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Littlewoods PPI - success ...ish :)
JackBarney55
Posts: 2 Newbie
Hello everyone,
I'm hoping your advice will guide me here ...
Background
I have had a Littlewoods catalogue account since I was 16 (I am now 40). Only recently I noticed an 'extra care insurance' payment being applied to my account every month. I kept statements dating back to 2004, and all had these payments on. So I challenged this directly with them.
They phoned the morning they received my letter (the template of which I copied from this site) and the lady I spoke to tried really hard to stop me going any further - she confirmed that I'd 'agreed' to this insurance way back in 2001 (I hadn't) but that the 30 day cooling off period had past, so I wasn't entitled to a refund. I told her I disagreed and she then relented and agreed to send me the relevant forms to fill in.
Forms arrived, I completed them, posted back. Three weeks later a phone call from Shop Direct Finance Company. They told me that during their investigations, they had found a SECOND insurance policy (dating back to 1996) for 'Agent Balance Care'. I then spent a good half an hour on the phone telling him all about my 'situation' in 1996 and what savings I had to pay my bills etc if I had lost my job etc. Although he didn't state it, he was certainly hinting that this insurance was a bigger deal that the 'Extra Care' one that I had originally challenged.
The same day, he called me again, this time to run through some details of my circumstances in 2001 (I was self employed ...).
A week later I received their verdict...
Extra Care policy - missold
I had paid £1,934.06
They were offering me that back, with interest of £217.97 - so a total of £2,152.03
Agent Balance Care policy - missold
The letter then explained that this was sold to me on 14th March 1996, but was cancelled the following day. So no payments were made, so there is nothing to refund.
It went further to say that I can challenge this but 'the FOS may not be able to adjudicate on your [my] complaint as our Company was not a member of a Dispute Resolution Service until 2003'
.... My question is this .... if the policy was started and ended so quickly, WHY was I grilled for 30 minutes by them? It was a serious interrogation, with me having to prove that I had sufficient savings to cover all eventualities etc (can YOU remember everything back in 1996?)
A little bit of me thinks that they've not been entirely correct - he did actually ask me whether I kept all my statements back to this time (checking to see what proof I had?) The thing is, I haven't. I have no proof of this policy - unless I can get copies of all statements around this time ... can this be done?
Would you just accept the £2,152.03 gracefully and accept there's nothing I can do with regard to this second PPI, or are there things I can do to delve deeper?
Also, I wasn't awarded any 'compensation' (only refund plus interest) - is that the norm or are they again trying their luck?
The cheque by the way arrived 2 days after the letter, and I've cashed it!
All advice will be taken very seriously. I hate being ripped off ...
Take care all x
I'm hoping your advice will guide me here ...
Background
I have had a Littlewoods catalogue account since I was 16 (I am now 40). Only recently I noticed an 'extra care insurance' payment being applied to my account every month. I kept statements dating back to 2004, and all had these payments on. So I challenged this directly with them.
They phoned the morning they received my letter (the template of which I copied from this site) and the lady I spoke to tried really hard to stop me going any further - she confirmed that I'd 'agreed' to this insurance way back in 2001 (I hadn't) but that the 30 day cooling off period had past, so I wasn't entitled to a refund. I told her I disagreed and she then relented and agreed to send me the relevant forms to fill in.
Forms arrived, I completed them, posted back. Three weeks later a phone call from Shop Direct Finance Company. They told me that during their investigations, they had found a SECOND insurance policy (dating back to 1996) for 'Agent Balance Care'. I then spent a good half an hour on the phone telling him all about my 'situation' in 1996 and what savings I had to pay my bills etc if I had lost my job etc. Although he didn't state it, he was certainly hinting that this insurance was a bigger deal that the 'Extra Care' one that I had originally challenged.
The same day, he called me again, this time to run through some details of my circumstances in 2001 (I was self employed ...).
A week later I received their verdict...
Extra Care policy - missold
I had paid £1,934.06
They were offering me that back, with interest of £217.97 - so a total of £2,152.03
Agent Balance Care policy - missold
The letter then explained that this was sold to me on 14th March 1996, but was cancelled the following day. So no payments were made, so there is nothing to refund.
It went further to say that I can challenge this but 'the FOS may not be able to adjudicate on your [my] complaint as our Company was not a member of a Dispute Resolution Service until 2003'
.... My question is this .... if the policy was started and ended so quickly, WHY was I grilled for 30 minutes by them? It was a serious interrogation, with me having to prove that I had sufficient savings to cover all eventualities etc (can YOU remember everything back in 1996?)
A little bit of me thinks that they've not been entirely correct - he did actually ask me whether I kept all my statements back to this time (checking to see what proof I had?) The thing is, I haven't. I have no proof of this policy - unless I can get copies of all statements around this time ... can this be done?
Would you just accept the £2,152.03 gracefully and accept there's nothing I can do with regard to this second PPI, or are there things I can do to delve deeper?
Also, I wasn't awarded any 'compensation' (only refund plus interest) - is that the norm or are they again trying their luck?
The cheque by the way arrived 2 days after the letter, and I've cashed it!
All advice will be taken very seriously. I hate being ripped off ...
Take care all x
0
Comments
-
You were "grilled" because you were trying to claim a refund from them, nothing unusual about that.JackBarney55 wrote: »My question is this .... if the policy was started and ended so quickly, WHY was I grilled for 30 minutes by them? It was a serious interrogation, with me having to prove that I had sufficient savings to cover all eventualities etc
You've already said you have no evidence of your own that you paid this insurance and the Bank are saying they have records that show you didn't. Where would you "delve" exactly?JackBarney55 wrote: »Would you just accept the £2,152.03 gracefully and accept there's nothing I can do with regard to this second PPI, or are there things I can do to delve deeper?
The interest is the only "compensation" you will receive.JackBarney55 wrote: »Also, I wasn't awarded any 'compensation' (only refund plus interest) -
As you've already cashed the cheque, just enjoy it-your complaint is concluded.0
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