MSE News: Card protection firm CPP must pay £14.5...

[MSE Helen]

"CPP mis-sold card insurance products between January 2005 and March 2011 on a massive scale..."

Read the full story:

Card protection firm CPP must pay £14.5m to mis-selling victims

[Rundmc77]

They have taken payment off my credit card - should I get the interest applied back too?

[denttechwales]

Originally Posted by Rundmc77

They have taken payment off my credit card - should I get the interest applied back too?

I read you should get 8% interest back. But I'll be asking Vanquis to clear my balance and close my credit account!

[denttechwales]

I took out a Vanquis credit card 2 years ago and was sold an identity protection policy by a vanquis agent who passed my details onto cpp. When I heard the news today I rang CPP who said Vanquis is responsible for any claims. So I rang Vanquis and the agent said CPP is responsible. Grrrr.. So I rang Vanquis and demanded to speak to the complaints department who are supposed to call me by tomorrow the latest. I'm planning on asking for a refund of the payments plus interest plus compensation. I'm worried they will try to deny responsibility. Can anyone advise me on what to say????

[butlinsmum]

I had both the CPP policies - card protection taken out pre 2004 but I still have policy number etc. Will moneysavingexpert be producing a template letter to make a claim?

[Mishomeister]

I've read recently that the banks will be doing all they can to prove you were negligent in order not to pay money stolen by fraudsters back. So having an insurance that would pay our regardless of circumstances might not be such a bad thing for some people.

The circumstances here do sound different from PPI which was sometimes sold to people like pensioners who could not claim whilst there is no one guaranteed never to suffer from a fraud.

[JuicyJesus]

Originally Posted by Mishomeister

The circumstances here do sound different from PPI which was sometimes sold to people like pensioners who could not claim whilst there is no one guaranteed never to suffer from a fraud.

It also provided things such as cash advances if you were stranded abroad, assistance with lost keys and the cancellation and replacement of all lost/stolen debit, credit and loyalty cards at once.

It's not something I'd personally buy but for a lot of people it would be useful.

[SnowTiger]

Originally Posted by denttechwales

I took out a Vanquis credit card 2 years ago and was sold an identity protection policy by a vanquis agent who passed my details onto cpp. When I heard the news today I rang CPP who said Vanquis is responsible for any claims. So I rang Vanquis and the agent said CPP is responsible. Grrrr.. So I rang Vanquis and demanded to speak to the complaints department who are supposed to call me by tomorrow the latest. I'm planning on asking for a refund of the payments plus interest plus compensation. I'm worried they will try to deny responsibility. Can anyone advise me on what to say????

Before going in all guns blazing you might want to consider whether the policy and mis-sold and whether it was mis-sold by CPP?

As with PPI, not all of these policies were mis-sold. And, according to the article, "Only those sold products directly by CPP [...] can get redress, the FSA says."

It appears to me that you were sold the policy by Vanquis, rather than being mis-sold it by CPP.

[maxwell11]

The main thing for me as with many with CPP is that all my card details are in one place and if my purse is stolen i just have to make one call.

Who else does the same but is reputable as if there is someone else who does this i'm off after CPP have paid me back what they owe ?

Any ideas?

[SnowTiger]

Originally Posted by maxwell11

The main thing for me as with many with CPP is that all my card details are in one place and if my purse is stolen i just have to make one call.

Who else does the same but is reputable as if there is someone else who does this i'm off after CPP have paid me back what they owe ?

Any ideas?

LOL.

You were mis-sold a service you wanted? A service you will look for elsewhere when they pay "back what they owe?"

Do they owe you anything? You wanted a service and they provide you with it (for a fee). Isn't that how life generally works?

[Alpine Star]

Originally Posted by Mishomeister

I've read recently that the banks will be doing all they can to prove you were negligent in order not to pay money stolen by fraudsters back. So having an insurance that would pay our regardless of circumstances might not be such a bad thing for some people.

This is where you're wrong.

CPP's insurance didn't actually cover money stolen by fraudsters at all and that you think it did just goes to demonstrate how mis-presented and mis-sold it was.

''The product sheets identified the availability of “up to £60,000 of insurance to make sure you do not end up out of pocket when clearing your name” but failed to explain that the insurance only covers administrative and legal expenses. They did not explain that the insurance does not cover debts fraudulently taken out in the individual’s name (although the customer is not liable for such debts in any event).''

''For example, a sales agent told one customer that the £60,000 insurance covered “basically, anything you’re out of the pocket for, we would pay”. In addition, he told the potential customer that criminals were “leaving people liable with the bills, debts and the problems of sorting it all out”. While the sales agent made some reference to legal and administrative costs, he left the potential customer with the impression that the £60,000 insurance would cover any debts a person fraudulently using a person’s identity incurred. The £60,000 does not cover any debts fraudulently incurred in the customer’s name (which the customer would not be liable for in any event). It only covers the legal and administrative costs required to deal with the problem.''


http://www.fsa.gov.uk/static/pubs/fi...ction-plan.pdf

It was virtually worthless and was grossly and aggressively mis-sold.

