M&S Loan Insurance query ....

[papadak]

Hi,

I took out a loan with M&S Money back in Dec 2003 .... it has PPI. Would I still be entitled to re-claim after nearly 6 years? & does anyone else have any experience/success with m&s ppi out there please?

[landy_alert]

Hi Papadak:)

 

Yes, you would still be entitled to reclaim this PPI if you have grounds for it being mis-sold - the stickies at the top of this forum will give you plenty to read to help you on your way!

 

I have just successfully reclaimed PPI from M&S, but on a credit card belonging to Mr Landy. The cheque only arrived today, but it's all over bar the shouting, as they say:D

 

I take it this loan is not still running?

 

I found that M&S were ok to reclaim from, which I assumed might have been because we no longer owed them anything. However they wouldn't budge regarding refunding contractual interest........but on a loan it will be different as the premiums if refunded will include the C.I. You must make sure you ask for the 8% simple interest as well though!

 

It took 2 letters and 2 months for M&S to offer to cough up, although it has dragged on for a further 3 and a half months because we've been trying to screw the contractual interest out of them - unsuccessfully as I say, but we were happy with what we got, especially as it's come just in time for Christmas!

 

Good luck with your claim and just shout if you need any assistance at all!

 

Regards,

 

Landy x

[papadak]

Hi Papadak:)

 

Yes, you would still be entitled to reclaim this PPI if you have grounds for it being mis-sold - the stickies at the top of this forum will give you plenty to read to help you on your way!

 

I have just successfully reclaimed PPI from M&S, but on a credit card belonging to Mr Landy. The cheque only arrived today, but it's all over bar the shouting, as they say:D

 

I take it this loan is not still running?

 

I found that M&S were ok to reclaim from, which I assumed might have been because we no longer owed them anything. However they wouldn't budge regarding refunding contractual interest........but on a loan it will be different as the premiums if refunded will include the C.I. You must make sure you ask for the 8% simple interest as well though!

 

It took 2 letters and 2 months for M&S to offer to cough up, although it has dragged on for a further 3 and a half months because we've been trying to screw the contractual interest out of them - unsuccessfully as I say, but we were happy with what we got, especially as it's come just in time for Christmas!

 

Good luck with your claim and just shout if you need any assistance at all!

 

Regards,

 

Landy x

 

Hi, Thank you for taking the time to respond, much appreciated. The loan has since finished - 2 years ago. I just came across the original loan agreement by chance. The int rate on the loan was 18% .... is 8% the max to claim back, i shall mention this in my letter. Do you have a template letter to follow please?

[landy_alert]

Hi, Thank you for taking the time to respond, much appreciated. The loan has since finished - 2 years ago. I just came across the original loan agreement by chance. The int rate on the loan was 18% .... is 8% the max to claim back, i shall mention this in my letter. Do you have a template letter to follow please?

 

Hi Papadak:)

 

No you should definitely ask for interest at the contractual rate you were charged on the loan. Apologies if I confused you with what I said previously, but with loan PPI there has been some confusion and debate recently over the contractual interest issue. On a loan if a firm offers to refund your premiums, this will usually include the interest at the contractual rate (but you should still make it clear that this is what you are requesting). If they don't pay up and you file a complaint with the FOS (or take them to court) you would be awarded a further 8% simple interest on top of this.

 

With credit cards, however, it seems that firms are reluctant to refund contractual interest and although some people are fighting on for this (including myself with MBNA), M&S stated quite catagorically that their policy is to refund simple interest only.

 

Letter wise, I don't think I used a template, but concocted something from various threads I had read. You can adapt my letter to suit, but obviously it was aimed at credit card PPI and you would have to insert your own reasons for believing the PPI to be mis-sold!

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

I believe that I have been mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) on the above Credit Card I took out with your organisation on ****.

 

When I applied for the credit card at no point was it suggested that I could obtain PPI from another insurance company than Marks and Spencer Money, nor was I asked if I had any other insurance that would cover the repayments on the card in the event of sickness or redundancy. Yet my then employer had a generous illness package that would cover a period of sickness as follows - 6 months full pay, followed by 6 months half pay. Indeed no attempt was made to ascertain if the product was fit for purpose, suitable for my needs, or if indeed at all.

 

The Financial Services Authority's advice to consumers is that while PPI itself does not breach FSA guidelines, a borrower should not be refused a credit card if they choose not to buy an insurance policy, yet I was led to believe my application would be unsuccessful if I did not take PPI.

 

I have only recently been made aware of the widespread mis-selling of PPI by many financial institutions following media coverage and recent OFT, FSA and Competition Commission investigations and enquiries, particularly whereby, in a scheme of wholly innappropriate PPI mis-selling, employees are offered bonuses if they can persuade customers to take out PPI with products. Where there is such a clear conflict of interests, the best interest of the customer cannot possibly be met.

 

I believe that in the light of the findings by the Competition Commission enquiry carried out in 2008 that the PPI was unfairly attached to the credit agreement as there was no opportunity given for me to seek competitive insurance elsewhere.

 

The following quote is from the Financial Ombudsman Service consumer fact sheet on PPI -

 

'The policy was not properly described to them and they bought it not understanding it wasn't suitable or how it worked.'

 

Finally, I believe insurance contracts are 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'. I believe that you should have made it clear to me that the PPI policy applied to my credit card account 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 also misrepresentation at common law. As a result of this I also believe that you manifestly failed in your fiduciary responsibilities and your duty of care.

 

To sum up, I believe I was gravely mis-led by M&S Money in the selling of this expensive, over-rated insurance. Your concealment of the act of mis-selling has prevented me from asserting my rights until now and I believe there are strong grounds for action under common law, statute and consumer regulations. Therefore, on the grounds of mis-selling for the above reasons, I am requesting a full refund of the monthly premiums paid plus interest at the contractual rate as applied to my credit card. I have enclosed a spreadsheet detailing these amounts.

 

My targets to resolve this matter -

 

I am writing to ask you to refund the premiums paid on the credit card account, together with interest equal to the contractual rate, under the accepted principle of mutuality and reciprocity. I hope that you will eneter 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, rather than merely respond with standard template letters and leaflets.

 

I will give you 14 days to reply to me accepting, unconditionally, my request in principle and letting me know a date by which I will receive payment.

 

If you do not respond, or you do not respond positively, within this time period, I shall send you a letter before action giving you a further 14 days in which to reflect. I believe that this timeframe is sufficient for a large company such as yours with dedicated departments to deal with my request.

 

I look forward to your due diligence in this matter.

 

Yours Faithfully

 

Mrs Landy

 

Hope this helps and don't forget to amend to suit your particular circumstances!

 

Regards,

 

Landy x