Leeds Building Society’s treatment of customers it introduced to unregulated advisers is simply unacceptable. The mutual introduced customers in branches to advisers who sold them expensive family trusts which became part of a £138m financial scandal and are now having to be cancelled at a cost of thousands of pounds.

LBS refusing to offer compensation and apologies on the basis that these agreements were independent of the society is objectionable. Especially as LBS directly benefited financially from the schemes and even included successful referrals from branch staff in bonus calculations.

As hard as it may try to pass the buck, LBS cannot escape the fact that it has played a role in pushing customers towards the Estate Planning Group, which the mutual had a contract with, for wills and trusts. Customers were encouraged to sign up for the trusts by advisers working in branches on the basis that doing so would protect their homes from future care home fees so they could eventually be passed onto family members.

LBS wasn’t the only mutual to have a contract with the Estate Planning Group. Raising questions over robustness of the wider system when it comes to protecting customers. But this is a financial institution that bears the name of one of the great cities of Yorkshire. And this whole sorry saga reflects poorly as a whole on the region.

George Moore is one of the victims of a family trust misselling scandal. PIC: Simon Hulme

People in Yorkshire are proud of success stories such as the mutuals that emanate from here and they also expect them to act in a just manner - even if the small print allows them to brush off responsibility. We can give LBS the benefit of the doubt and say that it was unaware of the problems that would occur and acted in good faith at the time. But it is now how LBS makes good that will determine whether its reputation is undermined or not.

Unacceptable for Leeds Building Society to brush off family trusts responsibility - The Yorkshire Post says