A northern law firm is looking to take advantage of the turmoil at Britain’s biggest wealth manager, St. James’s Place.
On February 28, the company shed more than a quarter of its value after it slashed its dividend and warned the cost of dealing with a deluge of complaints would drag on growth in the year ahead.
A few days later, St James’s Place came under further pressure after it was revealed that it faces more than 15,000 overcharging claims, which, combined with other customer complaints, could cost the firm as much as £426m.
As claims against the company have mounted, the stock has plunged to it lowest levels since the end of 2012.
AMK Legal, based in Bolton, has filed the claims on behalf of St James’s Place clients over the last three months, according to a report in The Sunday Times, who claim they have been charged for annual reviews of their investments that never took place.
Now, a Manchester-based law firm has said it wants to take advantage of the situation and has set up a new division and expand its headcount by up to 20 to handle claims against St James’s Place.
Barings Law, which was established in 2009, added that while St James’s Place is anticipating complaints will date back to 2018, the law firm is looking at cases dating back to 2013.
AMK has also said it is currently seeking compensation for clients going back as far as 2013.
Managing director Craig Cooper said: “There is no telling just how far this is going to go.
“There could potentially be hundreds of thousands of people affected by the actions of St James’s Place.”
Mr Cooper added: “Now more than ever it is essential for financial institutions to be as transparent as possible in respect of fees charged for any ongoing services and to ensure that they are acting in the best interests of their clients.”
St James’s Place has been frequently criticised for its high fees, especially its early withdrawal charge of up to six per cent of the value of a portfolio. Last October, it said it would be scrapping this charge, but has not rolled it out yet.