Is this the right place? Mortgage PPI

Scarlett82

Hi Guys!

I'm not sure if this is the right place or not, but it's worth a go. It's a bit of a long one, so I hope you manage to read through it all!

4 years ago, my husband and I went to a financial advisor to sort out a mortgage and all the insurance that went with it, life, payment protection, house, contents etc. We did this because we're not keen on paperwork and we thought it would be easier.

Fast forward 4 years, Husband is made redundant and we dig out the paperwork to make a claim for payment protection so that we can get a bit of money in to help cover 50% of the mortgage.

On doing this, we discover we've been paying PPI to TWO different companies, for exactly the same thing.

I know that we are partly at fault for not picking this up before, but we would never have knowingly signed for two different PPI packages, that is just silly.

Questions:

Do we have a leg to stand on in contacting the financial advisor and asking for compensation as it was their !!!! up?

Can we claim on both insurance policies, or is that fraudulent?

What should we do? Is this tough luck, be careful in the future, or is there something we can do?

I'm so upset to think of all the money we wasted on paying for two policies.

roonaldo

the advisor would have to find out your existing arrangements by way of a fact find before he/she recommended to the policy to you. If you stated you didnt have cover to him when you did, then you would be at fault for not declaring all material facts. if the advisor recommended cover when you already had declared sufficient cover then you would have grounds for mis-sale.

If you took out policy afterwards to that event then you could be at fault for taking a 2nd policy. If you took advice on that sale, you could have grounds for mis-sale. But if no advice was provided to you, ie you purchased it on internet, then you are at fault.

Also, yes you can claim on 2 policies, its not fraudulent (it baffles me why people think it would be), you have paid for your insurance so claim on it, thats what its designed for. In a way you are lucky to be insured twice.

Scarlett82

roonaldo wrote: »

the advisor would have to find out your existing arrangements by way of a fact find before he/she recommended to the policy to you. If you stated you didnt have cover to him when you did, then you would be at fault for not declaring all material facts. if the advisor recommended cover when you already had declared sufficient cover then you would have grounds for mis-sale.

If you took out policy afterwards to that event then you could be at fault for taking a 2nd policy. If you took advice on that sale, you could have grounds for mis-sale. But if no advice was provided to you, ie you purchased it on internet, then you are at fault.

Also, yes you can claim on 2 policies, its not fraudulent (it baffles me why people think it would be), you have paid for your insurance so claim on it, thats what its designed for. In a way you are lucky to be insured twice.

Thank you for the advice, I don't think I made myself clear though, both of the policies were set up through the financial advisor, we didn't set up any policies! That's why I'm asking whether we have grounds for complaining and trying to get some money back!

Good to know that it's not fraudulent though, if we find that we are unable to get anything from the advisor, we'll claim! We are already starting a claim through one.

dunstonh

On doing this, we discover we've been paying PPI to TWO different companies, for exactly the same thing.

Why are you paying for two companies to provide the same thing?

Are you sure they are the same thing. IFAs normally recommend two types of income protection to satisfy the full need. MPPI to cover the first 12 months and PHI to kick in after the 12 months ends.

Thank you for the advice, I don't think I made myself clear though, both of the policies were set up through the financial advisor, we didn't set up any policies! That's why I'm asking whether we have grounds for complaining and trying to get some money back!

How about contacting the adviser and asking them first before you burn your bridges and get yourself blacklisted by that adviser and any other firm they have contact/relationships with?

Scarlett82

dunstonh wrote: »

Why are you paying for two companies to provide the same thing?

Are you sure they are the same thing. IFAs normally recommend two types of income protection to satisfy the full need. MPPI to cover the first 12 months and PHI to kick in after the 12 months ends.

I don't know what PHI is, but I'm sure they are the same thing. One is better than the other but they both cover unemployment

How about contacting the adviser and asking them first before you burn your bridges and get yourself blacklisted by that adviser and any other firm they have contact/relationships with?

I didn't want to contact the advisor without finding out whether we have grounds for complaint. How would you suggest contacting them to avoid being blacklisted? Why would a valid complaint lead to being blacklisted?

roonaldo

Scarlett82 wrote: »

both of the policies were set up through the financial advisor

like what Dunstoph said it sounds like 2 different types of policies.

i say that because it would take a stupid adviser to sell you 2 identical products. so its sounds like may be a PPI and life policy, or PPI and PHI (health insurance)

dunstonh

Why would a valid complaint lead to being blacklisted?

IFAs have a personal liability for complaints and many get charged by their compliance company for every complaint even if there is no grounds for complaint or the complaint is rejected. You are not talking about some faceless organisation.

Many IFAs aim to have an ongoing relationship with their clients where communication is normal and you can discuss issues. By going straight to complaint without discussing it with the adviser is diving in at the deep end and doing an end run around the adviser. If you were the adviser, how would you feel if someone did that to you and you also had to pay a charge for them doing it?

If you have a valid complaint then fair enough. If you ask the IFA he confirms an error was made then go for the complaint (if it isnt resolved without complaint). However, why not find out first if a complaint is necessary?