Landmark PPI mis-selling ruling

[noomill060]

MBNA certainly dont sound like happy bunnies.

[noomill060]

And yes- this changes EVERYTHING.

 

I used the same arguments against Sharkleycard earlier this year, they wisely waved the white flag long before it got anywhere near a courtroom.

[noomill060]

Judge quashes woman's £8,000 credit card debt in 'landmark ruling' on mis-selling of payment protection insurance

 

 

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 5:55 PM on 30th September 2009

• Comments (27)
  
• Add to My Stories
  

A woman has won a landmark legal victory after a judge wrote off her £8,000 credit card debt because she had wrongly been sold payment protection insurance (PPI).

 

A county court judge ruled that Lynne Thorius, 49, from South Shields, was charged thousands of pounds by MBNA for an insurance policy she had never asked for.

 

The ruling could open the floodgates for millions of pounds worth of similar claims against banks and building societies.

It is estimated that around 40 million PPI policies have been sold in Britain in the last six years alone, making this the second biggest selling insurance product on the market.

 

Landmark ruling: Lynne Thorius's £8,000 credit card debt was quashed after MBNA charged thousands for an insurance policy she never asked for

 

Carl Wright, of claims management company Cartel Client Review, who successfully defended Lynne, said today that the ruling is a legal first.

'This is the first time that a judge has ruled on this point and will have a massive impact,' he said.

 

'Consumers now have the authority of the court to bring a claim in such a way that banks and credit card companies will be unable to defend it.

'MBNA acted in a disgusting manner. They harassed this woman at all hours of the day and night to force her to pay for something she never even asked for.

 

'Now Lynne has won, the floodgates could open for millions of other people. This is a massive victory.

 

'It will change the way banks lend money and issue credit cards. We went to court because we knew we had a strong case.

'But MBNA thought their case was watertight. When we got to court our legal argument absolutely white-washed them, and their case against Lynne was thrown out.'

 

'This is a landmark decision for all Cartel clients and a demonstration of the strengths of legal argument used by Cartel.'

 

The mother-of-three applied for the card - which was branded Sunderland ASC but financed by MBNA - in July 2002.

 

She ticked the box which said 'no thank you' to payment protection insurance on the application form, but despite this, the policy was initiated with a £20-a-month charge.

 

The card had a limit of £1,500 and Mrs Thorius, a cleaning supervisor, used it 'here and there' to pay bills and buy gifts.

 

But the credit limit was gradually extended and before she knew it, Lynne was nearly £7,000 in debt.

 

She said: 'I didn't particularly want a credit card and I certainly didn't want PPI. That alone was costing me a fair few pounds a month.

 

'When I noticed it on the statement, I rang them and told them I didn't want it. They said I wouldn't have got the card if I didn't tick the 'yes' box.

 

'When I tried to explain that I hadn't, they just wouldn't listen.'

 

Mrs Thorius, whose PPI charge was gradually increased to £30, even tried to make a claim on the policy when her work hours were cut, but MBNA turned her down.

With her debt soaring and with seemingly no way out, Mrs Thorius contacted the claims management company in December 2008, while MBNA launched a separate action against her, suing for arrears totalling £8,686.90.

 

The bank even threatened a charging order to repossess her house, even though her debt was unsecured.

In a nine-hour hearing at Newcastle-upon-Tyne County Court, Deputy District Judge Jacqueline Smart ruled that the PPI policy had been unfairly imposed.

 

She also threw out MBNA's case against Mrs Thorius because they earned commission on the PPI they 'sold' her.

 

It is the first time a judge has ruled such an arrangement to be in breech of the Unfair Relationships and Unfair Consumer Credit Act Section 78, according to Cartel.

 

Mr Wright said: 'They obviously didn't realise how strong our legal argument was, otherwise they wouldn't have gone to court.

'She clearly ticked the 'no thank-you' box, but MBNA applied PPI on her account anyway.

 

'It was an incredible victory for us, and one we are immensely proud of.'

 

Mrs Thorius added: 'It was a horrible time for my family and I'm so glad it's all over.

'MBNA treated me appallingly from start to finish. I ticked no on the PPI option but they applied it to my account anyway.

 

'When I had my hours cut at work from full-time to part-time and started to struggle to pay the bill, MBNA started calling me three or four times a day, even as late as 9.30pm or 10pm.

 

'MBNA were rude on the phone and one person told me to get another job, while someone else said they would repossess my house.'

 

After news of the ruling broke, the FSA announced a package of tough measures to protect consumers in the PPI market.

 

Jon Pain, FSA managing director of retail markets said: 'Consumers should not be pressured or deceived into buying PPI and they are entitled to have a policy properly explained to them.

 

'It is unacceptable that despite previous warnings about pool sales practices, backed by 22 enforcement cases and significant fines, the PPI sector still needs the FSA to intervene on this.'

 

A spokesman for MBNA said: 'Cases in the County Court are not precedent-setting. Any such cases are decided on their individual merits and no two cases are the same

 

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1217173/Judge-quashes-womans-8-000-credit-card-debt-landmark-ruling-mis-selling-payment-protection-insurance.html#ixzz0ScuKuCPh

[noomill060]

MBNA stands for Merchant *ankers of North America

[noomill060]

No time limit for PPI claims

 

Claims for mis-selling come under the exclusions for: "mistakes, concealment and fraud" s.32 Limitation Act 1980.

[noomill060]

Yes. Lets see if MBNA have the balls.