Feedback on First Letter

dazed_and_confused_3

Hi

I was just hoping somebody might be able to offer some feedback on my stage one letter, which I’ve posted below, before I send it off at the end of the week. Just in case there’s anything in there that might hinder my case etc.

Apologies in advance for it being long-winded…

Dear Sir or Madam,

Account number: [xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx]

I am writing to you regarding the above credit card account that I have with you. Having recently been made aware of the issue of widespread mis-selling of payment protection policies by several financial institutions, and having reviewed some of my old statements, I have noticed that for several years I was paying for a form of payment protection insurance on this account which I believe was mis-sold to me for the reasons listed below.

I was unaware I had even taken out this payment protection policy and was under the impression that the “repayment cover” listed on my statements was a prerequisite of the account, rather than an optional service.

I most certainly never received a full and clear explanation of the need (or otherwise) for such a policy, or of the terms and conditions of the policy, such as any policy exclusions that might invalidate my right to make a claim. Nor was I ever informed that I was within my rights to shop around for a different policy that might have been better suited to my personal needs. No attempt was made to ascertain whether the policy was fit for purpose, suitable to my needs or if indeed it was required at all.

All of which I feel constitutes a dereliction of your duties when underwriting a policy of insurance, and contravenes the rules and guidance set out by the Financial Services Authority for firms providing insurance products and services.

Furthermore, I am now aware that I would not have even been eligible to reclaim on this policy in any case, due in part to my employment status at the time. I was due to begin university within months of the credit card account itself being opened and as such would only be able to work part-time, thus not earning enough to be paying the necessary class of National Insurance contributions in order to qualify. Also, I had not been in continuous employment for the six months immediately before the start date, and knew I would be becoming voluntarily unemployed within 90 days of it before starting university, all of which would disqualify me from making a claim.

As previously stated, these policy exclusions were not properly explained to me, therefore not enabling me to make an informed choice as to whether or not such a policy was in my best interests. Had they been I would obviously not have taken out a policy in the knowledge I would be paying for cover that I couldn’t even claim on.

Unless you can satisfactorily justify to me that the policy was fair and reasonable I am 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, the amount a court would award, to be added to each payment made.

I look forward to a full and prompt response to this letter and for the matter to be concluded within eight weeks or I shall be contacting the Financial Ombudsman to investigate my complaint.

Yours faithfully...

Any help would be greatly appreciated. :cool:

robbedofmymoney

dazed_and_confused wrote: »

Hi

I was just hoping somebody might be able to offer some feedback on my stage one letter, which I’ve posted below, before I send it off at the end of the week. Just in case there’s anything in there that might hinder my case etc.

Apologies in advance for it being long-winded…

Any help would be greatly appreciated. :cool:

reads well, don't forget to send recorded delivery, keep us informed on how you get on

good luck:beer:

marshallka

Hi, was this an online sale of PPI or did you go into the bank?

dazed_and_confused_3

marshallka wrote: »

Hi, was this an online sale of PPI or did you go into the bank?

To be honest I’m not entirely sure , but I’m almost certain it wasn’t in-branch. It was back in 2001 that the account was opened & I cant remember the exact circumstances. But I do know I had no idea I was even paying for any kind of optional PPI, never mind having the terms & conditions, clauses, etc explained to me. If they had been I would have refused the policy as it was completely worthless to me in my circumstances.

Is there something in the letter I need to change depending on whether the account was opened online/in-branch? :question:

marshallka

dazed_and_confused wrote: »

To be honest I’m not entirely sure , but I’m almost certain it wasn’t in-branch. It was back in 2001 that the account was opened & I cant remember the exact circumstances. But I do know I had no idea I was even paying for any kind of optional PPI, never mind having the terms & conditions, clauses, etc explained to me. If they had been I would have refused the policy as it was completely worthless to me in my circumstances.

Is there something in the letter I need to change depending on whether the account was opened online/in-branch? :question:

Well yes, TBH if you had the card from online then this is classed as a non advised sale and therefore no advice would have been given to you. This would mean that you would tick the box (which sometimes were pre ticked by them) that you had read the terms and conditions. If they come back to you and say your sale was non advised then you have to somehow prove that they pre ticked the box. On a non advised sale the onus is on you to read the terms and conditions (which are online) before ticking the box. This is why I asked. You really need to get your complaint right first and if you cannot remember how you took the card out they could come back (regardless of whether you were employed or not) and say that this was non advised.

dazed_and_confused_3

marshallka wrote: »

Well yes, TBH if you had the card from online then this is classed as a non advised sale and therefore no advice would have been given to you. This would mean that you would tick the box (which sometimes were pre ticked by them) that you had read the terms and conditions. If they come back to you and say your sale was non advised then you have to somehow prove that they pre ticked the box. On a non advised sale the onus is on you to read the terms and conditions (which are online) before ticking the box. This is why I asked. You really need to get your complaint right first and if you cannot remember how you took the card out they could come back (regardless of whether you were employed or not) and say that this was non advised.

Ok thanks for the advice. I will try to find out for certain exactly where/how the card was taken out before sending the letter, or not (:(). Thanks again for the help.

dazed_and_confused_3

Been in contact with the bank & according to them as the account was opened in 2001 “there wont be any document on file to say whether it was opened in-branch, online or over the phone” (their exact words).

Can anyone advise what I should do now as I’m not sure whether I was sold the PPI in an advised or non-advised sale? All I know is I didn’t even know I had it, I wasn’t eligible to claim on it (for a number of reasons) & nobody ever explained the T&C’s, or that it was optional, etc to me.

Is my claim now effectively dead in the water before it’s even begun? Or can I still claim on any of the grounds above? Also, how likely is it that they really don’t have any record on file of how & where the account/policy was taken out? It was only customer services I spoke to.

Once again any help is greatly appreciated. :cool:

marshallka

dazed_and_confused wrote: »

Been in contact with the bank & according to them as the account was opened in 2001 “there wont be any document on file to say whether it was opened in-branch, online or over the phone” (their exact words).

Can anyone advise what I should do now as I’m not sure whether I was sold the PPI in an advised or non-advised sale? All I know is I didn’t even know I had it, I wasn’t eligible to claim on it (for a number of reasons) & nobody ever explained the T&C’s, or that it was optional, etc to me.

Is my claim now effectively dead in the water before it’s even begun? Or can I still claim on any of the grounds above? Also, how likely is it that they really don’t have any record on file of how & where the account/policy was taken out? It was only customer services I spoke to.

Once again any help is greatly appreciated. :cool:

Hi, no, your claim is not dead. Just difficult to word your complaint really if you send the letter you were going to. If that is how you remember it though and they have no record then surely they have to listen to it. I would just make your complaint as best you remember and if you did not want the PPI at all and it was added without your knowledge then you may still have claim. Its always worth a shot.