I'm sure my wife has been mis-sold PPI

[mattyb13]

Im sure that this has probably been asked several times but im sure that weve been done over with this PPI.

 

Im currently claiming back bank charges but thought I woulod have a look at this section while i was browsing around the site.

 

My wife took out an unsercured loan a few years ago for £17k with the PPi added it totaled £21k+. I went along with my wife to agree the loan and at the time we were told we could only have the loan if we took out the loan protection because it was such a large amount. We didnt argue (or know ant different for that matter) as we needed the loan.

 

after a few years my wife got made redundant she was also pregnant they paid out redundancy and maternaty pay. this was in the Feb we did not try to claim on the PPI until the July, as this was when she wouldve returned to work.

 

We were told by the bank that we could not claim until Sept again we tried then but to no avail.

 

My wife started a new job in the Oct so we decided not to bother claiming back while she wasnt working and that we would just cancel the insurance as the PPI alone was £56 per month.

 

When we phoned to cancel she was told that she can not cancel it as she had a "30 day cooling off period" at the start of her loan to cancel it and now she has to pay it for the life of the loan.This was 2 years ago now.

 

We know the name of the individual who (mis)sold us the loan but obviously we have no wriiten proof of this and the individual has left the company.

 

sorry to go on a bit but after reading some info and some posts it seems that we have been screwed. Any ideas or advice on what we could do next, if anything.

 

thanks.matt

[Keith22]

Hi,

 

Can you elaborate a bit please so we can try and help. Which bank was this? Was the premium added to the loan to give a new total? Did the sales person go through the terms and conditions with you and explain their implications? Were you actually told at the time that you had a 30 day cooling off period or were you expected to find this out yourself from the documentation?

 

Sorry for all the questions but reclaiming PPI is not as straightforward as unlawful charges. The answers to the questions will determine the best way to go ahead. Getting a refund can be done - I've done it three times now but be prepared for a battle.

 

Keith

[mattyb13]

hi keith, thanks for your speedy reply.

 

the bank in question is lloyds and yes the premium was added to the loan to give a new total.

 

The sales person went through the t&c's and no as far as I remember we were not told about the 30 day period. It was basically yes you can have the loan but MUST have the insurance. like i said we agreed because we needed the loan and tyhen the guy put the papers in front of my wife and she signed.

 

I appreciate that it is not as straightforward as bank charges as like i said we have no written proof.

 

From what I have read Im sure we shouldve been able to cancel the policy when she requsted.

 

once again thanks for taking the time to look and reply keith it is appreciated as i have no idea whatsoever where we stand.

 

TBH i think we would be happy if we could just cancel the remainder of the insurance as £56 on top of our payments each month is alot as with this our payments are £335+

[Keith22]

OK - I'm not an expert and have no legal training but here's what I suggest. Firstly PPI cannot be made a condition of granting a loan. The Bank is quite within its rights to refuse a loan if a client has no means of repaying it if anything unfortunate should occur BUT it cannot insist on you taking out its own PPI. I would write to the Bank insisting that you were mis-sold the policy for these reasons and you require a refund of premiums and interest. Be prepared for delaying tactics but keep going until you get a Final Reponse. Don't worry about the T & C's and any cooling off period at this stage

 

In the meantime prepare to take your case to the FSO which you can do when you have your final letter. You could of course go to the Small Claims Court but there will be an initial outlay of cash and you will have to prepare a legal case with all the precedents etc etc. Not many people seem to have risked this. You can still go to court if you fail with the FSO but not the other way round.

 

The FSO will decide your case on documentary evidence so your written complaint is important and must try tp pre-empt anything the Bank will produce. You can help yourself by being as "professional" as you can - this does not mean in the legal sense but that you know what you are doing. Try to remember as much as you can about the original interview - where and when did it take place, why and with whom - an outline discussion (don't include any talk about T & C's - you'll see why later). Photocopy any documents / letters you have to and from the Bank. Label them and produce an index so you can refer to them in your written complaint.

 

The way at which the FSO will look at your complaint will differ slightly according to the date the policy was sold to you as the rules changed in Jauary 2005 ( I think)

 

I know of several instances where the FSO have ignored the T & C's cooling off period - I won't explain further here in case of snooping eyes but can PM you later if needed.

 

The Bank will also have to provide written evidence including a report from the person who originally sold you the policy - assuming they can track him down If they do his memory is likely to be hazy (he probably sold hundreds of policies) which is why your recollections of the meeting have to come across in the best possible light. If they can't track down the salesman they will have to produce a copy of any notes of your meeting they may have on their system - again they are not likely to be comprehensive. Certainly I have seen several FSO adjudications where this has been the case.

 

Once you are ready to deal with the FSO post a copy of your written complaint as there are loads of people here who will their eye over it for you.

[mattyb13]

Keith, thanks once again for your help with this like I said before it is very much appreciated. we will certainly look into this and contact the bank.

[mattyb13]

Right I started this thread nearly 12 months ago but I never got round to doing anything about it until recently.

