Salesmen have told the BBC they lied and forged to persuade investors to part with pensions worth £100m.

The money was invested in buying storage units from Lancashire-based Store First Ltd. Pension holders told Radio 4's You & Yours they were promised high returns for renting the units out, but these have not materialised. Store First says it was unaware of the allegations and is not responsible for the sales tactics. The firm operates a chain of self-storage warehouses across the UK and sponsored Accrington Stanley Football Club until August 2015.


The Liverpool sales company Jackson Francis Ltd was paid through an intermediary by Store First to cold call people with "dormant pensions" - savings they had accrued under previous employers. From 2011, more than 1,000 people were persuaded by Jackson Francis staff to move these pensions into the Store First scheme. David Griffiths from Sutton Coldfield said: "They brought me glossy booklets, with jolly people shaking hands. "They told me it was a very good investment, and that many people have had their money back off it, so I looked on their website, and it looked all kosher." But You & Yours heard former salesmen from Jackson Francis claim their immediate managers told them to lie to get clients signed up. They admitted forging documents, and say they witnessed other staff copying client signatures.....Read more here