Halifax Cetelem PPI Claim

stu91

Hi again,

Just thought I would see if anyone had any success with these guys in regards to PPI claims and also to seek advice regarding finding my original information now Cetelem are bust.

IM hoping this post acts as both information and a source of help for other people and my own future quest to recover PPI from this company. I am now at a point of confusion so would appreciate any useful insights to help me out with this!

I took out a loan with Cetelem when I was a student to help with my debts. I could not keep up payments and found myself in problems and thus entered a debt management plan. This is now all sorted and was started back in 2006 - I have been dealing with a company called Lowell Group for this debt since that time.

Lowell group are saying that as they bought the debt from Cetelem they are just 'debt handlers' and have none of the original information for my agreement with Cetelem, they only have a 15 digit account number for me which they use to identify my account. They are not to be held responsible regarding PPI claims for Cetelem apparently.

I did a bit more digging and a few phone calls later I was speaking to a man at Ernst & Young - these guys had been appointed liquidators for Cetelem and he told me that I could send them a complaint regarding things but I would need the original paperwork to back up the case if anything was to happen. I dont have any of this stuff so who has it or where can I get it from if Ernst & young dont have access to it and Lowell group say they dont have anything original from Cetelem? Does anyone know anything to help with this point.

The other thing that may help other people regarding Cetelem is this. Ernst & Young told me that they sold parts of Cetelem to 4 companies:
First Credit (or 1st Credit)
Lowell Group Ltd
Barclays Partner Finance
Allied International Credit Ltd

So now 1 of these 4 companies COULD possibly hold your account details and could also be the point to contact regarding PPI? It seems quite interesting that when I phoned the 4 companies none of them apart from Lowell knew who I was or had any details regarding my account. Lowell, previously noted above for being the original debt management company have told me on three separate phone calls that they do not have any paperwork for me to use - is this a lie? can I do anything to get hold of my paperwork to persue the Baines & Ernst route? Should I submit a ppi complaint to Lowell or are they not responsible even though they bought part of Cetelem when it was in liquidation?

This might be clutching at straws but there could be some potential gold for all of us Cetelem sufferers out there in here somewhere!

Many thanks

Stuart

-taff

stu91 wrote: »

Lowell group are saying that as they bought the debt from Cetelem they are just 'debt handlers' and have none of the original information for my agreement with Cetelem, they only have a 15 digit account number for me which they use to identify my account. They are not to be held responsible regarding PPI claims for Cetelem apparently.

They are right, they weren't responsible for the sale, they only bought the debt.

stu91 wrote: »

I did a bit more digging and a few phone calls later I was speaking to a man at Ernst & Young - these guys had been appointed liquidators for Cetelem and he told me that I could send them a complaint regarding things but I would need the original paperwork to back up the case if anything was to happen. I dont have any of this stuff so who has it or where can I get it from if Ernst & young dont have access to it

You can try sending a SAR to them, but the liliehood is that it will show nothing.

There are several points to consider too. Whether you bought this loan prior to January 2005, in which case they weren't regulated then either, if you bought it after Janaury 2005 you may be able to use the FSCS, if any company bought liability for the loan before you defaulted on it, you go to them.

There's not enough info to say which one is most likely. I can say though, from the info you've given, it doesn't sound hopeful at all.

iainmcginty

Hi, I used to work for Halifax cetelem about 10 years ago until they "went bust".

I see you are having problems trying to reclaim your ppi and don't know where to go next.

This information may not be useful, but it may help. Halifax Cetelem was a joint venture between Halifax and BNP Paribas (owners of Cetelem). During it's final year in the UK, Halifax pulled out and the company was only Cetelem UK. Then towards the end of 2004 BNP Paribas decided the debt was too much and pulled the plug.

Therefore in order to submit your claim, you may need to contact Cetelem via BNP Paribas.

JGB82

Hi Stu,
Did you ever get anywhere with is? I am at exactly the same point now as I've just recived a letter from Ernst & Yound . I'm going to send it on to FOS but I'm not holding my breath!
Thanks

[Deleted User]

I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for a response from Stu, either.

Nasqueron

JGB82 wrote: »

Hi Stu,
Did you ever get anywhere with is? I am at exactly the same point now as I've just recived a letter from Ernst & Yound . I'm going to send it on to FOS but I'm not holding my breath!
Thanks

Better to post your own topic to be honest, user Stu91's profile shows:

• Last Activity: 26-11-2013 3:14 PM