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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 |
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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 |
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Press Releases: 28/01/2002 - EQUITABLE LIFE: YES, but - EMAG's view 28th January 2002 - EQUITABLE LIFE: YES, but - EMAG's view - Press releaseEMAG welcomes the news that the members have chosen to vote by a landslide to stabilise the Society. Policyholders have spoken and this is a victory for common sense. They voted YES in the hope that everything will come good and out of fear of the alternative, which was anarchy or worse. This wasnt an endorsement of the board - merely the answer to an offer the policyholders couldn't refuse. There can be no ground for complacency in a Society that has reduced in value by 30% in just one year. Vanni Treves has succeeded in achieving his single objective: To persuade remaining policyholders to bear the full cost of a decade of mis-management and, arguably, mis-regulation. He went about it ruthlessly with his appointed chief executive, Charles Thomson, deploying a battery of special advisers and "spin doctors". The battle may have been won but there have been some serious casualties under this military-style secretive regime: truth and transparency have unfortunately fallen by the wayside. The PR release gave percentages accurate to one decimal point but the numbers of enfranchised members on which they are based remain undisclosed. A promise to reveal the year-end numbers just looks like more "smoke and mirrors". Why can't we have the accurate member numbers at Jan 11th NOW? Can it be because they're down by 20% on the numbers in the documentation? The administrative problems of the Society have grown and festered and are worse today than a year ago because the management of the Society is totally unsatisfactory. What we have bought, at a very high price to policyholders, is time and a degree of stability to enable us to get to grips with our future (management, GIRs, unitisation, governance etc). EMAG says a polite and heartfelt thank you to Mr Treves and Mr Thomson but suggests, once the Scheme has been adopted, that it would be appropriate for them to step aside. This, because "peace" calls for a radical change of culture: A "healing" culture, inclusive of policyholders, working together to find imaginative solutions to our many problems. Successful leaders in times of conflicts are rarely the right ones for the peace that follows. Paul Braithwaite |
