Thread: M & S Credit card not covered by FOS - Who will take responsibility?

I am totally stuck in how I can take my complaint re my Credit Card PPI forward.

I first complained to M & S in November 2008, who sent me the usual letter saying that as M & S Financial Services weren't regulated by GISC when I took out my card I had no comeback on reclaiming.

I sent a further two letters & got a final decision stating that they would not enter into any further correspondence about my complaint but that I could complain to fos.

After FOS looked at my complaint they said that they were unable to deal with it as M & S weren't regulated at the time I took out my Policy but that I could complain to the Insurance Underwriters who are Allianz Cornhill which I have tried to do but they won't accept any complaints & just refer the matter to M & S who refuse to communicate with me.

How can I take this forward & get a satisfactory result?

I would say M&S and Allianz Cornhill re being obstructive.
You could issue court proceedings, that will kick them into action.

It will cost the 1000s more in court fees than to pay you i imagine.
There is of course a downside for you - time and effort.

I am no expert, but am quite 'ballsy' about things and would probably just issue proceedings on the principal of it, and i would be quite confident given that there is a general legal premise with respect to PPI.

They (M&S et al) are just trying to play for time on how serious you are, as i said above i'd nail 'em!

Hopefully my response will push this to the top of the forum and illicit some more responses.

What is the basis on which you say that you have been missold the PPI?

If you are certain that it has been missold and you can prove it then you should bring a county court action for the return of money paid under a mistake.

You should seek restitutionary damages or 8% stat interest in the alternative. The claim for restitutionary damages will make them sit up as this requires them to reveal the profits they have made on your money and pay them over to you.

Do you have the evidence you need? Send them an SAR to get all data which they hold on you. Then construct your case.
Give them 7 days to pay you your money back plus a serious sum in compensation or else you will sue. Then sue.
If you aren't prepared to go the whole way then don't bother

I was mis-sold the PPI on the basis that I have a pre existing health condition that means I can never claim for sickness cover, I am a Civil Servant with over 25 years service & if I was made redundant would be paid far more in redundancy than my debt with M & S, am paid full pay if off sick.

I was never told that this insurance was optional & if I had known that the staff selling the card & insurance weren't trained I wouldn't have taken out the card.

I am prepared to take it all the way but as I am the sole breadwinner for my family I can't afford to risk losing & having to pay massive costs.

The start constructing yuor case and see what it looks like when your preparation is complete

How do I construct my case? I have no legal background.

You don't need a legal background. It is really commonsense.

Get all the evidence together. The circumstances of the sale of the PPI. The T&Cs of the PPI, the reasons why the PPI shold not have been sold in your case. Make sure that everything is documented and provable.

In addition to ghethering your evidence, read up thoroughly on PPI misselling, what it is about, examples, remedies etc. Understand all of the issues.

See if your situation falls within that and whether your arguments are provable.
Basically if you have been sold a PPI which was invalid from the outset and against which you could never have claimed then it has been missold - unless you concealed some material fact at the time of the PPI.

The more you go into it the more confident you will become about your ability to deal with it.

Eventually you will have to broach M&S directly about it. They will try to fob you off - as they already have done.
You will have to be assertive and persistent.

If you have been missold PPI then you will succeed in the end if you are resolute.

Allianz Insurance PLC have just rung me after fos wrote to them on my behalf & I have been able to email them copies of all my complaints correspondence from M & S.

The person I spoke to could not believe that M & S have admitted that their staff aren't trained to sell the Financial Products.

He is now going to contact M & S for their complaints file to consider his verdict & issue me with a final decision.