March 18, 2024 marks an important moment in the case of the “pension fraud” linked to the Norton Motorcycles brand. A truly regrettable story and a shadow cast not only over the glorious British brand, but also over the motorcycle industry in general during Stuart Garner’s, to say the least, questionable tenure.
Four years ago, what was, to all intents and purposes, a fraud, came to light and, after a long legal journey, the victims involved are finally seeing their right to compensation recognized. For those who don’t know or remember the details, here’s a brief summary of what happened. Between 2012 and 2013, more than 200 British workers were persuaded to transfer around 11.5 million pounds into Norton pension funds, only to discover years later that they had been the victims of a pension fraud. The money invested in Norton’s pension plans was actually being used to fund the company’s business, which was run by Garner.
In December 2020, the UK Pensions Ombudsman ordered Garner to repay around 14 million pounds to the injured pensioners. However, Garner’s bankruptcy filing has raised doubts as to whether the victims will receive any compensation. The UK Pension Protection Fund’s Fraud Compensation Fund has determined, after almost four years of assessments, that the victims are entitled to compensation. The fund will pay out 9.4 million pounds to the three pension schemes involved.
Although the individual amounts for each of the 200 or so workers involved have not yet been calculated, it is estimated that by November 2024 this process could be completed and that is what we are obviously hoping for. The hope is that the victims will soon be able to recover a fair share of their unjustly lost savings and that we can all finally put an end to this unusual case that has done nothing but give the Norton Motorcycles brand a bad image.