We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
Could I claim on behalf of my deceased father?
AngelinaBallerina2
Posts: 3 Newbie
Hello everybody
Long time lurker but this is my first post - Please be gentle with me!
I will try to keep this as brief as possible while giving you some background information.
In 2001, my father committed suicide. He was very much adored by our family but was very 'old school' in that he strongly believed in being the provider and he didn't ever discuss finances with my mother, myself or my siblings.
After he died, my mother suffered a nervous breakdown from the stress and loss we had suffered, so it was left to me to tie up lose ends. I then discovered his debt and understood why we were never allowed to question the family finances.
At the time, we were so grief stricken that we took the decision to try to pay the debts off as quickly as possible and not question anything. I have no idea where the money for this came from. I think that the debts in my Dad's name were cancelled and my Mother managed to consolidate the rest? We also discovered that there was one particular woman who worked for a certain finance company who had been contacting my Dad relentlessly, making threatening and abusive telephone calls and we think this was what pushed him over edge and made him give up on life.
At the time there was a lot of stigma attached to debt and we were ashamed and embarrassed that the debt had been accumulated.
Years later and things have changed. My Mother is debt free! But to finally get to the point, I am wondering if it is possible to reclaim PPI on any of these old debts? They have all been settled for years, but I'm not sure whether my Dad's estate (i.e. my Mum) could claim PPI back for loans, store cards and credit cards on behalf of somebody who has subsequently passed away. Also because of the length of time that has passed?
The claims would be legitimate because my father was in full time employment with life cover and sickness cover when the debt was taken out, etc. It would be so lovely to have an opportunity to take something back for my Dad - Particularly from all the horrible telephone calls my Dad received. I only wish he was here to have a chance at seeing some of the money back himself.
Really sorry if this question has already been answered on this site (I'm sure it would have been!) and if you have managed to read this far without falling asleep - give yourself a shiny!!
All help would be enormously appreciated! Thank you in advance xx
Long time lurker but this is my first post - Please be gentle with me!
I will try to keep this as brief as possible while giving you some background information.
In 2001, my father committed suicide. He was very much adored by our family but was very 'old school' in that he strongly believed in being the provider and he didn't ever discuss finances with my mother, myself or my siblings.
After he died, my mother suffered a nervous breakdown from the stress and loss we had suffered, so it was left to me to tie up lose ends. I then discovered his debt and understood why we were never allowed to question the family finances.
At the time, we were so grief stricken that we took the decision to try to pay the debts off as quickly as possible and not question anything. I have no idea where the money for this came from. I think that the debts in my Dad's name were cancelled and my Mother managed to consolidate the rest? We also discovered that there was one particular woman who worked for a certain finance company who had been contacting my Dad relentlessly, making threatening and abusive telephone calls and we think this was what pushed him over edge and made him give up on life.
At the time there was a lot of stigma attached to debt and we were ashamed and embarrassed that the debt had been accumulated.
Years later and things have changed. My Mother is debt free! But to finally get to the point, I am wondering if it is possible to reclaim PPI on any of these old debts? They have all been settled for years, but I'm not sure whether my Dad's estate (i.e. my Mum) could claim PPI back for loans, store cards and credit cards on behalf of somebody who has subsequently passed away. Also because of the length of time that has passed?
The claims would be legitimate because my father was in full time employment with life cover and sickness cover when the debt was taken out, etc. It would be so lovely to have an opportunity to take something back for my Dad - Particularly from all the horrible telephone calls my Dad received. I only wish he was here to have a chance at seeing some of the money back himself.
Really sorry if this question has already been answered on this site (I'm sure it would have been!) and if you have managed to read this far without falling asleep - give yourself a shiny!!
All help would be enormously appreciated! Thank you in advance xx
0
Comments
-
...Sorry, that wasn't quite such a brief post after all!
0 -
I think that the debts in my Dad's name were cancelled
This is a key point. If you a complaint is made by the executor of the estate and the complaint is successful, then they can use the redress against the debt that was written off.he claims would be legitimate because my father was in full time employment with life cover and sickness cover when the debt was taken out
Being in full time employment means he was eligible and not grounds for complaint. Life assurance clearly wasnt enough. So, you cant use that reason either. Not that life cover overlaps with PPI. Sickness cover is a potential issue if he had 6 months full pay, 6 months half but if he had less than that then it is unlikely to be.
I fear that if debts were written off due to insufficient value in the estate to pay them then it is largely a futile exercise as the lender can just keep the money if they uphold the case.I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.0 -
Thank you so much Dunstonh, so it may only be worth trying to claim for things in joint names as I'm pretty sure that after my Dad died, the debts transferred to my Mother and she paid them off in full. It's got to be worth a telephone call or letter.
Thanks again, I'll get cracking and see what happens.0 -
You'll need to be absolutely certain of this before proceeding with a complaint, otherwise the lender will just subtract monies still owed from any redress you might winAngelinaBallerina2 wrote: »I'm pretty sure that after my Dad died, the debts transferred to my Mother and she paid them off in full.
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/setting-off0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 352.2K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.6K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 454.3K Spending & Discounts
- 245.3K Work, Benefits & Business
- 600.9K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 177.5K Life & Family
- 259.1K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.7K Read-Only Boards