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Apologies in advance for the lengthy first post! I have just begun the process of attempting to reclaim PPI from a number of past and present creditors, and would appreciate any advice 'more experienced' campaigners may be able to offer.
I believe I have been mis-sold PPI in every instance, based on the fact that I have a pre-existing medical condition, I have never been asked about -by any lender. No lender has explained that such a condition would exclude me from cover, a act that might have prompted me to volunteer the information.
No lender has ever sought to determine whether their policy was suitable for me, on medical grounds, or for any other reason. For instance, all my past employers have had generous sickness and death-in-service benefits.
In the case of two lenders (Northern Rock and MBNA), I have tried and failed to cancel the PPI -it was implied it was in my best interests to keep the policies. Neither company has enquired as to whether I have any other cover.
I have submitted SARs to all past and current creditors, and been largely successful in obtaining the information I requested (copies of loan agreements) -except in the case of credit card lenders (details of charges). The eight week time limit has yet to expire.
I have written to Northern Rock with the following, I have a letter of acknowledgement -but nothing more, yet.
"I purchased the payment protection insurance policy, for the above loan, from you in June 2006 but now believe that I was mis-sold this policy for the following reasons:
Firstly, your member of staff did not ask me about any previous medical conditions, when the policy was sold. Secondly, your salesperson was very pushy in selling me the policy, and I felt I could not say no, despite already having alternative cover.
No attempt was made to ascertain if the product provided was fit for purpose, suitable for my needs or if indeed if I really needed it at all. No inquiry was made as to whether I had pre-existing insurance for accident, illness or unemployment, nor were any rights to cancel these policies explained. I believe you manifestly failed in your fiduciary responsibilities and your duty of care.
I contacted you shortly after signing the loan agreement, wishing to cancel the policyand you informed me that I could only cancel if I took out a new credit agreement. I was advised, by your salesperson, that the best course of action would be to make payments according to the current agreement, and apply for a new loan at a later date. This would, I was advised, allow me to build up a 'history' with Northern Rock –and allow me to apply for an insurance-free loan, at a lower rate of interest. Your salesperson implied that taking out the policy was essential for me to get the associated credit, in the first instance.
I understand under the Consumer Credit Acts and following a House of Lords judgment that you are not allowed to make a loan conditional on taking PPI unless you include the costs of PPI as part of the charge for credit and not the credit itself. You did not do this. You added it to the total for credit and then charged me further interest on the premium on top of the interest for the loan. This is unacceptable.
I now realize following the recent OFT and FSA investigations, that you mis-sold me the insurance policy, which I did not want and did not need. I believe I signed up for the insurance under economic duress and that your actions were unconscionable. As the FSA has now stated ‘no refund’ terms are considered unfair I would like my original cancellation request to be honored and any fees incurred as a result of taking out a new agreement to be refunded.
Finally I believe insurance contracts are contracts uberrimae fidei (contracts of the utmost good faith) which imposes on you a “duty of disclosure of all material facts because one party is in a strong position to know the truth.” Inter alia, I believe that you should have disclosed to me that the type of policy you sold me, a single payment premium, did not give a pro-rata refund in event of early settlement. I believe you should have made it clear to me that the policies generated large profits for you. You failed to do this. I believe that you have also therefore failed in your duty of disclosure. Your failure to disclose is misrepresentation at common law. Your concealment of the act of mis-selling has prevented me from asserting my right until now.
Unless you can satisfactorily justify to me that the policy was fair and reasonable I am requesting a full refund of all premiums, and subsequent interest on these payments, that I have paid to date. As I believe I have been deprived of this money I also expect 8% statutory interest, the amount a court would award, to be added to each payment made.I also require that the monthly payments remaining before my loan is paid in full, not to include the cost of PPI, or interest on the cost of the PPI.
I look forward to a full and prompt response to this letter and for the matter to be concluded with eight weeks or I shall be contacting the Financial Ombudsman to investigate my complaint. I hope that you will enter into a sincere dialogue with me about this matter and I am writing this letter to you on the assumption that you will prefer to do this than merely respond with standard letters and leaflets."
Is this letter suitably worded? or does it need to be stronger? In the case of other agreements, predating 2005 -is it worthwhile pursuing the ombuds route, or would court be a more expedient option?
The total amount I stand to reclaim is considerable, so I'm prepared to take whatever measures are necessary. Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Apologies in advance for the lengthy first post! I have just begun the process of attempting to reclaim PPI from a number of past and present creditors, and would appreciate any advice 'more experienced' campaigners may be able to offer.
I believe I have been mis-sold PPI in every instance, based on the fact that I have a pre-existing medical condition, I have never been asked about -by any lender. No lender has explained that such a condition would exclude me from cover, a act that might have prompted me to volunteer the information.
No lender has ever sought to determine whether their policy was suitable for me, on medical grounds, or for any other reason. For instance, all my past employers have had generous sickness and death-in-service benefits.
In the case of two lenders (Northern Rock and MBNA), I have tried and failed to cancel the PPI -it was implied it was in my best interests to keep the policies. Neither company has enquired as to whether I have any other cover.
I have submitted SARs to all past and current creditors, and been largely successful in obtaining the information I requested (copies of loan agreements) -except in the case of credit card lenders (details of charges). The eight week time limit has yet to expire.
I have written to Northern Rock with the following, I have a letter of acknowledgement -but nothing more, yet.
"I purchased the payment protection insurance policy, for the above loan, from you in June 2006 but now believe that I was mis-sold this policy for the following reasons:
Firstly, your member of staff did not ask me about any previous medical conditions, when the policy was sold. Secondly, your salesperson was very pushy in selling me the policy, and I felt I could not say no, despite already having alternative cover.