 

I wrote to lloyds on 16th Jan 08 and requested a complete refund as we were missold the policy, I also included the part that we tried to cancel the policy but we were told that we werent able to cancel. I then searched about for information and found out that the FSA have found these terms are unfair.

 

Lloyds have sent me their final response today, they wont agree that the poilcy was missold but have agreed to refund me since Dec 05 (when we tried to cancel the poilcy).

 

The amount is over £2100 which we are happy with but they have said that this payment if we accept the offer will be paid off the loan. We would prefer the cash was paid into our current account.

 

 

 

Can we demand that it is paid into our current account?? and Is it best to accept this offer and the fact they have said they do not beleive we were missold the policy. If we were to get a complete refund it would be from June 04 rather than Dec 05.

 

We are not greedy and would be pleased to get this money back.

[mattyb13]

I sent the acceptance back to lloyds and crossed out the part which said it had to paid back off the loan. I wrote and explained that I wanted the payment to go back to my current lloyds account as this is where the money was taken from.

 

I received a reply from them today which says they can only make refunds to the loan account if the loan is still open, which it is.

 

Is this right?? surely if they owe me the money it is my choice what account it should be paid into and how I spend it.

 

Can anyone tell me if lloyds are right in what they are saying.

 

Thanks

[mattyb13]

Hi can anyone tell me if lloyds are right and they can only refund to the loan account.

 

I have wrote a letter saying I do not want it paid off the loan but back to the current account but I dont want to risk losing the money altogether.

[mattyb13]

I have drafted this letter, could someone please tell me if this is acceptable.

 

Thanks in advance

 

 

Dear xxxxxxx xxxxxxx or whom this may concern,

Thank you once again for your very prompt reply to my letter, it is very much appreciated. I do accept your settlement offer £2,143.44 plus interest accrued as a result of this amount on a ex-gratia basis. I also agree that this will be full and final settlement of my complaint. However I do not agree that this is to be refunded to my loan account.

I require that this is refunded to my current Lloyds TSB bank account. The account number is xxxxxxxx and my sort code is xx-xx-xx. I can see no reason whatsoever why the refund can not be made to this account as this was the account that the money was taken from. I can assure you that if the insurance was cancelled back in December 2005 I would not have continued to make overpayments on the loan but would have looked at reducing the monthly repayments. Therefore this money would have never have left my current account. I will also accept a cheque made out to me.

If you will not credit my current account, or will not send me a cheque for the settlement would you please be kind enough to state the reasons and any legal reasons, if there are any, why you are unwilling to do this so I can use these as evidence should I need to forward my complaint either to the Financial Ombudsman or even the county court.

Yours sincerely,

 

 

 

xxxxxxxxx xxxxx.

[mattyb13]

Hi guys,

 

Can anyone tell me if the above letter is ok and im right that they dont have to pay it off the loan but could play it into my current account.

 

I really want to get this posted tomorrow am. any help would be grateful, thanks

[hellhasnofury]

Hi guys,

 

Can anyone tell me if the above letter is ok and im right that they dont have to pay it off the loan but could play it into my current account.

 

I really want to get this posted tomorrow am. any help would be grateful, thanks

 

Hello Matty,

 

Just found your thread, was a terrible shame as you seem to have been left taking to yourself:confused: .

 

Personally I think that you are selling yourself a bit short and I would be determined to reclaim back the whole lot plus interest. But it is your call at the end of the day.

 

If you are happy with their offer:mad: write to them and tell them that you will only accept the money as a cheque payable to yourself, for you to do with whatever you wish. If they do not agree, you will pursue the whole god damn amount via the courts or the fos.

 

This is money that they never should have taken, and all they are doing is a paper execise, they took it from you and are giving it back to themselves.

 

They make me so angry:mad: they are still dictating to you about your money, I retract my statements at the beginning of the post. Get yourself mad and go after the whole amount and interest. If they won't play fair, neither should you.

 

Sorry rant over:D

[mattyb13]

Hi HHNF, and thanks for the reply,

 

I bit the bullet and sent the above letter in post #9 this morning as we want to get this sorted. Hopefully we should get a reply from them pretty soon as so far they have responed quite quickly.

 

I'm not too sure what the total amount is that they have had from us to be honest, we worked it out at just over £2400 so we are not too much short.

 

If they fail to settle either by direct payment to my account or by cheque I think I am going to take your advice and push for the rest.

 

Thanks for takingthe time to look at my thread and post a reply and stop getting so angry and calm down.

[hellhasnofury]

Hi HHNF, and thanks for the reply,

 

I bit the bullet and sent the above letter in post #9 this morning as we want to get this sorted. Hopefully we should get a reply from them pretty soon as so far they have responed quite quickly.

 

I'm not too sure what the total amount is that they have had from us to be honest, we worked it out at just over £2400 so we are not too much short.

 

If they fail to settle either by direct payment to my account or by cheque I think I am going to take your advice and push for the rest.

 

Thanks for takingthe time to look at my thread and post a reply and stop getting so angry and calm down.

