Fingers crossed. Thanks for your advice. I've written my letter now. Just to got to wait and hope.

Yes, they only used 9.5% fund growth rate - expected investment return for the Retirement Investment Scheme. They also used 9.5% annuity purchase rate - assumed to calculate the cost of buying a pension at retirement. They used an assumption on salary growth 7.5% through to retirement.

I actually left Barclays at the end of 1999 so it is only 15 years service but still it makes a big difference to me. The growth rate used in the projection was 9.5%, which even back then was relatively high risk I think.

I have got copies of the brochures that were issued and a copy of the questionnaire. The questionnaire score led people under the age of 34 to move away from the Final Salary scheme. I have got to prove that the assumption they made was not the right one at the time. My claim is against both companies, I feel that they are equally culpable.

I believe that I was subject to maladministration / mis sold pension when I moved out of Barclays Final Salary Scheme into its Retirement Investment Scheme (RIS) in 1998. Sedgwick Noble Lowndes (SNL) were commissioned by Barclays at the time to manage the process. SNL produced a glossy brochure which painted a very misleading picture of the benefits of moving to the RIS and a short questionnaire which purported it to be a ‘no brainer’ if you scored less than 60. I scored 56. If only I’d have had access to the internet at the time! I was very naïve and gullible. I have complained to the Pensions Ombudsman who have asked that I make a complaint through the schemes IDRP first before they can investigate. The Ombudsman has acknowledged however that there was an assumption in the process that younger people were likely to be better off in the RIS. The importance, they say, is whether the assumption was reasonable at the time? Please could you help me to tackle this assumption in my letter of complaint. I need some good evidence to prove that my employers assumption was wrong. I was 31 years old, married, with two young children, and in good health. I had at that point worked for the bank for 15 years.