MIS-SOLDINVESTMENT
Check your claim

07 Structured products

Structured products: the small print is the product.

Structured products are sold on a headline — a defined return if certain things happen. The conditions attached to that headline are what determine whether you get your money back. Most complaints are not about the outcome; they are about whether anyone explained those conditions in a way you could understand at the time.

Last reviewed 12 October 2026Written by The mis-sold investment team at Edward & Amaury SolicitorsLegally reviewed by [CONFIRM: name of the solicitor who reviews this content]

Short answer

A structured product complaint usually argues that the conditions attached to the return were not explained clearly, or that a product with capital at risk was sold to someone who could not accept that risk. Whether FSCS protection applies depends on what the product was and who issued it, which needs checking rather than assuming.

Indicators only. Not legal or financial advice. Not a prediction of outcome.

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LECTIO CAUTAcareful reading

01 Is this you?

Tick what fits.

A claim is worth pursuing when the facts line up. These are the facts that matter most for this product. If three or more describe your situation, the checker is worth five minutes.

  • You were offered a defined return, with the conditions explained afterwards.
  • You cannot explain, now, in one sentence, what has to happen for you to get your capital back.
  • The word “barrier”, “autocall” or “observation date” appears in documents you were never taken through.
  • It was described as a bond or a deposit when it carried capital risk.
  • The product was linked to an index or a basket of shares you would not have bought directly.
  • It was issued by a company, not a bank or building society, and you were not told what that means for protection.
  • Your money is tied up for a fixed term, and you have since needed it.
  • You were told your capital was protected, without the qualification being written down.

02 How it works

How a claim works for this product.

  1. Read the conditions before the headline

    Every structured product has conditions: a barrier that must not be breached, observation dates on which the level is measured, and a rule for what happens if it is. Establish, from the key information document and the terms, exactly what has to be true for your capital and return to be paid. Then compare that with what you were told.

  2. Establish who carries the risk

    A structured product is normally a contract with an issuer. Whether you are protected if the issuer fails depends on the product and the issuer, and structured products vary widely. FSCS states plainly that some investment products are not protected at all, so check the position for the specific product rather than assuming.

  3. Test the risk rating against the client

    Many structured products carry a risk rating that would exclude a cautious investor, which is why they appear so often in complaints involving savers who wanted capital security. If your recorded attitude to risk was cautious and the product was capital-at-risk, that is a specific, checkable point.

  4. Look at the term against the client’s needs

    Fixed terms of five or six years are common. Where the money was needed earlier — for income, care, or a planned purchase — the mismatch between the term and the need is the complaint, and it does not depend on market movements at all.

  5. Check how the product was promoted

    Structured products reach investors through advisers, platforms and direct promotions. The route in matters: an advised sale has a recommendation to test, while a direct-to-investor promotion raises questions about the financial promotion itself. Both are governed by rules that apply regardless of the product’s own regulation.

03 The clock

Time limits are the first thing to check.

  • Firm complaint: normally within 6 years of the sale, or within 3 years of becoming aware of cause to complain.
  • Ombudsman: within 6 months of the final response, normally due within 8 weeks.
  • FSCS: only where an authorised firm has failed and the product or advice falls inside the scheme; check whether the product you held was covered.
  • Court: 6 years from the cause of action or 3 years from the date of knowledge, whichever is later, with a 15-year longstop.
  • Redemption dates: a product reaching maturity is not a deadline for complaining, but it is often when the problem becomes visible — which is when the knowledge clock can start.
The full time-limit guide

04 The routes

Which route fits your facts.

Complain to the adviser or the seller

Whether the conditions, the capital risk and the term were explained fairly, and whether the product suited your circumstances.

Financial Ombudsman Service

Free, and able to look at how the product was explained as well as whether it was suitable. This is where most structured product complaints end up.

FSCS

Where the firm has failed. Whether the product itself was covered is a separate question and needs checking against the FSCS position for that product type.

The issuer

Where the complaint is about how the issuer has operated the product, or about the valuation of an early exit. That is a contractual question rather than a mis-selling one.

05 Evidence

Documents to gather.

You do not need everything before you start. But a complaint that names dates, amounts and documents is much harder to answer with a template letter.

  • The key information document and the full terms
  • The suitability report or recommendation
  • Any illustration showing the possible outcomes, and its assumptions
  • Statements showing the index or share levels on the observation dates
  • The charges and any early exit valuation
  • The marketing material that led you to it
  • Correspondence about maturity, autocall or redemption

06 Questions

Questions people ask about this product.

What is a barrier?

A level that the linked index or share price must stay above (or below) on specified dates for you to receive a return, or to get your capital back. It is the single feature most often misunderstood, and the one to check first.

What is an autocall?

A feature that ends the product early if the linked asset meets a condition on an observation date, returning your capital and a defined gain. It removes your exposure to further gains if the market keeps rising, which is a trade-off that must be explained.

Is my capital protected?

Only if the documents say so, and even then it depends on who is doing the protecting. Many structured products are capital-at-risk, meaning you can lose some or all of what you invested. FSCS states that some investment products are not protected at all, so this needs checking rather than assuming.

Can I exit early?

Sometimes, at the issuer’s valuation rather than yours, which can be well below the amount invested. Whether that was explained at the point of sale is a legitimate complaint point, as is whether the terms and the exit mechanism were ever shown to you.

Was the product regulated?

It depends on how it was structured and who issued it. Some structured products are regulated products and some are not, and the answer determines which routes are open. Ask the firm, in writing, to confirm what it sold you and how it was regulated.

The product matured and I got less than I put in. Is that a claim?

Not automatically. A capital-at-risk product can mature at a loss and have been sold correctly. The question is whether you understood, before investing, that this was one of the possible outcomes.

Sources

Every rule, limit and deadline on this page comes from the official sources below. Each was read on the date shown. Where we could not verify a rule against the official text, we have left a visible instruction to confirm it rather than describing it from memory.

MIS-SOLD INVESTMENT / CLAIM CHECKER

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