Miss-sold PPI... but i might need to use it now! help needed.

di3004

controversialmike wrote: »

Ok, as much as I look into the Single Policy facts, I just cannot work out if ths applies to me or not so I am going to proceed with a letter that doesn not highlight any concerns in this area (I hope I'm not shooting myself in the foot, but I just don't know)

My letter in now standing at over 800 words as I wanted to make sure i got every single fact across to them. I have taken a softly, softly approach and am not sure if this is the right attitude.

Am I being too cheeky if I ask that one of you read thought the letter (i'll send via email or personal message) before I send?

Go for it Mike, it was possibly mis sold to you anyway with your reasons you have and yes by all means please post up if you want us to check your letter for you.;)

controversialmike

di (and everyone else on the team here)...

may I just say, you are a true modern day saint, an ambassador of good will! I somehow doubt that it is your profession to give up your spare time to provide so much positive information to so many hundreds of people in my situation. And I hope that it brings you great satisfaction when someone achieves the results they need to survive due to your aid. My belief in Karma has been whittled down over the years to a mere thread but i sincerely hope that one day, this thread lends itself to you and brings you all you all the good will you have dedicated to others.

Now to my letter; (i'm a little concerned that if LSTB see this "private communication" posted on a public forum, they may have grounds for complaint, if you agree that there is a risk, please delete immediately)

I was a little concerned that the wording in the template might come accross as aggressive (mentions of court, ombudsman, finger pointing) and considering scenario and 16yr relationship with the bank, you will notice that my letter is somewhat warmer:

Dear xxyy,

May I thank you for your time yesterday and the manner in which you dealt with my enquiry. Further to our conversation regarding the status of my loan agreement, I express my views in writing as requested.

As mentioned, when my current loan agreement was raised and confirmed with my manager (xxyy) on 5th December 2006, the LPI included within the payments was not discussed verbally and at no point did I agree to the plan. During the meeting with xxyy (who was my manager for over 10 years and the Father of an old school friend of mine, now happily retired) I was offered "a personal loan", not a choice of a protected or unprotected personal loan.

The reason I took out the loan was to collaborate the debt on my 2 credit cards and lower the interest I was paying with similar monthly repayments of around £220pm. During the meeting I was very happy to see that xxyy seemed to be making a considerable effort to lower the APR available to me, reassuring my confidence that the figures discussed were an improvement on my current situation. I certainly never thought i would have to second guess the words of my long term trusted manager.

I would never accuse xxyy intentionally miss-selling for his own benefit as, knowing him quite well to be a very kind hearted individual, i don't believe it is in his personal nature to do such a thing. He may have had my best interests at heart and believed that I really needed the protection plan however; this should have been verbally discussed with me at the time so that I was fully aware of the terms and conditions. There was certainly no questions as to my current health or employment status which i'm sure would be required to evaluate such an agreement.

Had the LPI protection plan have been discussed, i would have been made aware of and instantly rejected the offer based on the following:

the cost - Over the 84 month period of the £8,600 cash loan, the LPI will come to a total cost of £4,438.68 (over 50% of the initial cash loan, on top of the interest at 16.5% APR). This astronomical amount will cover me for a period of 12 months in case of loss of income or settle the total outstanding amount in case of death. A calculation from the figures on my contract shows me that 12 months of repayments (including cash loan, APR, LPI and Interest on the LPI) equates to a total of £2634.24. So I pay twice the amount that it covers me for. This equates to approximately £52 per £100 of borrowing over the period of the loan where as other providers can offer suitable protection for £3.99 per £100.

In the event that I die, I have no spouse or children and the sale of my personal belongings will easily cover the cost of any outstanding amount.

Being self employed (as stated on my account since 2004), in the event that I would need to utilise the LPI, I would need to declare myself as "unemployed" and claim "job seekers allowance".
- This is something I would never consider. I am, and always have been, proudly self sufficient and, unless something horrific happens, will never claim benefits that others deserve more. In case of severe financial difficulty, I have a loving family that will assist my recovery.

Furthermore, I have made a commitment to Lloyds TSB to repay the agreement (which I have done without failure and will continue to do so at any personal cost) and the amount I have already paid for this LPI will easily cover me through the difficult time that my business is currently experiencing.

The facts appear to speak for themselves and not only is the LPI policy irrelevant for my situation but the unknown inclusion of this policy has negatively affected my financial situation and was not in my best interests by any means.

I am therefore requesting a full refund of all premiums, and subsequent interest on these payments, that I have paid to date. As I believe I have been deprived of this money I also expect 8% statutory interest to be added to each payment made.

