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HSBC Mortgage policies...
jenniym
Forumite 6 Posts
Anyone had experience of getting money off HSBC? my claim is on the basis of i was made to feel i would not get the mortgage if i didn't take out the two policies.
My polices were sold as..
HSBC Mortgage protection plan with critical illness cover. and
HSBC Essentail ability cover for individuals.
Bit of background got the mortgage in 2003 i went alone as my husband was self employed at the time and i was in full time work where i recieved full sick pay for 6 months if i fell ill. We have never missed a payment on the mortgage since 2003 to present day.
I downloaded the forms off the FSO website and sent the forms on 17/10/11 after receiving a few letters (last one being 13/12/11) basically saying due to large volumes there would be a delay in processing my claim.
Well today i have recived a letter basicaslly saying nothing owed back
.
The letter is saying i filled out a questionaire at the intial meeting with a financial planning manager for essentail cover and i didnt want to face financial difficulties so it was suitable for my needs. They also seem to be saying i received all the paperwork with had full explanation of how products worked and i was sent cancellation notices which was the time to raise concerns or to change my mind then not now.
It also says i have had the covers since 2003 and not had reason to make a claim but i should be happy because i was fully covered on all policies throughout :mad:.
The only reason i kept the policies is i thought i would not get the mortgage if i didnt take out the policies.
Where do i go from here?
Forget the claim.
Financial ombudsman.
or im thinking of getting a claim company involded.
Thanks...
My polices were sold as..
HSBC Mortgage protection plan with critical illness cover. and
HSBC Essentail ability cover for individuals.
Bit of background got the mortgage in 2003 i went alone as my husband was self employed at the time and i was in full time work where i recieved full sick pay for 6 months if i fell ill. We have never missed a payment on the mortgage since 2003 to present day.
I downloaded the forms off the FSO website and sent the forms on 17/10/11 after receiving a few letters (last one being 13/12/11) basically saying due to large volumes there would be a delay in processing my claim.
Well today i have recived a letter basicaslly saying nothing owed back
.The letter is saying i filled out a questionaire at the intial meeting with a financial planning manager for essentail cover and i didnt want to face financial difficulties so it was suitable for my needs. They also seem to be saying i received all the paperwork with had full explanation of how products worked and i was sent cancellation notices which was the time to raise concerns or to change my mind then not now.
It also says i have had the covers since 2003 and not had reason to make a claim but i should be happy because i was fully covered on all policies throughout :mad:.
The only reason i kept the policies is i thought i would not get the mortgage if i didnt take out the policies.
Where do i go from here?
Forget the claim.
Financial ombudsman.
or im thinking of getting a claim company involded.
Thanks...
0
This discussion has been closed.
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Replies
What evidence do you have to support this?
This reason is one that very few complaints get upheld on as anyone can use it for any product whether it happened or not. So, without proof, there is no reason for them to consider you are being truthful.
Which was always very likely given the very weak reasons given. Especially as neither of the plans are PPI.
Which all sounds correct. The two products in question are not put in place under a sales process but an advice process. So, they will have factfind, needs analysis and a report.
Again, quite logical. After 8 years of paying premiums, it just looks like you are trying it on now in an attempt to get some money back just because you havent claimed.
The FOS will ask you for your evidence. They will compare what you have with what HSBC have. They will also look at your financial need. You appear to be saying you are almost unique in not requiring life assurance on a mortgage. So, that will take some persauding. CI cover is a very common add on and the Essential abilities cover is their budget PHI policy which indicates some thought and discussion did take place (i.e. if it was compulsory, why do you only have the budget version. Plus, the PHI version is better for self employed than PPI).
On the face of it, you have very little going for you.
A claims company will be of no use to you. All they do is send in a template letter to the same address as HSBC who will link your complaint with the the claims company one and will not open a new complaint. All you do is waste time and money.
My comments are posted as they would be viewed by someone sitting there reviewing your complaint. So, whilst you may not like some of the answers, the point is to show you how they would be thinking and why they have come to that answer.
Mortgage insurance have a very low complaints rate. Even MPPI has a much lower uphold rate because it is one of the types of PPI that is considered worth having. You dont have MPPI but fully underwritten and advised insurances which are better. So, unless you have evidence to back up your accusation or have another more valid mis-sale reason, I cant see you get very far.
This is a life policy which pays off the mortgage if you die or suffer a critical illness. You might be able to prove you had no need for life cover as you would have no need for your home if you died - but only if you had no dependents who would need to live in it afterwards and the HSBC did not make it a condition of the loan.
In your case, you say you had a self-employed husband. Had you died, the lender would have demanded the full outstanding balance was immediately paid to them - if necessary by selling the house to raise it. (They are entitled to do this - the word "mortgage" literally means death payment).
So you have no case.
You would only have a valid complaint about the critical illness if you can prove that it was absolutely certain when you took the policy out that you would not suffer such an illness during the time it ran for. That is a tall order.
Dunston says this is a form of Permanent Health Insurance. Unlike PPI, which only pays for a short period and can have the terms changed, the "Permanent" bit binds the insurer. If you meet the conditions under which you may claim it pays out and continues to do so until you recover or the policy term expires - which could be as much a 40 years.
There you are then. If you fell ill and could not work for more than six months you would be stuffed. Worse, although you would have received "full sick pay", it would have included Statutory Sick Pay (currently about £84) per week, which your employer would have reclaimed from the State. That only runs for six months so you would have been left with nothing.
And what if you fell ill or died tomorrow? (I am not wishing that on you on Christmas Day or any other day - I am simply asking the question).
You have not said anything that suggests you are.
That all sounds reasonable.
That is how insurance works - you can only insure against something that might happen but probably will not.
The person who investigated your complaint will have looked at the evidence and it apparently says something different.
That is probably the least stressful option.
You are within your rights to ask the Financial Ombudsman Service to consider your complaint. If you do that will further clog the system, on the basis of what you have told us result in the same outcome and make you more stressed as your hopes are raised and then dashed.
There are so many comments on this site and elsewhere that explain that such companies are of no value.
Individuals use them either because they are greedy and think they can get some money for nothing or because they do not think about the financial transactions they enter into.
Neither of these is a good reason to uphold a complaint.