The administrator or liquidator
Where the issuer has failed, this is the process for recovering from the company itself. Register your claim on time; it is a different exercise from a mis-selling complaint.
06 Mini-bond mis-selling
Mini-bonds: what went wrong, and who was accountable.
A mini-bond is a loan. You lend money to a company, it promises interest, and it promises to repay you on a date. It is usually not a regulated investment and therefore usually not FSCS protected — which is why the mini-bond problem has produced so much litigation and so little compensation.
Short answer
Most mini-bonds were unregulated, so the Financial Services Compensation Scheme did not cover the bond itself. The complaint therefore has to be about the sale: who promoted it, what they said about protection and risk, and whether the promotion broke the rules that did apply. Complain to the firm that advised or promoted it.
Indicators only. Not legal or financial advice. Not a prediction of outcome.
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 invested in a bond advertised to the public that promised a fixed rate of interest.
- You were told it was low risk, secured, or as safe as a savings account.
- You were told, or believed, that your money was FSCS protected.
- The money was advertised through a promotion, a website, a seminar or the press.
- You were introduced to it by a financial adviser, or by a firm that arranged the investment.
- The bond used an ISA wrapper, which made it look regulated.
- The company behind it has stopped paying interest or has gone into administration.
- You have never been told whether the people who promoted it were authorised.
02 How it works
How a claim works for this product.
Establish what the bond actually was
The two questions that decide everything else are: was the bond a regulated investment, and what security — if any — stood behind it? Look at the bond documents for the charging provisions, the identity of the borrower and any trustee. A promised fixed return is a promise made by a company, and its value depends on that company.
Establish who was authorised
Where the promoter or introducer was never authorised, and never had permission for what it did, the regulatory routes change. Check the firm on the FCA Firm Checker and the warning list. Where a regulated adviser recommended the bond, that adviser is usually the focus of the complaint.
Test what you were told about protection
If you were told the investment was safe, secured, guaranteed or FSCS protected, that statement is the centre of the case. FSCS publishes its own guidance on what it can and cannot cover, and it is clear that some investment products are not protected at all. Compare what the FSCS position actually was with what you were told.
Separate the written from the unwritten
Mini-bond sales frequently relied on conversations, seminars and confidence. The written material in that material case is the marketing: the brochure, the website, the advertisement. Keep them, because they are the evidence of the impression created — and financial promotions are subject to rules regardless of whether the product itself was regulated.
Be realistic about recovery
There are three separate questions: whether the bond itself can repay anything (an insolvency question), whether the people who sold it can be pursued (a regulatory or court question), and whether any compensation route is open (FSCS, rarely, and only in defined circumstances). They have different timetables and different likelihoods, and it is worth being told that plainly.
03 The clock
Time limits are the first thing to check.
- Firm complaint: normally within 6 years of the promotion or of the investment, or within 3 years of becoming aware of cause to complain.
- Ombudsman: within 6 months of the final response, normally due within 8 weeks. The Ombudsman can only consider complaints about firms within its jurisdiction.
- FSCS: the bond itself is usually outside the scheme. Where a regulated firm advised the bond, an FSCS route may exist if that firm has failed.
- Insolvency claims: the deadline is set by the administrator or liquidator, and missing it can extinguish a claim entirely. If the issuer is in administration, act on the administrator’s notices.
- Court: 6 years from the cause of action or 3 years from the date of knowledge, whichever is later, with a 15-year longstop.
04 The routes
Which route fits your facts.
Complain about the advice or promotion
Where an authorised firm recommended or promoted the bond, complain about what you were told. Where the promoter was never authorised, the complaint changes shape and legal advice is usually needed.
FSCS
Rarely available for the bond, because most mini-bonds were not regulated products. It may be available where an authorised firm gave advice and has since failed.
Court or group action
Often the only realistic route to a meaningful recovery in mini-bond cases, and usually beyond the Ombudsman’s reach. Funding and cost are live questions — see the litigation funding guide.
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 bond instrument, terms and any trustee documents
- The marketing material: brochure, website copy, advertisement
- Your application and payment records
- Any statement that the investment was secured, safe or FSCS protected
- Anything naming the adviser or introducer, and what they were paid
- Interest statements and any notices of default or missed payment
- Correspondence from the administrator or liquidator
- The firm’s status from the FCA Register at the date you invested
06 Questions
Questions people ask about this product.
Are mini-bonds FSCS protected?
In general, no. FSCS protects defined products and activities carried out by authorised firms, and it states that some investment products are not protected at all. Most mini-bonds were not regulated investments, so the bond itself was not covered. FSCS may still be relevant where an authorised firm advised you and has since failed.
I was told it was as safe as a bank account. What now?
That statement is the heart of the complaint. Keep whatever shows it — a brochure, a slide, an email, notes of the conversation — and put the question to the firm that made it in writing. Where the statement was part of a financial promotion, the rules on promotions apply independently of whether the bond was regulated.
What if I bought the bond inside an ISA?
That is common, and it can make the promotion look safer than it was. The ISA wrapper relates to tax only; it does not confer FSCS protection on an unregulated bond. It is worth asking the firm that put it there what due diligence it carried out.
Is there a group action?
Some mini-bond failures have led to group litigation, and some have led to discussions with administrators. Whether a group exists for your bond is a specific question that depends on the issuer and the year — take advice rather than relying on a website. We do not announce claims, and we do not run them.
Can the FCA get my money back?
No. The FCA supervises firms and can take action against them, but it does not award compensation to individual investors and does not recover your money for you. Its role is separate from the routes that can pay you.
The company is in administration. Do I need to do anything?
Yes, and on the administrator’s timetable rather than yours. Register your claim as the notices direct, keep proof, and take advice on whether a separate mis-selling complaint should run in parallel.
[CONFIRM: current FCA position on mini-bond promotions and the marketing perimeter]
This section is deliberately left as a placeholder. Before publishing, confirm the current position on how mini-bonds could be promoted, and add the FCA page you relied on to the Sources list. Do not publish a description of the rules from memory.
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.
Financial Services Compensation Scheme
Checked 12 October 2026 — Investment compensation limits per eligible person per firm, and what FSCS cannot cover.
FSCS compensation rules and eligibility
Financial Services Compensation Scheme
Checked 12 October 2026 — The conditions that must all be met before FSCS can pay a claim.
Warning list of unauthorised firms
Financial Conduct Authority
Checked 12 October 2026 — Published warnings about firms and individuals we may need to flag in the checker.
Financial Services Register / FCA Firm Checker
Financial Conduct Authority
Checked 12 October 2026 — The official register used to confirm whether a firm is authorised and what it is permitted to do.
Financial Conduct Authority
Checked 12 October 2026 — The complaint process, the eight-week final response and the six-month window to go to the Ombudsman.
Understanding compensation for financial loss
Financial Ombudsman Service
Checked 12 October 2026 — Award limits for cases referred to the Ombudsman, and how compensation and interest are worked out.
MIS-SOLD INVESTMENT / CLAIM CHECKER
// Next step
Check your own facts against the eight checks.
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Canonical: https://mis-sold-investments.com/mini-bond-mis-selling/