I am not the most financially savvy individual so if I need to be corrected on my figures at all, please do not hesitate to contact me. I look forward to a full and prompt response to this letter and for the matter to be concluded within eight weeks.

Yours faithfully,

di3004

Hi Mike

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, been to see dad at the hospital.

Great letter, well done.:T:T:T

They should resolve this one, excellent.

Looks like you have covered it all, so good luck Mike.;)

controversialmike

I'm sorry to hear that Di, I hope that he makes a speedy recovery. He must be extremely proud of you!!! my best wishes to the both of you.

I'm glad the letter is OK and not too soft. I will post tomorrow via recorded delivery, lazer guided, GPS tracked and coated in a layer of breadcrumbs for guarenteed re-tracing ha ha

Have a lovely evening! and i'll report back in a few days hopefully.
:beer:

di3004

controversialmike wrote: »

I'm sorry to hear that Di, I hope that he makes a speedy recovery. He must be extremely proud of you!!! my best wishes to the both of you.

I'm glad the letter is OK and not too soft. I will post tomorrow via recorded delivery, lazer guided, GPS tracked and coated in a layer of breadcrumbs for guarenteed re-tracing ha ha

Have a lovely evening! and i'll report back in a few days hopefully.
:beer:

Thank you Mike.:A;).
He is such a lovely guy and always full of humour, although with his dementia that is not helping at the moment and some do not know how to take him, but still he is improving otherwise, thank you.

Yes your letter is great and well covered, keep at them Mike, you have done well there and will keep everything crossed for you, we look forward to hearing the outcome of this.;):beer:

Di
X

controversialmike

Hello again peops,

So the next installment has arrived in the post this morning. In response to my letter, they have stated the following:

"we cannot comment on the interview that you had with xxxx, however I enclose a copy of the paperwork (contract) signed by yourself on the xxxx, as you can see it clearly states the loan protection and the monthly repayments. I have spent some time looking into what happened and I am afraid to say that we don't agree that we could have done anything better or differently".....

So I have left a message for my branch manager who is handling the case, to call me back.

I will concentrate on highlighting the following:
- There was no option of protected or unprotected - just "a loan"
- There was no verbal discussion of the PPI let alone "verbal agreement"
- there were no questions regarding my current health, or information that the PPI only covers 5 of the 7 years I am contracted over.
- having banked with the same mamager for 16 yrs, I didn't feel it was necessary to scrutinise the contract passed over for me to sign or question his calculations
- during the interview, my manager did several recalculation in order to lower my APR and monthly repayments, he didn't mention that PPI was included and therefore keeping the repayments high.

I suppose, to all the above they can say; "it's your word against ours". If they do then I imagine that this will have to be taken up with FOS.

However....
I believe the above is not even worth mentioning due to these facts:
- The PPI equates to over 50% of the original cash loan (approx.£52 per £100) - no one in their right mind would agree that this is acceptable/competitive.
- The total cost of the PPI is £4,438.68 however the PPI only covers 12 x monthly payments (which, excluding PPI = £2,013). - if this was verbally explained, you'd have to be extremely stupid to see that you are basically giving £20 up front in case you are unable to pay £10 later down the line.

As I have been with them for 16 yrs, I believe it is their duty to "look after me and my money" by giving sound financial advise and solutions. Not rob me blind. It was their duty to make sure I fully understood the terms, which clearly I didn't. I also believe that if they had discussed this PPI agreement with me and had confirmation from myself that I needed protection, they should have told me that it would have been far more cost effective to increase the original cash amount by £2,013 and place this in a savings account in case of future emergency.

If anyone can give me some advise as to my above arguments, it'd be highly appreciated. Could do with a little reassurance that I have sure footing.

Thanks

di3004

controversialmike wrote: »

Hello again peops,

So the next installment has arrived in the post this morning. In response to my letter, they have stated the following:

"we cannot comment on the interview that you had with xxxx, however I enclose a copy of the paperwork (contract) signed by yourself on the xxxx, as you can see it clearly states the loan protection and the monthly repayments. I have spent some time looking into what happened and I am afraid to say that we don't agree that we could have done anything better or differently".....

So I have left a message for my branch manager who is handling the case, to call me back.

I will concentrate on highlighting the following:
- There was no option of protected or unprotected - just "a loan"
- There was no verbal discussion of the PPI let alone "verbal agreement"
- there were no questions regarding my current health, or information that the PPI only covers 5 of the 7 years I am contracted over.
- having banked with the same mamager for 16 yrs, I didn't feel it was necessary to scrutinise the contract passed over for me to sign or question his calculations
- during the interview, my manager did several recalculation in order to lower my APR and monthly repayments, he didn't mention that PPI was included and therefore keeping the repayments high.

