We offer no win no fee advice on mis-sold bond compensation claims. Thousands of consumers purchased investment bonds totalling £5 Billion. Also under the guise of Guaranteed Income Bonds, Precipice and With-Profits Bonds, many now face withdrawal penalties in excess of 50% of their original investment value.

FACT	1,000,000+ consumers purchased these products
FACT	Only a fraction of them have made a claim
FACT	Unless you act quickly, your claim may be time-barred

These bonds were sold as an alternative to bank and building society deposit accounts by independent financial advisers, direct sales forces and bank salesmen. Not so well known however is the fact that single premium investment business is much more profitable to the banks and investment houses yet exposes the consumers (often pensioners) to an extremely high risk market.

A damning report, published in March 2000 by the Actuarial Profession's with-profit bond working party, was a point-by-point indictment of the practices that have since left so many savers' dreams in ruins. With advisers often pocketing in excess of 7% sales commission it is no wonder that these products have brought so much misery. The victims of this scandal should take specialist advice on mis-sold bond compensation claims without delay.

Market Value Reduction Factors or MVR's, designed to cushion the effects of a drastic market fall can reduce as much as a quarter of the value of the consumer's funds if they try to escape the clutches of the bond companies. For example, Scottish Mutual charges up to 18%. Britannic and although NPI won't say what their charges are, figures obtained by Money Mail suggest these might be as much as 24%.

Many consumers were told their money was tied up for only five years during which time they could expect an income in the form of annual bonuses. Although some consumers can withdraw up to 7.5% a year penalty-free as income, this income is produced only by eroding the capital investment value.

Since the report was published with-profit funds have gone into meltdown as a result of stock market turmoil and in many cases bonus rates have been slashed to nil with many funds being closed to new business.

The report warned: 'There is a risk that purchasers may think that they are buying a very safe bond when in fact their encashment value is to a large extent in the hands of the company.

'This needs to be made very clear in the pre-sales literature, as does the company's policy in respect of the application of MVRs.'

Although you cannot complain about the poor market fund performance, you can complain If :-

• The true nature of the underlying risk was not fully explained and documented; or
• The adviser failed to explain the effect of the MVR on your investment

The majority of consumers neither understood the effect, nor the consequences of these outcomes because they believed the products were guaranteed to be free from any element of risk.

We offer no win no fee advice on mis-sold bond compensation claims. If you are one of these unfortunate people who were mis-sold, you may be entitled to compensation and you should contact us now. You only have one opportunity to make a claim. If you get it wrong you may lose your chance for compensation.

Why not get expert support to greatly improve your chances of securing the maximum compensation you deserve using our no-win no fee service? We call upon experienced lawyers, accountants and actuaries to assist our claims team and can advise at an early stage on the prospects of recovery of compensation. If you would like free advice on our no win no fee compensation scheme just complete and send the contact form or call the helpline and an experienced financial claims adviser will discuss your potential claim at no cost and with no further obligation.