Tried to reclaim PPI but told I never had it?!

EmmyRoo

Hi,
I took out a loan in 2002 with Intelligent Finance and remember being phoned by them to take out PPI cover on it.

I decided to put in a claim recently to re-claim the PPI, so I looked out the documents and found a folder containing everything I've ever received from IF since I first took out the loan.
However, the only document that mentioned the PPI policy was a letter from the insurance providers, Pinnacle, confirming that I cancelled the policy in 2004.

I completed the reclaim form and sent it to IF along with a copy of the letter from Pinnacle and a copy of the relevant document from IF with their "strong recommendation" that I take out the PPI.

I got a reply from IF this week though, saying that they've looked into it and I never had PPI on that loan so they're considering the case closed!

I feel slightly lost as to what to do now. I don't have any documents from IF that say anything about the PPI, it's not on any statements or anything, all I have is the letter from Pinnacle.
BUT, why would Pinnacle send me a letter confirming my cancellation of a policy, with my IF plan number on it, if it wasn't PPI for my loan?

I feel like IF are basically calling me a chancer who's tried to claim something they're not entitled to!
I remember receiving a phonecall from them about PPI at the time though, and feel I have decent reasons to feel it was mis-sold.

Anyway, my question is has anyone else had a similar experience? Is this just a tactic IF are using to try and put me off claiming? Should I carry on and send my complaint to the Ombudsman or contact IF about it, or just give up?

Any advice gratefully received!

E. x

amersall

Hi there, if you had ppi on this loan,it would show up on your monthly statement as a insurance payment.
Is it possible you had another loan with IF? and this is what the cover is for?.

Give Cardiff Pinnacle a ring and ask what this covered,they may have the details,although 9 years after the event may be a bit difficult.

One last thing,how much was the loan and what was the monthly payment and loan term?,you can find out if you had ppi by the monthly payment.If you post the figures up,someone will help you work this out.

roonaldo

EmmyRoo wrote: »

I feel like IF are basically calling me a chancer who's tried to claim something they're not entitled to!

What makes you feel you are entitled to it? Insurance is not refundable, you paid premiums for a policy that provided cover, so in that respect they are entitled to it. Its only every refundable with interest if its found to be mis-sold.

I believe this PPI would have been a monthly policy, if it were suitable for you and you were eligible for it you wont have a chance in seeing the money back.

Are you sure IF sold it to you? and you didnt take this out directly with Pinnacle or a broker? It looks like the onus is on you to prove who sold it.

dunstonh

I completed the reclaim form and sent it to IF along with a copy of the letter from Pinnacle and a copy of the relevant document from IF with their "strong recommendation" that I take out the PPI.

You do realise that the document you supplied them makes it easier to reject your complaint. A strong recommendation is just that. It confirms you were not told you had to have it.

it's not on any statements or anything

If you had PPI then it would show. Either as a monthly payment or an increased amount borrowed.

Is this just a tactic IF are using to try and put me off claiming?

Highly unlikely. They just cant see it on the documentation they have. There is a good chance IF didnt supply the PPI but a broker did it or you took it out third party.

Should I carry on and send my complaint to the Ombudsman or contact IF about it, or just give up?

The FOS are not much use to you as they will be told by IF exactly what they told you. You need to look at your documentation. Maybe ring pinnacle up and ask them what the insurance was for and who arranged it.

Remember that there is nothing wrong with having PPI. If you havent given a mis-sale reason, confirmed you knew it was optional and then dont appear to have it through the company you think then the response is going to be a little blunt.

EmmyRoo

Hi,
Thanks for your replies.

To clarify, the reasons I feel it was mis-sold are that I feel the "strong recommendation" and subsequent phone call from an IF customer service person constitute financial advice given by someone who wasn't qualified to give financial advice. I also felt I was pressured into it on the phone & felt I couldn't say no. In any case, the PPI only covered the first 12 months of a period of sickness which was inadequate for the 5 year loan in question. I also have no documentation which means I couldn't make an informed decision about it. In addition, I had other means of meeting the payments should I have been ill/unemployed etc, namely a savings account I opened with IF at the same time, parental help, and help from my partner (now husband) who was working full time.

I didn't have any other loans with IF, this was the only one. The Pinnacle letter states the IF plan number on it, which refers to the loan in question.

I definitely did not take this PPI out through a broker or by myself, why would I when I don't feel it was necessary?

I think the suggestion to ring Pinnacle about it is a good one, I understand that the onus is on me to prove I had the PPI in the first place. I just don't understand why I'd have a letter from Pinnacle about it if I never had it?!

