Help need reclaiming PPI from Norton

[Lady JD]

Hi,

 

I took a loan out with Paragon about 4 years ago and when I came to recently ask how much was owing I was horrified to discover I somehow owed £8k more than I initially took out, despite never missing a payment of about £400 a month over 4 years!

 

I sent them a letter asking for all correspondence and when I received it I noticed that the PPI I had on the loan was added to the loan at the start and I was paying interest on that amount, which is largely why the amount I owe seemed to be far more than I thought it would be.

 

I contacted Paragon who told me I needed to speak to my broker - Norton finance. I did this and then sent a letter of complaint using one of the templates from this website to say that I felt I had been mis-sold the PPI as I was unaware it would be added to the loan amount and I would be paying interest.

 

I have just had a response which in a nutshell says "according to their records I was told everything they were legally obliged to tell me" and if I wanted to take it further I have to contact the Financial Ombudsman Service to make a complaint. (Incidently they also told me they had enclosed a leaflet from the Ombudsman with details of how to complain - it wasn't in the envelope - funny that..)

 

I just wanted to know what I should do from here. To me, telling me that "their records show" that I was told by the customer account manager that I would be charged interest etc does not suffice. Can I demand proof of this? Is it possible that they would be economical with the truth? I certainly don't recall being told this and Im sure if I had I would not have taken the loan out.

 

Also, they have enclosed a letter on Norton Finance headed paper with the heading "Important Info regarding your application for Optional PPI", which states quite clearly about the terms regarding the cost of the PPI and it being added to the loan amount etc. It is not a copy its newly printed out. I definitely did not receive this when I first took out the loan as I have all copies of everything I received and this was not one of them. Its almost as though they are trying to cover themselves by saying "well look you received one of these". But I didnt!

 

The only thing I have received from them that is a copy with my signature on is a "demands and Needs Statement" for PPI. Nowhere on this does it state about the cost of the PPI.

 

Clearly I want to take this further but I wanted some advice on how to do that and also, in peoples experience, is it worth me doing so given that Norton's stance is that their records show I was told all they were legally required to tell me.

If I should take it further, what is the most effective way for me to do this?

 

I would really appreciate any help as the amount I still owe makes me feel physically sick to think about it as I don't see how Im ever going to pay it off in my life time as it always seems to go up and not down!

 

Many thanks

[sleepz]

hmmmmmmm Jack Daniels.

 

Howdy Lady', welcome to the CAG.

Couple of things here. Sending a letter asking for all the correspondence, what exactly did they send you?

 

If it wasn't in an official capacity, ie a Subject Access Request, the chances are they'll just send you a statement.

So, if you havn't received a copy of your original contract, the terms, and notes on all information they hold against you, including notes added to your account etc then you should send off a SAR, this forces them by law to send you everything they have. You can find a template for that here :

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/payment-protection-insurance-ppi/118145-sar-ppi.html

 

If you send that off, you should be able to see what exactly it is in relation to : "according to their records I was told everything they were legally obliged to tell me".

You get all these notes, if you don't see anything that proves that they told you, you can write back to them with an official claim. Which they won't really have anything to argue against because if they still claim their records show you were told everything and you don't have evidence of that, then they havn't complied with the SAR, you would then write back to them with an official claim, then complain to the Ombundsman if they don't agree.

 

I wouldn't complain to the Ombundsman until you have sent off a SAR and looked through all your records and notes.

[landy_alert]

Hi Lady JD:)

 

We also had PPI with Norton, although our lender wasn't Paragon. This was paid off some time ago.

 

We recently received our Subject Access Request and have approached Norton about the PPI which we believe was mis-sold and they have provided us with a copy of the recording made of the phone call in which the PPI was first mentioned to us. On the face of it therefore, it looks as if we have no chance of getting the PPI refunded.

 

Like yourself, they say in their letter that they sent us written documentation at the time showing the cost of the mortgage with and without the PPI. They also refer to their intention to do this on the recording. Like you we have all our original paperwork and we don't have anything showing this. They also sent us a copy of the Demands and Needs Statement, which as you say does not show the cost of the PPI let alone the cost without it.

 

As they obviously don't have a copy of a telephone call during which the PPI was sold - or I guess they would have provided you with this also, I don't see why you cannot take this further if you believe the PPI was mis-sold assuming you have good reasons for this - ie, you were retired, unemployed, had a pre-existing medical condition etc.

 

I certainly wouldn't give up at this stage if I was you.

 

As sleepz suggests, if you haven't already done a Subject Access Request it would be a good idea to do one.

 

Also, I should have read of the various stickies (at the top of the PPI forum) and other peoples' threads to glean as much knowledge about the mis-selling of PPI as you can.

 

Good luck!

 

Regards,

 

Landy x

[Lady JD]

Hi,thanks so much for the info. Sleepz it was an official SAR that I sent to Paragon, but I have not done this to Norton.

 

Should I do a seperate one to Norton?