Equitable Life saga continues
A report by the UK government has today cast doubt on the level of compensation which could be paid out to those who lost money in the Equitable Life collapse some years ago. A figure in the region of £400 million to £500 million has been suggested as a basis for compensation payments to begin next year although campaigners believe that they are due in excess of 10 times this amount!
Equitable Life effectively defaulted in 2000 after losing a High Court battle with regard to pension guarantees which brought the company to its knees. It was then discovered that the company had failed a number of regulatory tests and the Labour government of the time was forced to apologise to Equitable Life members. Despite the fact that David Cameron and his coalition government had indicated they would look favourably upon a compensation scheme to begin in 2011, it looks as though the figure in question will be well short of that expected and hoped for by many sufferers.
While the government is insistent that no final figure has been calculated with regards to the compensation scheme, doubts are starting to grow and sufferers are becoming more and more concerned.
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