By Steve Conley | Academy of Life Planning
Imagine this: You work your whole life, build a nest egg, and entrust it to what you believe is a legitimate, regulated pension scheme. Then it vanishes—offshore, unauthorised, untraceable. And when you reach out to the UK’s financial regulator for help, they not only deflect responsibility but eventually declare: “This is our final response. Any further contact will not be responded to.”
This is the lived reality for Gary Wrighton, a British retiree who lost £436,000—his entire pension—after being advised to transfer into a QROPS (Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme) in Slovakia, promoted by a firm with FCA approval and a fraudulent London address.
Despite ample red flags—misleading materials, a non-existent UK presence, and a fund later found to be fraudulent—the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) claims the matter is outside their remit. Worse still, when Gary pressed for transparency through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, the door was slammed shut with bureaucratic language and cold formality.
“We do not intend to revisit those matters… Any further contact from you on this will not be substantially responded to.” — FCA, April 2025
The System Is Rigged — and It’s Failing the Very People It Was Meant to Protect
At the Academy of Life Planning, we’ve long argued that the financial system is not designed with the consumer in mind—it’s engineered for complexity, opacity, and plausible deniability.
Gary is one of thousands caught in a regulatory black hole between the FCA, HMRC, overseas authorities, and the myriad corporate entities that enable industrial-scale pension abuse. When each agency points to another, victims are left voiceless. And homeless.
This isn’t just a story about mis-selling. It’s a systemic failure of fiduciary duty, consumer protection, and regulatory accountability.
What Needs to Change?
We are calling for:
- A public inquiry into QROPS-related scams and the role of UK regulators.
- Stronger cross-border enforcement mechanisms and accountability for FCA-passported firms.
- A victim compensation scheme, paid for not by taxpayers, but by levies on the industry players and intermediaries who profited.
And most of all—we call for transparency and truth.
Where Do We Go from Here?
Gary’s case is now being escalated to the Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) via his MP. We will stand with him, and with every victim who has been ignored, gaslit, and failed by the very bodies created to protect them.
If you’ve been affected by pension mis-selling or financial exploitation, you are not alone. Join our growing community at the Academy of Life Planning. Together, we are turning personal pain into collective power.
🔍 Want to help?
Share this story. Demand reform. Let’s make sure no one else has to face the door being slammed in their face again.
About Get SAFE
Get SAFE (Support After Financial Exploitation) was born from a simple truth: too many victims of financial abuse are left to suffer in silence.
We exist in memory of Ian Davis—for the ones who did everything right, only to be failed by the systems they trusted. We know that behind every vanished pension, every ignored complaint, and every stonewalled letter is a person—frightened, exhausted, and too often alone.
Get SAFE offers more than sympathy. We offer structure, support, and solidarity.
We provide a voice where there’s been silence, and clarity where there’s been confusion.
We stand beside those who have been exploited, not just to help them recover—but to help them reclaim their story and rebuild their future.
Because financial justice is not a luxury.
It’s a human right.
If you or someone you know has been affected by financial exploitation, we are here.
You are not alone.
Learn more at: Get SAFE (Support After Financial Exploitation).
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