Silver linings aren’t easy to find in the London Capital & Finance scandal. Especially for the 11,700 victims who’ve lost their money like Elaine Dickson.
Elaine is a 58-year-old mental health worker. It’s a stressful job, which was why she’s been saving for the past decade to retire early.
Knowing her ISA was coming up for renewal, she started looking around and found LCF on a comparison website. After she’d clicked on LCF once, she kept receiving Facebook adverts and phone calls. Eventually she succumbed. She transferred her savings to LCF on 10 December — just three days before the Financial Conduct Authority froze the company. A few weeks later, it was bust. No more early retirement.
Her mother had been ill and died soon afterwards. While Elaine puts a brave face on it, grief and financial disaster have made 2019 a struggle.
But she wants to talk: “I want people to hear what we’ve been through. Perhaps it’ll be a warning”
And perhaps there’s the silver lining. As the stories around LCF grow, the public will become aware of the risks around backing high-interest bonds.
