PPI Claim - Retract an offer?

Debswd

After about 6 months of doing battle with Firstplus regarding mis-selling of PPI i finally received an offer from them in late November 2009 advising that they were making an offer as a "gesture of goodwill". with the letter came a formal acceptance form for me to sign and return. The offer was exactly what i was after so i signed and sent it back. Having not heard from them since then I phoned them today to ask what was happening and they confirmed that a cheque was on the way, but when i asked for how much it was £3K less than i was expecting and had agreed with them.

They advised that they realised they had made a mistake in their offer and would therefore only be refunding this smaller amount. After over half an hour discussing offers and acceptances with them on the phone, i got no where so i've just sent another letter of complaint to them.

My question is can they legitimately reduce their original offer even when they have stated in their letter that this "should be viewed as our final response", I've signed a formal acceptance to their offer (surely now a Contract) and they have at no time formally retracted their offer.

i know that they have offered a lot of money (£7k instead of £10k) but the fact is i accepted the £10K as a settlement figure ... plus i really need the money more than them this year for maternity leave!

Just when i thought i had made a big step forward ... :mad:

di3004

Debswd wrote: »

After about 6 months of doing battle with Firstplus regarding mis-selling of PPI i finally received an offer from them in late November 2009 advising that they were making an offer as a "gesture of goodwill". with the letter came a formal acceptance form for me to sign and return. The offer was exactly what i was after so i signed and sent it back. Having not heard from them since then I phoned them today to ask what was happening and they confirmed that a cheque was on the way, but when i asked for how much it was £3K less than i was expecting and had agreed with them.

They advised that they realised they had made a mistake in their offer and would therefore only be refunding this smaller amount. After over half an hour discussing offers and acceptances with them on the phone, i got no where so i've just sent another letter of complaint to them.

My question is can they legitimately reduce their original offer even when they have stated in their letter that this "should be viewed as our final response", I've signed a formal acceptance to their offer (surely now a Contract) and they have at no time formally retracted their offer.

i know that they have offered a lot of money (£7k instead of £10k) but the fact is i accepted the £10K as a settlement figure ... plus i really need the money more than them this year for maternity leave!

Just when i thought i had made a big step forward ... :mad:

Hi and welcome.;)

Personally I would write back and tell them the first offer as on their letter is what you would have been expecting, and believe this is what it should stay at.
I would request they keep to the first offer, because its not your fault if they made the mistake in the first place.

You could of course give the FOS a ring and see what they suggest in your case, personally I would go for what you was expecting and what you signed for in the acceptance form.
http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/contact/index.html

Good luck.

Debswd

Thank you for the prompt reply.

I was so frustrated with Firstplus that i sent them yet another letter of complaint this afternoon.

I'd managed to get this far without involving the FOS but i was so annoyed by Firstplus' unscrupulous actions that i've now taken your advice and also contacted the FOS.

They are going to also write and complain on my behalf so hopefully i will get somewhere with getting the full amount. I was just wondered whether they could retract the offer or whether they were legally bound to honour what i have accepted.

With banks and loan companies who needs enemies!