 

Hello Matty,

 

Ok have taken your advice and taken some time to chill out:D

 

Sorry I cannot stand injustice and they do make me angrey because they get away with Why do you think I call myself HHNF:D I am on a mission truely;) to continue my education and educate others

 

Many thanks for the click of the scales, you are more than welcome. Going back in my box now.

[mattyb13]

Just a quick update. They have had my letter for 7 days now and they haven't replied. Last time it took them 2 days to say they would only pay it into the loan account.

 

I am sending them another letter tomorrow asking for a cheque within 7 days or to give me reasons why they wont refund by cheque. Just a gentle reminder letter.

 

Hopefully this can get sorted within the week.

[Carriep]

Hi,

 

I work for a BBC1 consumer affairs programme called "Don't Get Done, Get Dom", in which presenter Dominic Littlewood attempts to resolve issues that have arisen between consumers and companies.

 

Having read your story, we would be extremely keen to hear from you to see if there is anything we might be able to do to help.

 

If you would like to talk to us, please get in touch at:

 

[email protected]

02072785052

 

Thanks very much,

 

Robert Gershinson

Don’t Get Done, Get Dom (BBC1)

[mattyb13]

Received a reply from lloyds today in response to post #9.

 

Can anyone confirm what they are saying.

 

Dear xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Thank you for your letter received with reference to your refund on your personal loan protection payment policy.

 

As the premium for your policy was initially borrowed from the bank, we always credit any refund back to the loan account. I have enclosed a copy of your credit agreement that confirms this, highlighting the relevant sections.

 

To confirm to accept my offer you will need to return the acceptance slip enclosed with my letter dated 11th Feb 2008. I enclose a further acceptance slip for your convenience.

 

Without this slip I am unable to offer a fair and reasonable resolution to your concerns.

 

I will close my file if I do not hear from you within the next 7 days. It will, nevertheless, be reopened if the information is subsequently received.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxx.

 

 

The money was taken from my current account surely I should be able to have it refunded there.???

 

They enclosed a copy of the credit agreement with the amount highlighted what is the use of this??

 

Is it off to the FOS now or do they have the right to refund it to the loan account????

[mattyb13]

BUMP

 

Anyone know?????

[hellhasnofury]

Received a reply from lloyds today in response to post #9.

 

Can anyone confirm what they are saying.

 

Dear xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Thank you for your letter received with reference to your refund on your personal loan protection payment policy.

 

As the premium for your policy was initially borrowed from the bank, we always credit any refund back to the loan account. I have enclosed a copy of your credit agreement that confirms this, highlighting the relevant sections.

 

To confirm to accept my offer you will need to return the acceptance slip enclosed with my letter dated 11th Feb 2008. I enclose a further acceptance slip for your convenience.

 

Without this slip I am unable to offer a fair and reasonable resolution to your concerns.

 

I will close my file if I do not hear from you within the next 7 days. It will, nevertheless, be reopened if the information is subsequently received.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxx.

 

 

The money was taken from my current account surely I should be able to have it refunded there.???

 

They enclosed a copy of the credit agreement with the amount highlighted what is the use of this??

 

Is it off to the FOS now or do they have the right to refund it to the loan account????

Hello Matty,

 

Have just re-read your thread, now can you see why people get so angrey with them:grin:

 

The general rule of thumb would be for example, If you just cancelled the ppi on its own. They would refunded the unpaid ppi and interest portion into the owing balance of the loan, therefore reducing the balance and the amount you owe, because this portion of ppi and ppi interest was still owing, so therefore you had not paid for it.

 

If you have paid them for the ppi, plus ppi interest, since december 2005 to now, this is money that you paid them and should be returned to you. with interest. They appear to be extremely unfair regarding this matter.

 

There is something the FSA have produced about the cancelling of ppi, I will see if I can find it.

[hellhasnofury]

Consumers to benefit from PPI refunds agreement

 

Maybe quote something from this about the principle of treating customers fairly.

 

I personally would still argue with them and ask for a breakdown of how they have calculated the figures. How much you have actually paid in ppi and interest, and how much they are refunding of the unpaid ppi and interest into the balance of the loan:grin:

 

They are regulated by the FSA and have to follow their guidence.

[mattyb13]

OK,

 

Lloyds really didnt budge on this matter, even after their final letter I sent them a further letter telling them I was going to take the complaint to the FOS or even court.

 

They still didnt budge. I printed out a complaint to the FOS but didnt get around to sending it for a few weeks. In that time we decided that if the money was paid off the loan it may not be a bad thing as it would reduce our loan which is over £300 p/m.

 

The money was taken off the loan yesterday. We were not sure excactly how much would come off the loan because the offer was £2143.44 plus interest adjustment. They did not state what the intrest adjustment would be but a total of £3672.15 has been taken off the loan.

 

It would have been nice to have the cash but we are also rerally happy that this amount has been taken off our loan.

 

Thanks to HHNF for your help on this, sorry we did not get any cash but like I said this pays a massive amount off our oustanding balance.