Transfer delays from a James Hay Sipp caused an investor to suffer from heart palpitations and anxiety, the Pensions Ombudsman has heard.
The Pensions Ombudsman told the firm to pay the man, referred to as Mr R, £1,000 for the “serious distress and inconvenience”.
James Hay has since admitted it "fell short" and apologised for distress caused.
Mr R opened a self-invested personal pension in 2015, but in March 2020 he became concerned about the impact of the pandemic and sold his equity funds.
He kept hold of the £627,000 proceeds in cash which was invested in four assets through the James Hay platform.
However, Mr R then wanted to hold his cash in Yen rather than Sterling which was not an option via James Hay.
In May 2020, Mr R had signed transfer discharge documents in order to transfer money out of the James Hay Sipp.
From June 2020, he was in touch with the firm around 10 times in relation to documents needed for the transfer and first complained in August 2020 that the transfer was taking too long and “making him very anxious”.
He believed the delay could result in financial loss.
A number of further complaints to the company followed, up until the transfer was completed in late October 2020.
The ombudsman report read: “On October 26, 2020, Mr R consulted his doctor as he was experiencing an irregular heartbeat, palpitations, and the feeling of not being able to breathe.
“The doctor has said that Mr R’s anxiety increased during the period of the transfer, and that this was the likely cause of his symptoms
“The doctor also said that events during this period had taken their toll on Mr R’s physical and mental health, and he confirmed that, on one occasion, Mr R had said that he had woken up at 4am in a state of panic.”
Mr R complained to the ombudsman that James Hay had caused a delay of 92 days to the transfer.
He calculated his financial loss to be £117,795 based on the change in unit price.
While James Hay concluded the transfer should have been completed sooner it did not agree it could have been completed by August 18, as Mr R claimed.
Instead it believed it could have been completed a month later.
The ombudsman concluded: “Due to Mr R’s chronic mental and physical condition, and the fact that James Hay failed to appreciate his anxiety and did not rectify the situation, James Hay’s maladministration caused Mr R to suffer serious distress and inconvenience. In recognition of this, James Hay should pay £1,000 to Mr R.”
It also asked the platform to calculate the amount Mr R would have made in the new fund with the money between the dates of September 7 and October 16 2020 and pay him the resulting amount.