[Alpine Star]

Originally Posted by SnowTiger

LOL.

You were mis-sold a service you wanted? A service you will look for elsewhere when they pay "back what they owe?"

Do they owe you anything? You wanted a service and they provide you with it (for a fee). Isn't that how life generally works?

In most cases (according to the FSA final notice) they didn't provide the service they sold.

[jamesd]

Originally Posted by butlinsmum

I had both the CPP policies - card protection taken out pre 2004 but I still have policy number etc. Will moneysavingexpert be producing a template letter to make a claim?

Do nothing for now. CPP is required by the FSA to contact the customers who its records show are affected. The same is likely to apply to the banks that sold CPP products. So save yourself some time and postage by waiting until it's clear that you aren't included in their process.

"1.8. The FSA has taken into account the fact that CPP: ...
(2) voluntarily agreed on the request of the FSA in March 2012 to vary its permissions to add a requirement that:
(a) it carry out a past business review, overseen by a skilled person appointed under section 166 of FSMA, with a view to paying compensation where appropriate for its own direct sales of Card Protection. CPP estimates that this exercise could cost in the region of c.£8.5m (depending on customer response rates);"

[Alpine Star]

Originally Posted by jamesd

Do nothing for now. CPP is required by the FSA to contact the customers who its records show are affected. The same is likely to apply to the banks that sold CPP products. So save yourself some time and postage by waiting until it's clear that you aren't included in their process.

I would be tempted not to wait on the basis that they might make contact ay some point in the future and act now so as not exhuast the 6 & 3 year complaint time limit, if it han't already done so.

[ashleyriot]

CPP chief executive Paul Stobart ... adds: "We are deeply sorry for the errors and wrongdoings of the past and are paying a heavy penalty through what is a large fine."

No Paul, you're just deeply sorry CPP were caught.

You don't do this for 6 years and only stop when the FSA catch up with you if you ever thought this was ok.

[KevinG]

It's a shame that the card protection and identity theft insurance aspects of this are being muddled up. The card protection policies sold by CPP and others do provide a potentially useful service and it is up to the individual whether it is worth their while. The identity theft insurance is arguably completely worthless yet was being aggressively pushed on to people. My autistic son was mis-sold one of these a year or so back and, with my help, he managed to cancel it and get refunded but many others have clearly fallen for it.

[emgem22]

I had protection with CPP on a student credit card taken out in 1998. I closed that card about three or four years later then about three or four years ago I had a payment taken from my bank account of £35.

I called HSBC to ask what it was for and they said it was CPP. I didn't think I had that anymore, certainly was the first time payment had been taken in years. I phoned them to ask why they had taken payment, they didn't really explain, told me that as payment had already been taken they couldn't really cancel it and I had may as well stay with them as they could offer this that and the other for the coming year.

I also asked why I hadn't received any paperwork to say it was going to be taken or to state I had an up to date policy, they suggested it was because I had moved house since I last contacted them, plausible I guess.

To be fair I didn't push it any further and reluctantly agreed to continue. Do I have a claim as they randomly took payment after a number of years and told me they couldn't cancel when I enquired about it?

[Gra76]

I've been paying £35+ a year to CPP for as long as I can remember but I'm pretty sure it was sold to me via Natwest. We'll see what happens. I'm not holding my breath for any refund.

Edit - just checked my online statements which go back to 2005 and I was paying it then, so it's been at least 7 years....

[jamesd]

Originally Posted by Alpine Star

I would be tempted not to wait on the basis that they might make contact ay some point in the future and act now so as not exhuast the 6 & 3 year complaint time limit, if it han't already done so.

I wouldn't suggest waiting that long, nor just idle waiting. Instead, checking the progress of the contact exercise here once a quarter or so and then contacting once the exercise seems to have been largely completed, if not contacted.

Those who've moved but don't hold the insurance any more are perhaps the ones who are most likely not to be contacted who might want not to wait a while.

[jamesd]

Originally Posted by emgem22

I also asked why I hadn't received any paperwork to say it was going to be taken or to state I had an up to date policy, they suggested it was because I had moved house since I last contacted them, plausible I guess.

More than plausible. Two reasons the FSA has fined CPP are that they would rebill even for people who have had mail returned as undeliverable and would rebill on different cards from the one where payment was authorised, instead misusing the details of the cards that were registered solely to be protected.

Originally Posted by emgem22

To be fair I didn't push it any further and reluctantly agreed to continue. Do I have a claim as they randomly took payment after a number of years and told me they couldn't cancel when I enquired about it?

Yes.

Since CPP appears not to have your current address, you should contact them to complain once things have become a little clearer, perhaps in the new year when more help about how to approach it has been put together.

That assumed that yoou originally bought directly from CPP, not from a bank that used CPP. The FSA is still working out with the banks how they are to handle their part of the problem. Will presumably be the same sort of contact the customers exercise as is required for CPP.