Equitable Life policyholders have got their day in court.
People who bought retirement savings products with Equitable Life will be able to take their cases to the High Court, it has been announced.
The latest twist to the nine-year saga has come partly as the result of campaigning efforts from the Equitable Members Action Group. The pensions firm almost collapsed in 2000 - and has since been forced to slash the size of around a million customers' pensions in order to balance the books.
Equitable Life was criticised last year in a report from parliamentary ombudsman Ann Abraham. Government departments were also blamed for the lax oversight of difficult-to-fulfil promises made by the firm in the run-up to the collapse - the financial obligations of which has caused other savers in the firm to suffer.
Ms Abraham said that policyholders should receive compensation - and the Action Group is currently battling the government to get its members full compensation for money lost due to the maladministration. However, the government has said that it only wants to reimburse those customers who were most affected by the near-collapse.
It is this government response to Ms Abraham's original report that is to be disputed in the upcoming High Court hearing. The Treasury has until June 24th to get its defence ready.
Paul Braithwaite at the Action Group commented: "The tide of moral indignation is finally turning in our favour and there's a growing realisation that there are a significant number of votes to be won and lost over Equitable Life in the general election."
