Déjà vu over Leeds Building Society's involvement with family trusts scandal: Yorkshire Post Letters

The Yorkshire Post Letters
By The Yorkshire Post Letters
Published 28th Jun 2023, 11:45 BST
From: Bob Swallow, Townhead Avenue, Settle.

Your leader (The Yorkshire Post, June 24) on Leeds Building Society’s involvement with the £138m family trusts scandal struck me as ‘here we go again’.

During August 1989, I and many of my colleagues took early retirement from the then Leeds Building Society, in my case after 34 years’ service (including two as a guest of Her Majesty in the RAF).

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My employer was originally known as the Leeds Permanent Building Society, being the then leading financial institution in the city of Leeds.

George Moore is among hundreds of victims of a family trust misselling scandal. He and others were introduced to unregulated advisers in branches of Leeds Building Society and signed up to trusts they have subsequently lost thousands of pounds on. Pictured outside the Leeds Building Society, Halifax. Picture taken by Yorkshire Post Photographer Simon HulmeGeorge Moore is among hundreds of victims of a family trust misselling scandal. He and others were introduced to unregulated advisers in branches of Leeds Building Society and signed up to trusts they have subsequently lost thousands of pounds on. Pictured outside the Leeds Building Society, Halifax. Picture taken by Yorkshire Post Photographer Simon Hulme
George Moore is among hundreds of victims of a family trust misselling scandal. He and others were introduced to unregulated advisers in branches of Leeds Building Society and signed up to trusts they have subsequently lost thousands of pounds on. Pictured outside the Leeds Building Society, Halifax. Picture taken by Yorkshire Post Photographer Simon Hulme

All that changed with the Financial Services Act of 1986, which was one of Mrs Thatcher’s brainwaves.

Virtually overnight banks, building societies, estate agents and insurance companies became a one-stop shop.

Staff became a Jack of all trades and master of few.

There were ready funds as money was available in almost limitless amount via central government. Builders had a field day and who can blame them?

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Prices were hiked through the roof and ‘sell, sell, sell’ was the watchword.

Those with long memories will remember the sitcom The Ragtrade with its catchphase “never mind the quality, feel the width”.

The ‘'Permanent’ part of the name was dispensed with, which was just as well as it soon went to the wall as part of HBOS – though not before being stung for mis-selling in particular mortgage ‘protection’ insurance which proved anything but.

Now its namesake the ‘Leeds mark two’ formerly the ‘Leeds and Holbeck’ has it seems been stung by something similar.

Folk of my era largely worked under the slogan ‘people matter’. Seemingly that is now old hat and branch staff were being encouraged to sell, sell, sell.

Déjà vu?

Related topics:Yorkshire PostLeeds