Help letter recieved regarding GE money Account cover insurance

kirsty000

I wrote a letter to GE money stating that I wish to have a refund of my Account cover insurance. I thought it was compulsory at the time, I was 18 and to be honest just signed what the sales assistant told me to sign. on the copy of the credit agreement you can see crosses that the sales assistant has made where I have to sign, so i just signed it. I was paying it for over a year when my mum noticed it and said i was paying for something i didnt need so I rang Dorothy Perkins and asked if it was compulsory they said no and i cancelled it straight away. the letter i received back said i couldnt have a refund and i couldnt contact the financial ombudsman as they have no jurisdiction on the matter, they say i should contact the Finance and Leasing Association. It was in 2003 when it was taken out if that makes any difference.
Has anyone else been in this situation? I dont know who to contact next?
thanks

kirsty000

Anyone know??

Edinburghlass_2

I'll shift your posts over to the Loans Board where PPI reclaiming is discussed and you should find your answer.

Zapp_from_Planet_Zogg

Hi Kirsty

You will need to contact the Finance & Leasing Association and ask them to look into your case. Alternatively, you can add up how much you think you have been deprived of and file court papers now.

Filing court papers is always an option (even if you have contacted and recieved a conclusion from the FLA).

You can claim charges back 6 years, so 2003 is not a problem. The clock stops when you initiate a claim, which you have already done - so don't worry if they haven't paid up by the time we reach 2009.

My own experience of your situation is that GE will refuse to budge. :mad: They will argue that you signed the agreement and accepted the insurance. You also had a cooling off period in which you could have cancelled the insurance. You had plenty of notice that the insurance was optional and was added to your account (see statements and issues of account terms & conditions etc).

Fancy a fight? (depends how much you feel you have been depried of).

If you do decide to fight them, you can try the argument that you had neither the skill nor inclination to make an informed judgement at the time of taking out your store card.

There is also some info to be found (courtesy of Google - look for FSA 2005 investigation into PPI mis-selling) that suggests that in-store signups for insurance products are a cause for concern for financial regulators. You may also like to know that some finance houses will reject applications for credit that have been pre-indicated (does "just sign next to the cross" sound familiar?)

If you always thought that you didn't have PPI, or didn't realise what it was, you can also try Section 2(1) of the Misrepresentation Act, 1967. In particular, the precendent of Howard Marine vs A Ogden, 1975. This wonderful precedent effectively reverses the burden of proof on to GE. They then have to prove that the PPI was sold in your best interests and that you understood fully that you had PPI and everything about it. This pretty much negates most of their argument that you understood what you have signed up to.

Don't forget, if you do go after them, when you contact the FLA you need to mention that you want the premiums and interest refunding. I have gone for interest, compounded at the contractual rate, on the basis that a consumer credit agreement is a reciprocal arrangement.

Good luck.

kirsty000

thanks for that. I am going to send another letter then contact the FLA, does the letter below sound ok?

Many thanks for your correspondence dated 28th July 2008. I do believe I was mis - sold the Account Cover Insurance when I opened my account. As you can see by looking at the Credit Agreement you sent me the sales assistant has clearly marked with crosses where I need to sign and date – leading me to think it was compulsory. At the time I thought it was needed to be able to open the account. Once I realized the Account cover insurance wasn’t needed I cancelled it.

I believe I was mis – sold the account cover insurance and I shall be contacting both the FLA and filling a claim in the courts if I do not receive a satisfactory response within 14 working days of the date of this letter.

Zapp_from_Planet_Zogg

If you have had a final response letter from GE already, don't bother wasting another stamp on them! You will get the same sort of response.

Instead, make your approach direct to the FLA and tell them clearly why you think it was mis-sold. It will also aid the process if you can explain what the law says on this matter and what accepted industry best practice is. The FLA will then contact GE with your comments and get them to provide a suitable response.

Be aware that they will take much longer than 14 days to provide a response to you though! If you want to bring matters to a head quicker, go straight to court.

Also bear in mind that the FLA cannot take enforcement action and can only mediate in your case. They are effectively a postman, but can be useful in twisting the arm of organisations like GE.

I went the FLA route purely so that I could demonstrate to a judge that I have done everything I could to avoid court action. (Should secure me a points victory in court).

I am still waiting for a final response from the FLA process but have already stockpiled my evidence so that I can file court papers as soon as I get the final 'go-away' letter. (You never know, I may be pleasantly surprised). It has taken 5 months to get this far - 3 since contacting the FLA.

As I said before, if you think what you may be owed is worth a battle, go for it.

standupguy

Zapp is right, little will be gained going back to GE.

Writing to the FLA tells GE money that you are not going to go away easily.

The FLA will pass on your complaint to the MD of GE Money, so the complaint goes right to the top in that organisation.