Girlfriend has loan but is now on maternity leave

wheelerc

Apples2 - Yes, banks are a business and need to make money, but they should also have a duty of care to their customers.


If I went in to an optician for an eye test and they sold me a paid of glasses I do not need, that wouldn't be right.
If I went in to a car garage for an MOT, and they replaced parts on my car which didn't need replacing, that wouldn't be right.
If I went in to a bank and ask for a loan, and they sell me additional serrvices which I don't need - is that right?

KingElvis - Indeed, I just got back from a weekend at the Nurburgring, all is indeed well

RichGold

Apples2 wrote: »

You are confusing banks with financial advisors

Apples is completely right.

<SticksNeckOut>
In my experience, some financial advisors are far far worse than any bank could be.
</SticksNeckOut>

KingElvis

wheelerc wrote: »

KingElvis - Indeed, I just got back from a weekend at the Nurburgring, all is indeed well

Sounds cool, you'll be needing new brakes, tyres and probably a new car now then

RichGold

wheelerc wrote: »

If I went in to an optician for an eye test and they sold me a paid of glasses I do not need, that wouldn't be right.
If I went in to a car garage for an MOT, and they replaced parts on my car which didn't need replacing, that wouldn't be right.
If I went in to a bank and ask for a loan, and they sell me additional serrvices which I don't need - is that right?

The thing is that it isn't too hard to be savvy enough to look at the products they are trying to get you to buy and decide for yourself. We had a thread on here recently where a man had a pop-up appear online from his bank and offer him a £12,000 loan and now he was having trouble re-paying it. No-one made him click on the link or helped him to spend the money. Just because it was offered doesn't mean its right for you. You see what I mean?

I've never had a bank account that you pay for, and all my accounts are marked "no marketing" so that they don't try to sell me things either in branch or when I call up. That way, if and when I want a service they provide, I'll apply for it. Not when they want me to apply.

wheelerc

Hi All,

Thought I'd keep this updated in case anyone else is in a similar situation. We received a letter a few days ago from RBS's PPI department stating that they would be offering us a full refund on the PPI charge, plus 8% simple interest, plus an additional 8% interest for the time period since the initial complaint due to the delays in getting it resolved. This will put her back into the financial position she was in had she not been mis-sold the PPI. Got back over £2.5k in total, plus the refund on the Advantage Gold account. Not bad for a letter which took 30 mins to write and post, and just shows exactly how much they were charging. £2.5k's worth of PPI on a 5k loan!

Dave101t

whats criminal is she didnt think ahead, she HAS the money to pay it, and doesnt want to.

wheelerc

I don't follow Dave - If she'd spent her money on booze and fags reclaiming mis-sold PPI would be OK, but because she has a job and has been able to repay it, reclaiming it is criminal?

[Deleted User]

wheelerc wrote: »

If I went in to a car garage for an MOT, and they replaced parts on my car which didn't need replacing, that wouldn't be right.:D

Not right, but par for the course...

jc808

Coveredinbees!!!! wrote: »

She knew the terms when she took out the loan, it not the banks fault she got pregnant.

'was i missold a loan cos my boyfriend knocked me up'

lol

lauraj_3

I do sympathise with the general situaltion you were in - if you take out a loan over 5 years you don't always know what might change in that time (obviously there are various forms of contraception but these things can happen accidently still and also if you're around a certain age it's sometimes now or never to have a baby).. and the fact you said you could afford the loan still now you've had the baby just didn't like the interest is understandable - it was an awful lot of interest, but as other posters have said - your girlfriend would have signed the agreement stating the rate of interest and total amount repayable so you can't blame the bank.. they helped her get a car and driving lessons when she needed them so she must have been happy at the time..

As for the advantage gold account she would have had to sign a form for that too and even if she was mis-sold it and didn't sign anything she should've noticed the monthly subscription going out the next month on her bank statement so you did very well to get a refund of that!

As for the isa, that was her choice!! Customer Advisers at banks offer products they think could benefit the customer and the customer decides whether they want it or not, and again, if she was 'unlucky' enough to have been mis-sold the savings account with the £30 standing order she could have cancelled the standing order at any time and also withdrawn the money from the savings account!!! :rolls eyes:

I can see all this from both points of view as I used to be a customer adviser - a few years ago. I was a very helpful one and didn't offer customers anything i didn't think they could benefit from! I'm sure there were/are customer advisers who do mis-sell to hit targets but in this case it sounds like altho the loan rate was high (probably because it was a small amount - rates were always higher at 5k and below) the bank provided your girlfriend with what she wanted at the time and yes they made money from it but as others have said (and it's a shame more people aren't aware of this) banks are in the business of making money, they aren't charities!

I'm glad it all worked out for you in the end! Well done with all the refunds! I never get round to writing letters..!