I suppose, to all the above they can say; "it's your word against ours". If they do then I imagine that this will have to be taken up with FOS.

However....
I believe the above is not even worth mentioning due to these facts:
- The PPI equates to over 50% of the original cash loan (approx.£52 per £100) - no one in their right mind would agree that this is acceptable/competitive.
- The total cost of the PPI is £4,438.68 however the PPI only covers 12 x monthly payments (which, excluding PPI = £2,013). - if this was verbally explained, you'd have to be extremely stupid to see that you are basically giving £20 up front in case you are unable to pay £10 later down the line.

As I have been with them for 16 yrs, I believe it is their duty to "look after me and my money" by giving sound financial advise and solutions. Not rob me blind. It was their duty to make sure I fully understood the terms, which clearly I didn't. I also believe that if they had discussed this PPI agreement with me and had confirmation from myself that I needed protection, they should have told me that it would have been far more cost effective to increase the original cash amount by £2,013 and place this in a savings account in case of future emergency.

If anyone can give me some advise as to my above arguments, it'd be highly appreciated. Could do with a little reassurance that I have sure footing.

Thanks

Hi Mike, hope your well.;)

Just basically make sure that when they call you they don't try fobbing you off and if you can as well make notes of the call, and also put your issues in writing to them.

This way if you keep the evidence and went as far as the FOS, you have back up for your complaint.

I would like to wish you luck though and keep standing your ground and do not take no for an answer, even by them supplying the above to you, yes it's your word against their's but you have good reasons anyway and again if this did go as far as the FOS they know how they work and will certainly consider your case.

Al the best.;)

marshallka

controversialmike wrote: »

Hello again peops,

So the next installment has arrived in the post this morning. In response to my letter, they have stated the following:

"we cannot comment on the interview that you had with xxxx, however I enclose a copy of the paperwork (contract) signed by yourself on the xxxx, as you can see it clearly states the loan protection and the monthly repayments. I have spent some time looking into what happened and I am afraid to say that we don't agree that we could have done anything better or differently".....

So I have left a message for my branch manager who is handling the case, to call me back.

I will concentrate on highlighting the following:
- There was no option of protected or unprotected - just "a loan"
- There was no verbal discussion of the PPI let alone "verbal agreement"
- there were no questions regarding my current health, or information that the PPI only covers 5 of the 7 years I am contracted over.
- having banked with the same mamager for 16 yrs, I didn't feel it was necessary to scrutinise the contract passed over for me to sign or question his calculations
- during the interview, my manager did several recalculation in order to lower my APR and monthly repayments, he didn't mention that PPI was included and therefore keeping the repayments high.

I suppose, to all the above they can say; "it's your word against ours". If they do then I imagine that this will have to be taken up with FOS.

However....
I believe the above is not even worth mentioning due to these facts:
- The PPI equates to over 50% of the original cash loan (approx.£52 per £100) - no one in their right mind would agree that this is acceptable/competitive.
- The total cost of the PPI is £4,438.68 however the PPI only covers 12 x monthly payments (which, excluding PPI = £2,013). - if this was verbally explained, you'd have to be extremely stupid to see that you are basically giving £20 up front in case you are unable to pay £10 later down the line.

As I have been with them for 16 yrs, I believe it is their duty to "look after me and my money" by giving sound financial advise and solutions. Not rob me blind. It was their duty to make sure I fully understood the terms, which clearly I didn't. I also believe that if they had discussed this PPI agreement with me and had confirmation from myself that I needed protection, they should have told me that it would have been far more cost effective to increase the original cash amount by £2,013 and place this in a savings account in case of future emergency.

If anyone can give me some advise as to my above arguments, it'd be highly appreciated. Could do with a little reassurance that I have sure footing.

Thanks

Hi Mike, you just need to state that you had no understanding of what a single premium policy was and that it incurred interest on it for the full term of the loan and it was made compulsory to your loan. You can also state that you were not given the option of buying it elsewhere if you wanted and it was not sold in your interests but mainly in the interest of the banks profits.

Good luck

controversialmike

Hellooooo Di!

Cool, as I thought. It all seems a little too "cloak and dagger" for a company as big as LTSB to be able to get away with.

"IF" the terms were fair, then I could understand their response, but as the costs are so extortionate, I can't see how they can defend it.

It's seems as though their PPI policy works for "some" customers under "certain" loan agreements. In my case, the high APR and lengthy repayment period make the PPI policy snowball and creates an arrangement that will increase the risk of financial damage rather than "protect" the customer from it.

I hope to follow this up tomorrow and will keep you posted.

Once again, thanks for your support.

controversialmike

Can anyone tell me if it is legal to record the call without informing the other party?