Do I have grounds for a claim

expressfire

Hi, I thought before i progress with anything id ask your opinions on if you think i have a possible claim.

I took out my mortgage in nov 2001 it was part repayment and part interest only due to having a endowment policy. The mortgage was organised via the estate agents.

I was told at the time that i had to take out insurance to cover me for the repayment part of the mortgage in case of critical illness or redundancy, at the time i couldn't understand this as my endowment more than covered me in case of critical illness and i didnt feel i needed it for redundancy. But i was told i had to take a policy to get the mortgage.

So to get my mortgage i agreed with the advisor at the estate agency and everything was organised. The mortgage with the Halifax and the insurance with Friends Provident. The insurance i ve been paying was £40 a month.

After a few years i was feeling the pinch a little and was trying to cut costs of my monthly out goings and made a slight adjustment to poilcy removing one part which was costing me £8 a month.

I would like to know your opinion as if to 1) i have a claim which i feel i do and 2) who would you contact to get the ball rolling as i would like to go about using MSE reclaim advice and doing it myself. Do i write to Friends Provident or the Estate agency ??

Thanks in advance

dunstonh

at the time i couldn't understand this as my endowment more than covered me in case of critical illness and i didnt feel i needed it for redundancy.

the endowment would cover the interest only element but not the repayment element.

But i was told i had to take a policy to get the mortgage.

Quite possibly the case with that broker if they relied on insurance commission to give fees free advice on mortgages.

and i didnt feel i needed it for redundancy

you dont have redundancy cover so thats ok.

1) i have a claim which i feel i do

You mean complaint. Not claim.

Unless you are single, then its unlikely you have any chance of success with the complaint. It would be a very easy one for an adviser to defend.

2) who would you contact to get the ball rolling as i would like to go about using MSE reclaim advice and doing it myself. Do i write to Friends Provident or the Estate agency ??

You contact the estate agent. FP have no liabilty unless the estate agent was a sales rep of Friends Prov. You will need to provide your evidence to support your complaint at the same time if you have any chance of it succeeding.

expressfire

My total mortgage (repay/endowment) was £50k and my Critical Illness cover on endowment was £60k. Thats the reason i couldn't understand.

There were 3 parts to the insurance - life or earlier critical illness, unemployment and income protection.

I am single.

Are you saying that i dont have grounds to reclaim the ppi on the basis of mis selling?

dunstonh

There were 3 parts to the insurance - life or earlier critical illness, unemployment and income protection.

Friends Provident dont offer PPI though and redundancy falls under PPI. FP only offer long term insurance and that would be PHI (permanent health insurance). This type of income protection is very different from PPI and shouldnt be confused as such.

Are you saying that i dont have grounds to reclaim the ppi on the basis of mis selling?

On the basis of you saying you were forced to have it, yes. That type of complaint is impossible to prove and very few complaints are upheld on that reason despite the number of people that actually include it in their complaint.

However, the life assurance in your case could well be mis-sold. You are single and if you have no dependants (ie, no children or partner living with you) then the life assurance could be easily classed as a mis-sale. It is technically possible to justify it (often Critical illness cover with life assurance compared with critical illness cover alone is only something like £1 per month different. In those cases, most people, quite justifiably, take the life cover with the CI as its daft not to.

The income protection and critical illness cover elements are unlikely to be mis-sold. Typically an amount of CI cover of around 4x salary plus debts is considered a desirable amount to have and long term income protection is good advice. Those two chunks are easily defended.

So, if you have a complaint, it would be on the basis you were single, have no financial dependants (children/partner) and that the premium difference between CI cover by itself vs life and CI was so big that its worth complaining. ( e.g. a £1 pm difference in premium wouldnt result in much of a payout even if you were successful in your complaint)

expressfire

so even though i was told i had to take out these policies

called - life or earlier critical illness cover, Income protection cover and unemployment cover - all friend provident policies all sold to me at the same time.

even though i didnt think i needed them but was told i had too to get my mortgage - i cannot reclaim the money i have spent on them for the last 10 years?

dunstonh

so even though i was told i had to take out these policies

What proof do you have to back up that accusation?

That is the problem with verbal accusations (from either side). Documentation is King.

even though i didnt think i needed them but was told i had too to get my mortgage - i cannot reclaim the money i have spent on them for the last 10 years?

Based on what you have said and what I have already replied, then no I dont. I would be rejecting the complaint if it was without evidence and there is a financial need.

expressfire

what kind of documentation will i require if i were to go ahead as i have all the documentation that i was given?

dunstonh

what kind of documentation will i require if i were to go ahead as i have all the documentation that i was given?

You will need something that says you had to have it or a valid reason that doesnt require you to have documentation.

magpiecottage

Who was the firm that advised you?

expressfire

i was advised by a guy who was based at the estate agency where i purchased my house, so i guess he was an IFA. I was sent to see him to discuss mortgage options and what mortgages where available to me. When the mortgage was sorted i was told i needed the covers listed above. I showed him my endowment which clearly states i have death/critical illness cover for much more than the total mortgage but i was told i still needed these policies!