PPI Reclaiming Discussion part 4

skintmumofone

Hey all just thought I would give you a wee update….right oh yesterday I received a call on my mobile from WF a lady called Helen at 10 o clock asking if it was a convenient time to call I said no I was at work and to call back after 5 so no call last night. So today about 11am the phone rings again this time I answer it lady from WF again same one saying she wanted to talk to me about the charges on my account and when was a convenient time to call I said now….wanted it over and done with. So she goes through my security questions etc then says right what is your version of events? So I tell her about the charges and about the numerous phone calls and letters charging me and that my balance is more now that it was when I took out the loan. She said they are allowed to charge you interest on the arrears and that is what they have been doing and my payment did go up to £282 in September last year due to the % rate change how can they possibly change your payment when you sign a contract to say £262 for x amount of months she said they do mention they can change our payment rate which makes me think the loan was at a variable interest rate and not fixed – gr gr I feel a migrane coming on…..so she said she will look into the arrears and also the charges and if I can pay more…..which I said no cant afford to pay more…she said well it will eventually go down when Ipay all the arrears off 4 months worth which I worked out was about £1100 and with me paying an extra £38 a month re my extra payments it will take me 2 yrs at least to pay this off and by then my loan will have probably doubled lol!

I then mentioned the PPI and she said the Compliance Dept were dealing with this and if I wasn’t happy with their final response to pass it to the FSO which I have done she said well I will look into the charges and see if I can get some of these refunded to you. I said well I want them all refunded and I have passed this onto the FSO too. Honestly some people have no concept of being human…… but to be honest she was actually very nice. Gave me her details and said if I had any questions to call her – I said are you charging me for this call too – I never got an answer – well I had to ask!

So next step is to wait and see what the FOS say and then WF re my charges. Feel like I am not really getting far….but as they say Rome wasn’t built in a day was it?

Also got a letter from the FOS re my Bank of Scotland complaint who said although they have not supplied their final response they have written to them giving them a further 2 wks then I have to contact the FOS again. Oh the joys……am I going to get any PPI or charges back? Also noticed the BOS have refunded my charges at last woo hoo…….am so pleased……or am I? The jury is still out on that one too.

marshallka

stereo_mike wrote: »

One thing I must add that doesn't ever seem to have been raised on this site. If your claim is unsuccessful, check your paperwork before cancelling the policy in a blind rage, as a lot of company's refund the whole premium or a portion of the premium at the end of its term, subject to certain terms and conditions.

You might get a lot more back than cancelling it now.

I take it you mean about the after 5 years and you do not make a claim you get back your premium (ie firstplus do this) but they do not refund the interest that you have paid on it which is often double again.

stereo_mike

marshallka wrote: »

Mine was in 2000 and there was no cooling off period of 30 days at all. It included life insurance and also there was no mention cancellation only the rule of 78 method and how would anyone know what that meant?

I find this very unfair and also only fair to the insurer.

What are your views here. I mean on unfair terms in consumer contracts and my complaint is with the FOS at the moment. It was actually FOS that advised me and wrote to the insurer on my behalf.

Do you think FOS will take the "interest" into account if they uphold my complaint?

They should have mentioned a cooling off period, back in 2000 it might have only been 14 days back then. Rule of 78 relates to the way the lender works out an early redemption on your loan, again a very biased system.

The FSA have rather screwed people over by allowing the insurers to issue the proposed refunds, many insurers actually got FSA agreement to their proposed refund calculations, so they can use this as a defence if any cases go to the FOS.

It depends if your complaint is about trying to cancel the policy previously or just that you feel the terms are unfair. This is a very grey area in my view, people who are trying to claim back a refund of premium prior to the FSA's decision are likely to be unsuccessful as the cancellation rules were not in place at the time.

stereo_mike

marshallka wrote: »

I take it you mean about the after 5 years and you do not make a claim you get back your premium (ie firstplus do this) but they do not refund the interest that you have paid on it which is often double again.

Thats the one, but with the refund of most premiums being very biased, it can work out in your favour to wait until the end of the term.

marshallka

stereo_mike wrote: »

They should have mentioned a cooling off period, back in 2000 it might have only been 14 days back then. Rule of 78 relates to the way the lender works out an early redemption on your loan, again a very biased system.

The FSA have rather screwed people over by allowing the insurers to issue the proposed refunds, many insurers actually got FSA agreement to their proposed refund calculations, so they can use this as a defence if any cases go to the FOS.

It depends if your complaint is about trying to cancel the policy previously or just that you feel the terms are unfair. This is a very grey area in my view, people who are trying to claim back a refund of premium prior to the FSA's decision are likely to be unsuccessful as the cancellation rules were not in place at the time.

I thought even in 2000 anything sold which included life insurance had to have 30 days cooling off!

marshallka

stereo_mike wrote: »

Thats the one, but with the refund of most premiums being very biased, it can work out in your favour to wait until the end of the term.

I would say this is not the case as most of these type policies are missold and people have no idea just how much the whole thing has cost them over the full term of the loan. If you only waited til the end of the term you would only get back your actual premium (if you are within the clauses etc too) and if you go for misselling then you most probably would get back all the PPI and interest too. Someone like Firstplus were under the fos jurisdiction up to 5 years ago as they were members of the GISC and most complaints for single premiums are upheld by FOS so it reads.

stereo_mike

marshallka wrote: »

I thought even in 2000 anything sold which included life insurance had to have 30 days cooling off!

You would need to check with ABI, i'm sure they brought in a standrad of 30 days only recently.

stereo_mike

marshallka wrote: »

I would say this is not the case as most of these type policies are missold and people have no idea just how much the whole thing has cost them over the full term of the loan. If you only waited til the end of the term you would only get back your actual premium (if you are within the clauses etc too) and if you go for misselling then you most probably would get back all the PPI and interest too. Someone like Firstplus were under the fos jurisdiction up to 5 years ago as they were members of the GISC and most complaints for single premiums are upheld by FOS so it reads.

I was only referring to this option if your complaint was not upheld. In my experience I have found that when clients complaints are declined, they just decide to cancel the policy, and get a pathetic refund, especially when they cancel in the last year of the policy.

In the above case, it would be much better to wait until the end of the term and then receive thousands of pounds, instead of a few quid.

marshallka

stereo_mike wrote: »

You would need to check with ABI, i'm sure they brought in a standrad of 30 days only recently.

I made my complaint and it was FOS that said that this complaint against the terms of the policy being only fair to the insurer and not fair to the consumer was against the insurer after reading my complaint and they wrote on my behalf. I just hope they do not throw it back again.

stereo_mike

marshallka wrote: »

I made my complaint and it was FOS that said that this complaint against the terms of the policy being only fair to the insurer and not fair to the consumer was against the insurer after reading my complaint and they wrote on my behalf. I just hope they do not throw it back again.

The FOS can sometimes be useful in sending the complaint to the correct person. If the company the FOS have sent the letter to do not agree the complaint lies with them, then they have to advise the FOS why. If your letter was sent a while ago and you have not heard from the FOS, you should be safe, although knowing when the 8 weeks stars from can be a problem