say, print or shout. An Actuary is the requirement as all you are dealing with are figures. Solicitors are there to work on legal issues -- nothing else.

My case was different than most. Received an offer of Investment terms from the top of NI, handed over my cheques and you guessed it got absolutely nothing as to what I had been promised or signed up for. Near to four years of deceit, false figures, lies requests in writing not to cash in as it would effect the Commissions -- the list goes on and on. So I have bided my time and with no movement from NI, which I do not expect at this stage, up the site will go, as soon as my Web designer returns from holidays to get my passwords.

Barbie doll, it really depends on what you want to achieve.

Do you want a settlement from New Ireland, or do you want to try to expose them and bring your story to the newspapers?

Do you feel you were misled over charges and something came to light recently that you were paying more than you were told when you were sold the policy? i.e. you were "mis-sold the policy" and now you want the charges refunded?

Are you unhappy they charged for life cover even though you explicitly said you didn't want life cover?

Or are you just unhappy at a large fall in drop in the value of the policy over the past 3 years, you think it's a disgrace, and when you phoned New Ireland you decided to ask them the exact fees and charges that were deducted over the past 10 years because you feel that's where the money went?

Also, were you sold the policy by New Ireland directly, or through BOI, or through another broker?

If you know what you want you're more likely to get it - have you ever written a letter of complaint before? You start with the facts and end with the resolution you want. I honestly can't see what point you're trying to make.

If you are just unhappy they didn't tell you the charges and take the case to the financial services ombudsman, chances are he will make them tell you the charges and give you compensation of a few hundred for the poor customer service you received.