The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has opened its door to claims against failed self-invested personal pension (SIPP) provider Berkeley Burke SIPP Administration (BBSA).
Berkeley Burke fell into administration in September 2019 following a lengthy court battle. At the time, the firm’s administrators RSM Restructuring Advisory projected the business was facing potential claim liabilities from clients of £158m or more.
The embattled SIPP administrator fell into administration after it was unable to pay a £1m interim costs ruling made by the High Court earlier that year.
BBSL had been fighting a Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) decision that ruled it had to compensate a client after it failed to carry out appropriate due diligence on their investment. In February, the firm was granted leave to appeal the judgment delivered against it in October 2018, which rejected Berkeley Burke’s claim against the FOS decision.
Berkeley Burke had argued it carried out the due diligence expected of it at the time, according to Conduct of Business Sourcebook (COBS) rules, and that the FOS subsequently placed undue responsibility by applying FCA Principles 2 and 6 in a way that created a new and unexpected duty of care on the part of SIPP operators.