Any experience of claiming mis-sold PPI whilst living abroad?

[JackieOxon]

Hi, this is my first post, just got an office copy of a secured loan deed from the Land Registry and found that I was mis-sold PPI. I'm currently doing a load of research before I claim, but I now live over the Channel in continental Europe, has anyone had any experience of making a claim from abroad? I realise that there will be some postal delay, but have any lenders tried to make things difficult because of this?

[Hortz]

It's not a case of making things difficult but they might want proof of residence before they will enter into correspondence. Having said which mainland Europe for the most part is not as high risk an area as many other countries with less developed financial systems.

[JackieOxon]

Thanks Hortz, SAR is being posted tomorrow!

[gerson]

Hi JackieOxon,

 

I too am currently 'over the pond' and have several PPI/CPP claims on the go.

 

The biggest obstacle was proving I am who I am - only NatWest are still being obstructive

 

All SAR requests were sent including copies of passport, local driving licence and a utility bill

 

Good luck

 

G

[JackieOxon]

Thanks Gerson. Just posted my SAR, drat - could have added those!

[gerson]

Hi Jackie,

 

They may well action your request without them, but might be helpful to have a copy ready if they then send the 'please confirm your ID' letter

 

For all my SAR requests a simple photocopy sufficied, only NW are being obstructive (certified copies only)

 

Good luck

 

G

[PPI challanger]

Hi Jackie,

 

I am goint through the process from Japan at the moment. I have not had any identity problems (not been asked to provide anything by natwest or Barclaycard).

 

my only issue so far is time and non compliance of SAR`s. It takes a little more effort and patience from outside of the country (a letter does not just take 1 day to arrive) and have been conveniently told by barclays "we did reply but it must have been lost in the international post". I think it is normal and just an excuse for lazy people not sending letters as they should (it is so rare for letters to be lost!).

 

So apart from time and cost (it may cost a little bit extra postage) I have not seen any additional issues so far.

My claim with barclays has been submitted (now on week 6) so we will see how that goes.

 

Good luck.

[JackieOxon]

Thanks Gerson and PPI Challenger for your replies. Yes, despite all the horror stories about our postal system I find them very reliable so I'll have to keep on the ball with any fob-off excuses. Good luck with your claims too.

[Andybars]

It also worth bearing in mind that if you were resident or working overseas whilst the PPI was sold or remained in force this is a particularly strong reason to add to your mis-selling claim as you would not have been covered under the vast majority of PPI policies. If a lender tells you they didn't know you were overseas its always worth pointing out to them that they were sending statements to an overseas address as evidence that they were aware of this (Obviously, this is only if they were sending statements to an overseas address rather than a UK address from which they were forwarded to you)

[PPI challanger]

It also worth bearing in mind that if you were resident or working overseas whilst the PPI was sold or remained in force this is a particularly strong reason to add to your mis-selling claim as you would not have been covered under the vast majority of PPI policies. If a lender tells you they didn't know you were overseas its always worth pointing out to them that they were sending statements to an overseas address as evidence that they were aware of this (Obviously, this is only if they were sending statements to an overseas address rather than a UK address from which they were forwarded to you)

 

Jackie, no problem. Keep us posted.

 

Andy, you say being a resident whilst ppi remained in force is a strong reason for miss-selling how do you think so? Surely the bank will say it is the borrowers responsibility to maintain financial control after agreements are signed? (If living abroad when ppi is contracted.. Yes I agree that is a no brainer)

[Andybars]

Challenger - whilst I agree that responsibility ultimately lies with the borrower - to an extent the lender must also bear some responsibility. If your post (eg statements) is being sent to a relatives house in the uk and being sent on to you and the lender is genuinely unaware you are abroad, the lender would be justified in saying they were not aware of your circumstances. However if you have told the credit card department of the bank that your address is abroad, they have your address details which show that you are not eligible and are arguably negligent in not checking that you remain eligible for cover. Similarly, if the credit card department of the bank know you are not eligible then a valid argument can be made that the loan and mortgage departments should also be reasonably aware. This is an argument I have seen successfully made on PPI cases in the past. Taking it a level further, if your postal address is in England but you only ever have cardholder present card transactions in one town in France, an argument could be made that your bank should be reasonably aware this is your location although I have never seen it tried.

[JackieOxon]

Interesting point Andy - it doesn't apply in my case but with so many unique cases on this forum I'm sure that someone else may find this a useful argument.

[JackieOxon]

Update - my SAR reply arrived within a couple of weeks with no problems or identity requests. If anyone abroad posts mail by recorded delivery, it is also worth noting that you can get the delivery details from the Royal Mail website, as they log recorded mail also from abroad.

[gerson]

Hi JackieOxon,

 

Glad you got the SAR without too much difficulty - now you just need to disseminate the details and put in the request for refund+interest

 

Can you elaborate on how to get information from Royal Mail, i.e. how do you enter the foreign tracking number (and where)

 

G

[JackieOxon]

Hi gerson,

with recorded delivery you're given a reference number (13 figures I think), in Britain it's prefixed GB. As I'm in Italy it's prefixed IT, so I think that 13 figure ref is an international standard. You go onto Track and Trace on the Royal Mail website and enter the reference. I got the date and time of delivery plus a copy of the electronic signature.

I'd heard that you could do that but when I asked at the Post Office here they said that it wasn't possible (but then Italian online services are prehistoric compared with Britain's, and they're obviously not up to date on how these things work abroad), so I filled out a receipt postcard that never arrived!