No attempt was made to ascertain if the product provided was fit for purpose, suitable for my needs or if indeed if I really needed it at all. No inquiry was made as to whether I had pre-existing insurance for accident, illness or unemployment, nor were any rights to cancel these policies explained. I believe you manifestly failed in your fiduciary responsibilities and your duty of care.
I contacted you shortly after signing the loan agreement, wishing to cancel the policyand you informed me that I could only cancel if I took out a new credit agreement. I was advised, by your salesperson, that the best course of action would be to make payments according to the current agreement, and apply for a new loan at a later date. This would, I was advised, allow me to build up a 'history' with Northern Rock –and allow me to apply for an insurance-free loan, at a lower rate of interest. Your salesperson implied that taking out the policy was essential for me to get the associated credit, in the first instance.
I understand under the Consumer Credit Acts and following a House of Lords judgment that you are not allowed to make a loan conditional on taking PPI unless you include the costs of PPI as part of the charge for credit and not the credit itself. You did not do this. You added it to the total for credit and then charged me further interest on the premium on top of the interest for the loan. This is unacceptable.
I now realize following the recent OFT and FSA investigations, that you mis-sold me the insurance policy, which I did not want and did not need. I believe I signed up for the insurance under economic duress and that your actions were unconscionable. As the FSA has now stated ‘no refund’ terms are considered unfair I would like my original cancellation request to be honored and any fees incurred as a result of taking out a new agreement to be refunded.
Finally I believe insurance contracts are contracts uberrimae fidei (contracts of the utmost good faith) which imposes on you a “duty of disclosure of all material facts because one party is in a strong position to know the truth.” Inter alia, I believe that you should have disclosed to me that the type of policy you sold me, a single payment premium, did not give a pro-rata refund in event of early settlement. I believe you should have made it clear to me that the policies generated large profits for you. You failed to do this. I believe that you have also therefore failed in your duty of disclosure. Your failure to disclose is misrepresentation at common law. Your concealment of the act of mis-selling has prevented me from asserting my right until now.
Unless you can satisfactorily justify to me that the policy was fair and reasonable I am requesting a full refund of all premiums, and subsequent interest on these payments, that I have paid to date. As I believe I have been deprived of this money I also expect 8% statutory interest, the amount a court would award, to be added to each payment made.I also require that the monthly payments remaining before my loan is paid in full, not to include the cost of PPI, or interest on the cost of the PPI.
I look forward to a full and prompt response to this letter and for the matter to be concluded with eight weeks or I shall be contacting the Financial Ombudsman to investigate my complaint. I hope that you will enter into a sincere dialogue with me about this matter and I am writing this letter to you on the assumption that you will prefer to do this than merely respond with standard letters and leaflets."
Is this letter suitably worded? or does it need to be stronger? In the case of other agreements, predating 2005 -is it worthwhile pursuing the ombuds route, or would court be a more expedient option?
The total amount I stand to reclaim is considerable, so I'm prepared to take whatever measures are necessary. Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Hello and welcome,
Your letter is good and looks familiar . Court maybe the only option in the later loans, if they do not respond favourably to your request for refund.
Wishing you good luck in your quest, and if you need help, just ask
If any of my posts are helpful, please feel free to click my scales. All information is given as my opinion only, based on my own personal experiences. I have no legal training, but have educated myself in aspects of consumer legislation. My motto "NEVER GIVE IN, NEVER SURRENDER", THERE IS A WAR ON YOU KNOW
Yes, the wording of the letter may have come from this site, via a third party. I have yet to receive a response from Northern Rock, do I send them a second letter, or would it be better to refer the case to the fos when the deadline expires?
I have received copies of loan agreements from the Halifax dating from the late nineties, up to about 2001. I steadlily increased the loan about five times in this period, each time I was sold a new PPI policy. I reckon, in 1999 I was covered by no less than FOUR policies, all for effectively the same loan, from the same bank.
Maybe I could use this evidence as "a little extra", to help my claim!:grin:
Should I have asked for more information than just the original agreements when I sent my SAR? Or is it reasonable to ask for a refund (plus interest), with evidence of how this figure has been calculated -letting them do the hard work for me?
I am pleased to report that I had a positive response to the above letter. Northern Rock refute my allegation, but they've reviewed their records and they are going to repay all my PPI with interest and reschedule the rest of the loan to be without PPI. This is to settle the complaint amicably, and avoid a protracted correspondance.
Now I just have to get the same responses from Egg, MBNA, Halifax and Intelligent Finance. These will be for considerably larger sums of money, so I expect to have a fight on my hands. I'm just waiting for my SARs to be processed, before going into battle .
I am pleased to report that I had a positive response to the above letter. Northern Rock refute my allegation, but they've reviewed their records and they are going to repay all my PPI with interest and reschedule the rest of the loan to be without PPI. This is to settle the complaint amicably, and avoid a protracted correspondance.
Now I just have to get the same responses from Egg, MBNA, Halifax and Intelligent Finance. These will be for considerably larger sums of money, so I expect to have a fight on my hands. I'm just waiting for my SARs to be processed, before going into battle .
Hello Alchymist,
Well done for your current achievement and I wish you much luck for the others:grin:
If any of my posts are helpful, please feel free to click my scales. All information is given as my opinion only, based on my own personal experiences. I have no legal training, but have educated myself in aspects of consumer legislation. My motto "NEVER GIVE IN, NEVER SURRENDER", THERE IS A WAR ON YOU KNOW
New to Forum & Seeking Advice.
from a number of past and present creditors, and would appreciate any advice 'more experienced' campaigners may be able to offer.
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Originally Posted by Alchymist
. Court maybe the only option in the later loans, if they do not respond favourably to your request for refund.
