THE former CEO of Norton Motorcycles, Stuart Garner has been accused by a family of showing ‘no compassion’, after the family of a deceased man has been pleading for his funds to be returned.
Garner was ordered to pay around £14m back to pension holders just before Christmas 2020, he is appealing that charge next month.
Moto Corse Norton Commando Custom
The case centres around Robert Dewer, who passed away from multiple sclerosis in 2019 aged 64. Mr Dewer’s daughter, Ms Sally Holmes is just one of the people chasing Garner through the courts in an attempt to regain their lost money.
Making the case all the more distressing is the fact that Ms Holmes had personal assurances from Garner that the money was safe, despite him being told that the family wanted the funds returning so they could help care for Mr Dewer during his isness.
Speaking to BBC.co.uk, Ms Holmes said:
“Even though I had a really bad feeling, every now and then Stuart himself would contact me and reassure me, 'No this is real, this is a real company'.
“I told him several times why we wanted the money, which was so my mum could take some time out from working to help take care of my dad.
“I explained this several times and there has been just no compassion whatsoever.”
The family is reported to have been paid an undisclosed amount of compensation, although they claim the majority of that has been used to pay legal costs trying to ensure the full amount of money is returned.
In June, the pensions ombudsman judged that Garner had acted ‘dishonestly’ in his role as a trustee of the Norton pension schemes and that he didn’t have the ‘acquired knowledge and understanding of the law relating to pensions and trusts.
As a result of this, Garner has been ordered to pay back around £14m to the people that lost money through the Norton pension schemes.
He is set to appeal this decision next month.
