Aviva has been hitting the headlines repeatedly over the last 24hrs from the issuing of its financial results (which you can read
here), to CEO Mark Wilson’s comments on brokers (which you can read
here). Now the company is back in the spotlight again as it looks set to enter a court battle.
According to a report by
FT Adviser, Kim Barrett, the managing director of Barrett’s Financial Solutions, based in Essex, has been locked in a dispute with the insurance giant over unpaid commission after being sent a statement from Friends Life back in April. The statement reportedly outlines that Mr Barrett was owed £415.33, but also included deductions of £641.48 which Mr Barrett believes should not have been made.
The issue has escalated over the last few months with Aviva recently rejecting the offer of having the matter settled by the Small Claims Mediation Service – meaning it will now head to court.
Speaking to the publication, Mr Barrett commented that “they have never issued a corrective statement” and that after four months this is “bang out of order.”
“Clearly there is an identifiable issue here and it doesn’t make any sense why it happened,” he said. “For an adviser, commission is sacrosanct - you don’t just issue a statement and then not pay the money.”
Aviva bought out Friends Life back in April last year and Mr Barrett contacted the company because he believed he was owed £1,056.81. He eventually realised that even the smaller sum of £415.33 had not been paid and when he complained he was allegedly informed that there was an issue with the system.
In its response to the publication, Aviva stated that it is “aware of the court process initiated and we are now looking into the details of his claim.”
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