EMAG

The independent action group for current and ex Equitable Life policyholders, funded by contributions.

Equitable Members Action Group

Equitable Members Action Group Limited, a company limited by guarantee, number 5471535 registered in the UK

Search
Documents: 14/11/2009 - Howard Gleave - www.guardian.co.uk - money - Your Shout

I take issue with what you wrote about Equitable Life investors not deserving taxpayers' money to compensate them (On reflection, 7 November). I am one of the people who, on discovering that what I had thought was a reputable company regulated by the British government was operating a Ponzi scheme under the very noses of the regulators and, in the latter stages, even with their knowledge, withdrew his money. Once trust has gone, it has gone.

I invested in Equitable Life in good faith, first because it had a very sound reputation and second because it did not pay its staff commission. I opted for the "with profits" option as one that produced steady rather than spectacular performance. I relied on the government's alleged regulation to concern myself with working to save the money, prudently as I thought, to provide for my own old age.

The tenor of your article is that the million or so people like me are fat cats who can be ignored by this government because we do not form its natural constituency. It is clear that Equitable investors can expect nothing from this Labour administration nor from ideologically motivated journalists like you who see this as a class issue.

Gordon Brown often talks about "British values". I always thought that they included consistency and fairness. Investors in Icelandic banks, unregulated by the British authorities, are being fully compensated. And hundreds of billions of pounds have been pledged by this government to incompetent banks. The £4bn or so needed to compensate the victims of "a decade of regulatory failure" would signal that saving for a rainy day and being less dependent on the state pays dividends. 

Howard Gleave- www.guardian.co.uk-money - Your Shout - 14/11/2009