Another PPI Question re MBNA

Locust

Hi all, I received one of the MBNA questionairres about a month ago and after having a scout around online and viewing some topics on here decided to send it off.

I had the usual letter saying they have received it, and then a phone call and now today a rejection letter.

However, I'm not sure how to proceed. I successfully claimed back PPI on a Lloyds TSB loan, as I specifically remember them mis-selling the loan (before I took out this credit card). However, with this credit card I don't even remember applying for it let alone ticking the box for PPI! Regardless, I used the card and thinking back still cannot remember noticing the addition of PPI on any statements.

This is a bit of a confusing one for me, let me fill you in on a few details:

1) When I applied for this credit card I had just registered as self employed (MBNA say they cover self employment), and not currently earning a wage as I was setting up my business. My last regular income had come from a temping job in which I earned just under £4k between Sep '05 and Feb '06. I did not begin to earn as self employed until April '06. I applied for the credit card between these two dates. Therefore I listed myself as self employed on their questionnaire.

2) They asked how I would have covered bills should I not have been able to pay myself. I ticked on the form that I had no method at the time saving etc but family would have helped and I have never had trouble paying bills. However on the phone he asked about my parents savings, unfortunately my father died late 2006 so I have no way of asking him about what savings he may or may not have had so we reverted to saying I had no way of paying the bills.

3) I cannot remember applying for this card. MBNA have given me a copy of the agreement plus the PPI agreement where the box is ticked etc. Therefore they are convinced that I actively chose PPI.

4) They also state that the PPI payments would have shown on my statement and that they sent me a letter informing me of changes to terms and conditions. I cannot remember ever seeing this on my statement, cannot remember cancelling it, but it no longer shows on current statements. If I did pay PPI, I have no idea how much and for how long.

5) They also confirm that self employment would have been covered.

6) The letter concludes with a generic refusal and in addition "you could have cancelled the policy within 30 days" & "you could have cancelled the policy at any time".

7) This is their final response.

Any help would be appreciated. Should I give up, given my circumstances and that I cant remember? Or should I ask for statements etc? How much would they charge for this and could they tell me how much PPI I paid through this card over the length of time it was in force.

Also, something which never came up in the call was my partners wage. When filling in the form I left this blank as I don't know his salary now, let alone in 2006. Should I ask him for this information? I'm not sure how household income could change the outcome.

Thanks in advance

[Deleted User]

If you remain convinced that you have a valid claim despite the Bank telling you that the insurance covered the self-employed, then you can refer your complaint to the Ombudsman.
Don't expect a quick conclusion to such a referral, however, the FOS process is currently taking in excess of a year .

-taff

From your replies to their questions, your complaint is really weak.

You need to show either it was useless to you, it wouldn;t have paid out, or you could cover the bills through savings or another income [your partners income won't count unless you were paying this bill out of a joint account] or that there was a flaw in the sales process.

So...were you actually self employed, or were you out of work? DId hyou have access to other savings/income? Was there a problem with the sale i.e. were you advised by someone to take the PPI, or did you tick a box etc. Have you got a copy of your agreement? Check the T&Cs if you have, look for mention of how your monthyl payment will be paid back. Someitmes it says osmething along the lines of the first part will go towards interest etc, then a part to the PPI [with no mention of optional PPI]...

Locust

Thanks for your reply.

I cannot remember signing up for this credit card and believe it must have been online as I have never visited an MBNA branch, therefore do not think I spoke with a member of MBNA staff.

Whilst employed on a temporary contract between September 05 and Feb 06 I registered as self employed as I knew that I would be starting my own business. I left my temporary job on 17th Feb, applied for the MBNA card on the 23rd Feb and did not start earning money as self employed until April 06. I was registered as self employed at the time of applying for this card.

I believe I had money in my current account left over from a previous loan, of which if you think it's worth looking into I can ask the bank for these statements.

How much money do they like to see in savings to prove you did not require PPI?

The agreement they sent today only has a box ticked (computerised) next to the PPI option and terms and conditions. I did not tick this manually and they have not included my signature. Could I have applied for thus credit card through a third party website?

Agreement does not mention monthly payments.

Thanks again :-)

-taff

If you bought it online, you bought it, it wasn't sold to you, so there was no flaw in the sales process which is what you really need to complain about the sale of the PPI.
If you were actually unemployed when taking the card out, it wouldn't have covered you, so now, you can either ask them to refund the PPI payments based on that, but they don't have to do this [because you bought it online] or you carry on with your complaint [which is a very weak complaint]

You would have needed enough to pay it for a year.

Honestly though, your complaint is still weak because of your online purchase. You couldn't have bought it through a third party [unless it was a Virgin credit card or similar], you would have had to apply for it on their website.

I'm not seeing a successful resolution for you, but you never know.....

dazza12

-taff wrote: »

If you bought it online, you bought it, it wasn't sold to you, so there was no flaw in the sales process which is what you really need to complain about the sale of the PPI.

This isn't always the case. A few card providers had set up their systems to default a tick in the insurance box when you get onto the insurance screen, requiring you to untick to opt out. If for any reason you had cause to go back through the application, for instance to modify anything when back on the insurance screen the box would be ticked again requiring you to untick it.

Egg and MBNA were notable for having this type of application around this time. MBNA still had this active in September 2006, as a family member who had a complaint refused by both MBNA and an adjudicator got it upheld by an ombudsman on this point.

-taff

No, not always, but Egg used it at the very beginning of it's online sales, 1999 - 2001 ish.
I agree though, it's probably the last hope for the OP that the box was ticked.....