Amersall - here are the figures given when I took out the loan, maybe someone could help me work out if this proves anything, maths is not my strong point!

Loan amount: £5,500
Loan Term: 5 years (60 monthly payments)
Total charge for credit: £1204.44
Total amount payable: £6704.44
APR: 8.3%
Monthly payment: £111.74 - Although on my statements this is actually £113.28 (I didn't choose to pay this amount, this was the minimum payment debited from my account, I also chose to make a small overpayment each month to round this figure up to £120 which is listed separately on my statements).

Thanks for your help.

J_i_m

Read your documents again. It might be that your first repayment was £111.74 and then the following 59 to be £113.28.

The initial repayment is usually different to following monthly repayments, and there is often a closing fee on the final payment.

If PPI was on the loan, it should be stated in your documents and broken down to show how much the loan cost and how much the insurance cost.

dunstonh

To clarify, the reasons I feel it was mis-sold are that I feel the "strong recommendation" and subsequent phone call from an IF customer service person constitute financial advice given by someone who wasn't qualified to give financial advice.

It isnt financial advice though and at no time would it have been presented as such.

I also felt I was pressured into it on the phone & felt I couldn't say no.

They are allowed to use disturbance and a suitable amount of sales pressure. There is a line but this is what the cancellation rights are for. To allow you to cancel if you feel the pressure was too strong.

In any case, the PPI only covered the first 12 months of a period of sickness which was inadequate for the 5 year loan in question.

PPI is typically a one year option.

In addition, I had other means of meeting the payments should I have been ill/unemployed etc, namely a savings account I opened with IF at the same time, parental help, and help from my partner (now husband) who was working full time.

If you had savings, then why did you need a loan? Potential help from parents and an unmarried partner are irrelevant. You had a financial need and therefore the reason for having PPI exists.

The figures you have given suggest there was no PPI on the loan. At least not taken with the loan. If it was single premium basis then the amount borrowed would be higher. If it was monthly basis then the monthly payment would be higher.

For reference, we are not fighting you on these. We are just looking at it in a similar way to a complaints handler would view it. Effectively, playing devils advocate.

EmmyRoo

Thanks dunstonh, I appreciate your point, but I just followed Martin's guide to reclaiming PPI which includes all my reasons as valid reasons to feel PPI has been mis-sold.

Re. my savings, they weren't anywhere near as much as the loan amount, but they would have covered a few months' worth of loan repayments had I needed them to.

E.

dunstonh

I appreciate your point, but I just followed Martin's guide to reclaiming PPI which includes all my reasons as valid reasons to feel PPI has been mis-sold.

You may have valid reasons to complain but its harder with a number of those to actually succeed in a complaint if you dont have the evidence. A number of things in the list cannot be proven and documentation is king in a complaint. A accusation of "he said this" would rarely succeed unless there is a failure elsewhere. The most common reasons for people having success are 1 - single premium 2 - not eligible 3 - bank no longer contesting complaints due to backlog.

roonaldo

EmmyRoo wrote: »

To clarify, the reasons I feel it was mis-sold are that I feel the "strong recommendation" and subsequent phone call from an IF customer service person constitute financial advice given by someone who wasn't qualified to give financial advice.

no qualifications are necessary for insurance advice.
Financial advice is considered advice on investments, pensions etc

In any case, the PPI only covered the first 12 months of a period of sickness which was inadequate for the 5 year loan in question.

the point is, is that it it would have paid out £113.28 x 12 months, thats a total of £1,359.36.

I also have no documentation which means I couldn't make an informed decision about it.

so could you be wrong you took it out?

In addition, I had other means of meeting the payments should I have been ill/unemployed etc, namely a savings account I opened with IF at the same time, parental help, and help from my partner (now husband) who was working full time.

redundancy payments are not taken into account, but sick pay is, how many months did you get?
savings are only relevent if it was a signifcant amount, so that would be unlikely as you wouldnt have needed the loan in the first place. Parental help and husband working is completely irrelevant, insurance is to cover you and your payments without outside help.

Loan amount: £5,500
Loan Term: 5 years (60 monthly payments)
Total charge for credit: £1204.44
Total amount payable: £6704.44
APR: 8.3%
Monthly payment: £111.74 - Although on my statements this is actually £113.28 (I didn't choose to pay this amount, this was the minimum payment debited from my account, I also chose to make a small overpayment each month to round this figure up to £120 which is listed separately on my statements).
.

the figures above indicate you didnt have PPI. were you paying it directly to pinnacle, if so how much? are you sure it wasnt a policy for something else, everything you have said indicates it was taken at a different time or seperate to the loan.

You really need to call Pinnacle and let us know what they say.