New Delhi: Peter Howard was on holiday when Lehman Brothers collapsed, but has been hard at work ever since.
He thought he was just a spectator to the drama on his TV screens. But within days Howard and thousands of other of British investors - many of them pensioners - received letters informing them that their supposedly safe structured investment products were not just backed by Lehman Brothers, but held overseas. And therefore not covered by any compensation scheme.
"When I found that I was affected by this, I was hoping someone would join a group and I'd just join it. But as time went on, nobody started a group, so I thought, somebody's got to do it, so I'll do it,” Howard said.
Howard instituted an online collective known as Spirited, as in 'Spirited Away By Lehmans'.
He contacted other investors from around the UK who, like himself, had been sold investment products without being informed of any link to the US bank. Most relied on the monthly income during retirement
“We have people in their 80s, 90s. But the main thing about them, they are very cautious. And every time anyone writes me, that is the emphasis; we were cautious investors, we didn't want to take risks, we wanted our money to be safe,” Howard said.
In May, the Financial Services Authority agreed to launch a probe into Lehman Backed structured products.
Howard is confident the Lehman victims he represents will ultimately receive compensation, but for now, the anger and uncertainty remains.
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