It can be difficult for a client to accept that they are the victim of a fraud or confidence trick and family members will struggle sometimes to help them understand they need to seek independent advice.
If a client can log on to a website and see that “their account” is live and the value has gone up — this can be very convincing. They do not want to accept that there are bad reviews online, scam warnings from the Financial Conduct Authority, and that this investment company is not authorised. It can be difficult to accept.
In our experience, many victims of fraud blame themselves for the loss and this is one of the biggest obstacles we have to overcome.
Clients have told us how they feel ashamed and do not want to tell friends or family because they also feel foolish.
Having the courage to come forward and speak to us about what has happened is usually the first and the most difficult step they take.
Sometimes, they will confide in a friend or family member and they will have encouraged them to seek help.
We find that building trust with a prospective client who is coming to terms with losing their life savings through fraud or poor financial advice can take a long time.
Why would she trust someone in the very profession that has caused the loss in the first place? We all get cast in the same light, and we have to spend a lot of time explaining why and how we might be able to help.
We have to visit most of our clients at home and sometimes just getting in the door is difficult.
They are wary of phone calls and smart-talking sales people. Those who have met an unregulated adviser in person will often comment on the flashy car they had.
Our staff think very carefully about how they will appear to a client. It reminds me of the approach we had to take advising lottery winners when I worked in a private bank — it was very much jeans and T-shirts rather than suits.
I guess this is one of the reasons why I feel advice companies and financial advisers are well placed to help those that have been misadvised or defrauded.
We are used to spending time understanding client circumstances, we appreciate that we need to build trust and we have their best interests at heart.
Qualified financial advisers are well placed to understand what has actually happened and experienced enough to guide clients on the way to understanding whether everything is actually lost or to explain there is some hope of recovery.
Even that confirmation of a total loss can be important, as fraudsters will continue to contact clients who have been defrauded and offer some scheme or other to get their money back if they pay a further fee.
