Year's wait for refund leaves customers 'stressed'
GoogleBuilding society customers who lost their life savings when a trust fund firm collapsed said they had been "stressed to tears" waiting for the promised full refund for nearly a year.
Philips Trust Corporation (PTC) went into administration in 2022 leaving more than 2,000 people out of pocket.
Newcastle Building Society (NBS) - who referred customers to a will writing company whose assets were then taken over by an entity connected to PTC - denied being responsible for the losses but in May last year offered a "significant voluntarily donation" to those affected.
NBS said it had provided the funds to PTC administrators Kroll to distribute. Kroll declined to comment.
One woman said she was still waiting for tens of thousands of pounds from the company.
"Every day, you're checking emails, you're checking bank accounts and just nothing," she said.
"I end up in tears.
"Sometimes you can't eat. I don't even tell the children how stressed I am - they've got their own worries."
'I just want the money back'
Another customer, who is also waiting for tens of thousands of pounds, said it was "really frustrating".
"God knows how many forms I've filled," he said.
"All they [Kroll] say is soon, soon, soon," he said. "But we don't seem to be getting any further.
"I just really want the money back."
The BBC is not revealing the identifies of the NBS customers because they were required to sign confidentiality agreements in order to receive their payouts.
The Philips Trust Action Group (PTAG) said it was "deeply concerning" that "vulnerable clients", who were predominantly pensioners, had been required to sign the documents.
"It silences them from speaking out about the harm they have suffered," a spokesperson said.
NBS - along with Leeds and Nottingham building societies who also referred clients to the will writing company - said it had made a "significant voluntary donation" to customers despite "no legal or regulatory obligation to do so".
Newcastle solicitor Claire Springle previously told the BBC she believed some of her clients only ended up with PTC because they had accounts with NBS.
NBS said at the time it wrote to customers to make clear it had no relationship with parties connected to PTC.