Halifax Loan PPI - have I got a chance to reclaim?

and_rew_2

This is my first post in the forum and I look forward to being part of the community here.

My post regards a Halifax unsecured loan I took out in March 2006 for £7000. The interest rate was 8.8%. As the loan is due to be completed in May, it was brought to my attention.

Being more knowledgeable about tools on the Internet than I was then I decided to run it through a loan calculator to see what it said my interest was and to my surprise it was almost 20%.

I phoned Halifax loans department and they told me that I had taken out PPI for about £1,860 meaning I was to pay back in total about £10,600 rather than about £8,740.

I was totally shocked when he told me this as I would never have agreed to take insurance at this price. I never insure anything apart from my car and always take a chance when buying electrical goods etc. At the time I had only been working for a month in agency work and didn't even have a contract yet, so I wouldn't take cover on losing my job because the position was still tenuous and I wouldn't be guaranteed to be in it long enough to receive cover. I was also in perfect health so no reason to take cover due to concerns about this.

It was a face-to-face meeting for the agreement and the girl never mentioned PPI, how much it would cost, whether I could get it cheaper elsewhere etc etc. It just seems to have been slipped in through the back door so they can advertise cheap loan rates but still get to charge at a higher rate.

So, do you think I have a chance of getting my money back? I've logged a complaint on the phone already.

di3004

and_rew wrote: »

This is my first post in the forum and I look forward to being part of the community here.

My post regards a Halifax unsecured loan I took out in March 2006 for £7000. The interest rate was 8.8%. As the loan is due to be completed in May, it was brought to my attention.

Being more knowledgeable about tools on the Internet than I was then I decided to run it through a loan calculator to see what it said my interest was and to my surprise it was almost 20%.

I phoned Halifax loans department and they told me that I had taken out PPI for about £1,860 meaning I was to pay back in total about £10,600 rather than about £8,740.

I was totally shocked when he told me this as I would never have agreed to take insurance at this price. I never insure anything apart from my car and always take a chance when buying electrical goods etc. At the time I had only been working for a month in agency work and didn't even have a contract yet, so I wouldn't take cover on losing my job because the position was still tenuous and I wouldn't be guaranteed to be in it long enough to receive cover. I was also in perfect health so no reason to take cover due to concerns about this.

It was a face-to-face meeting for the agreement and the girl never mentioned PPI, how much it would cost, whether I could get it cheaper elsewhere etc etc. It just seems to have been slipped in through the back door so they can advertise cheap loan rates but still get to charge at a higher rate.

So, do you think I have a chance of getting my money back? I've logged a complaint on the phone already.

Hi and welcome

Its a possibly reclaim here with the reasons you have in my opinion, give it a go.
And personally even though you have made a complaint over the phone I would still suggest that in writing would be better, and keep copies of everything in case you need to make a complaint through the Financial ombudsman service (FOS) later on, for example if your not happy with the final decision etc.

You can do this by completing the reclaiming questionnaire as shown on link below of stage one, they normally have 8 weeks to give a decision, may write to ask for more time, and write a cover letter to make them aware that you already registered a complaint on the phone dated XX/XX/XXXX and understand your complaint is currently being dealt with, but have enclosed a copy of the questionnaire to support your complaint.
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/ppi-loan-insurance#reclaim
Or write a letter instead of completing the questionnaire.

You will have covered your ground then, good luck.

and_rew_2

Thanks very much Di, I'll definitely send a letter in probably based on the questions in that document. Have done so more research and looks like I was only in a temporary job for a few days when I took out the loan, so I would never have even been able to claim against the PPI that I didn't know I had. Does anyone know the best way to prove that I was only in a temporary job for a few days at the time I took out the loan? Or just dig out an old P45?