Halifax Total Mortgage Protection Plan (TMPP) - Can I reclaim?

hsddi

I have a claim in with the Halifax at the moment, very similar to some of the posts I have read already. Myself and my wife have worked for the NHS since 1987, we were given the option of buying the flat that we lived in at the time or we had to get out, this was in 1995. Went to see a financial advisor, him seeing we were pretty desperate not to lose our home pushed the Halifax mortgage and the TMPP onto us making us believe that we had a better chance of getting the mortgage with taking out the TMPP. Not much was explained to us at the time, we didn't even know that there were elements of the policy that you did not need to take out e.g. ppi. We moved to our house in 2003, I remember phoning the Halifax to change address on the policy but apparently the policy changed then unknown to myself so two claims have had to be put in.
My question is the policy is still running now with all elements attached, should I cancel the ppi element now or will Halifax cancel it if my claim is successful?
Thank you for any advise.

Nearlyold

You can cancel the PPI element now if you want to. Halifax would definitely cancel the PPI in the event your complaint is successful. Does your TMPP still have the Life and CI element and are you wishing to continue with those?

dunstonh

Went to see a financial advisor, him seeing we were pretty desperate not to lose our home pushed the Halifax mortgage and the TMPP onto us making us believe that we had a better chance of getting the mortgage with taking out the TMPP.

Do you have any evidence of that?

Not much was explained to us at the time, we didn't even know that there were elements of the policy that you did not need to take out e.g. ppi.

In 1995, Halifax were issuing illustrations with the list of benefits and the premiums and these included the risk warnings.

My question is the policy is still running now with all elements attached, should I cancel the ppi element now or will Halifax cancel it if my claim is successful?

What segments of the TMPPP did you have?

sim11

I have the Halifax policy. I claimed for the carers part. Which pays out for 12 months only. I am still paying the same amount years later. But I am still caring and have not returned to work. Would I be able to make a claim, because I am paying for a policy I cannot claim on?

linaraman

So, an update. Claim questionnaire downloaded from Halifax website and completed in full outlining facts.


1.Policy was miss-old because, firstly it wasn't presented to me as a choice but rather compulsory product I had to take.


2.The policy didn't get cancelled in time, when my property was re-mortgaged to Santander in 2005, which I believe has been designed to mislead and trick the customer, so that monthly premiums could be collected without customer being aware of policy's existence.
3.Policy should have been on a decreasing basis and it wasn't.
Fingers crossed!!

dunstonh

1.Policy was miss-old because, firstly it wasn't presented to me as a choice but rather compulsory product I had to take.

Not a valid complaint reason on an advised sale. The adviser is required to do the filtering down to the recommednation for you. Not you doing it. Halifax are tied agents. So, they only had this product. So, no filtering is required.

So, that point will not succeed.

2.The policy didn't get cancelled in time, when my property was re-mortgaged to Santander in 2005, which I believe has been designed to mislead and trick the customer, so that monthly premiums could be collected without customer being aware of policy's existence.

Many people continue their existing plans when moving from one lender to another. Indeed, it is seen as best advice unless there is any reason why it is unsuitable. So, that is not a valid complaint reason.

3.Policy should have been on a decreasing basis and it wasn't.

If your mortgage was a capital & repayment mortgage then it should have been decreasing term assurance. However, the cost difference between the two is often a few pence. Also, when you are young (in your 20s) it is quite common to be hit with minimum premium rather than the sum assured. So, in those cases, switching to level term assurance is usually down to maximum the payout vs the minimum premium being paid.

Basically, apart from point 3, you dont appear to have a valid complaint reason for your life assurance being mis-sold.

linaraman

Obviously, my reply to them was much wider and more explanatory, so I shall see what will be the outcome. I shall let you know of the decision as soon as I hear from them.

linaraman

sim11 wrote: »

I have the Halifax policy. I claimed for the carers part. Which pays out for 12 months only. I am still paying the same amount years later. But I am still caring and have not returned to work. Would I be able to make a claim, because I am paying for a policy I cannot claim on?

If you even think you have a slim chance of winning - do it.! Sometimes they just process a refund without fully investigating. My sister has had an automatic refund and she has never complained or claimed. The cheque was posted to her home address for just under £5k. So, even if they refuse to refund and you think you have a valid point, take it to the ombudsman for their review. Like this you will now you have done it all in order to get a refund. Good luck!!

linaraman

dunstonh wrote: »

Not a valid complaint reason on an advised sale. The adviser is required to do the filtering down to the recommednation for you. Not you doing it. Halifax are tied agents. So, they only had this product. So, no filtering is required.

So, that point will not succeed.



Many people continue their existing plans when moving from one lender to another. Indeed, it is seen as best advice unless there is any reason why it is unsuitable. So, that is not a valid complaint reason.



If your mortgage was a capital & repayment mortgage then it should have been decreasing term assurance. However, the cost difference between the two is often a few pence. Also, when you are young (in your 20s) it is quite common to be hit with minimum premium rather than the sum assured. So, in those cases, switching to level term assurance is usually down to maximum the payout vs the minimum premium being paid.

Basically, apart from point 3, you dont appear to have a valid complaint reason for your life assurance being mis-sold.

Yes, our mortgage was on capital & repayment basis, but both Life cover and Critical illness cover were provided on a level term basis when a decreasing term was more appropriate. The amount of cover should have come down as the amount outstanding on the mortgage reduced.
Also, the Life cover benefit and Critical cover benefit amount was set at the default sum of £100,000 when our mortgage was only for £88,000. Because of this fact our TMPP monthly premiums were higher than could have been.

dunstonh

Yes, our mortgage was on capital & repayment basis, but both Life cover and Critical illness cover were provided on a level term basis when a decreasing term was more appropriate.

OK. Lets say they decide to uphold that reason. Thats a few pence on the premium.

Also, the Life cover benefit and Critical cover benefit amount was set at the default sum of £100,000 when our mortgage was only for £88,000.

Which now makes more sense about it being a level term than decreasing term. So, less likely to be a mis-sale.

At the end of the day, Halifax should be able to defend that case very easily. However, they are also known to be a pushover and very scattergun in their responses.