More firms have been found making unsolicited offers to its British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) clients. The three firms were, like in many of the others found making unsolicited offerings, associated with the British Steel Adviser Group (BSAG).

It was BSAG group that slapped the FCA with the legal challenge (now dropped) widely seen as an attempt to stall the redress scheme. Instead of the expected payout of around £45,000 ($54,000), it was found that the these firms offered much lower payments:

• Alpha Financial Services made offers of £100 to 100% of its clients.
• QED Financial Associates Ltd made offers of £300 to 93% of its clients.
• Harvest Associates Ltd made offers of either £50 or £200 to 91% of its clients.

“We are seriously concerned that these unsolicited settlement offers were not calculated in line with our guidance, and were a deliberate attempt to exclude former BSPS members from the redress scheme,” the regulator said.

The FCA says that these firms must now treat the consumers who accepted the unsolicited offers in the same manner as customers who did not accept it.

”We will continue to take action where we identify this malpractice,” it added in a statement.

Other misleading offers

Similar actions have previously been imposed on three other firms. In February 2023, the two firms Abbey Lane Financial Associates Limited and Estate Capital Financial Management Limited were told to stop making deceptive offers to British Steel pensioners.

Abbey Lane, was found to have made offers of £100 ($120) to 82% of its BSPS clients, and Estate Capital had made offers of £300 ($391) to 83% of its former BSPS members.

Later in May, the firm David Stock & Co Limited was found to have made unsolicited offers of £50 ($62) to 48% of its clients who had been BSPS members and had not yet complained.