Thank you for contacting me about building societies.
I appreciate and am sympathetic to the difficult situation those are facing as a result of unsuitable financial products provided by a third party, namely the Philips Trust Corporation.
Philips was an unregulated trust provider mainly offering trustee services to individuals. It has never been authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and was relying on a trustee exemption in the relevant legislation. I understand from the FCA that, as far as it is aware, no building society had a direct relationship with Philips.
However, I would encourage anyone who believes that the actions of a particular building society or bank have led them to suffer detriment to contact the relevant building society or bank for further discussion. I understand building societies have been dealing with complaints and enquiries on the matter.
I also understand that if you have concerns about the role played by your bank or building society in relation to the Philips Trust Corporation, you may be eligible to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Whether a particular complaint is eligible or not is a matter for the FOS.
If you have specific questions about the administration of Philips, these should be directed to the Joint Administrators, who can be contacted at PTC@kroll.com. The Joint Administrators are encouraging any Philips customers who believe they are owed money or have a claim in respect of Philips’ actions as trustee to contact them
The FCA is engaging with relevant building societies and awaits the outcome of any Joint Administrators’ work.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.