Abbey(Santander) Paymentcare Nightmare...help!

rebekahsennen

Hi, I'm a newbie so please be gentle with me!
My husband and i took out an Abbey Paymentcare plan in 2003 after being advised to do so in-branch. Our mortgage(£50,000)was 3 years old at the time, and though we couldnt really afford to we had two young children and wanted to protect our new home in any way we could. My husband works at the local food factory and i'm a stay at home mum, so our income is very low. We have no savings and we were terrified that, should my husband lose his job we would be unable to make reapyments on our mortgage. We stressed in the face-to-face meeting several times that the MOST important feature of the insurance should be against unemployment as, basically, one against sickness wasn't as important as we couldnt afford to BE ill! My husbands employer pays SSP only, and he has never, ever had a sick day! We were told that we WOULD be covered for unemployment, redundnacy, sickness and critical illness, but that it wasn't a life policy. We took out a seperate life policy(also with Abbey) and my husbands employer also carries a life policy. So, all good.......times have been tough, we have other debts(credit cards)a secured loan, ect etc....but we have always paid our paymentcare premium(around £15 a month) and have thought if the worse came to the worse and my husband lost his job at least our home would be safe? Last week we randomly got an annual statement from Paymentcare(don't ever remember getting one before!) and having read through was astounded to read that we are NOT covered for unemployment or redundancy, only sickness and critical illness?? We were reeling, i felt ill! We found the paperwork and phoned them and they agreed we weren't covered, and that our notes showed we had indeed taken out the policy in branch......he then asked did we "Want to cancel or make a claim?" What?? we have since been sent a questionnaire/claim form but have no idea where we stand. More than anything, we are VERY concerned at now having no cover. can anyone shed any light for us please, the little research i have done has told me that Santander withdrew the product altogether in 2012?! any advice very very welcome

dunstonh

Our mortgage(£50,000)was 3 years old at the time, and though we couldnt really afford to we had two young children and wanted to protect our new home in any way we could.

So, that indicates that the advice to have it makes sense.

My husband works at the local food factory and i'm a stay at home mum, so our income is very low. We have no savings and we were terrified that, should my husband lose his job we would be unable to make reapyments on our mortgage.

So, again, this points to good justification to have MPPI.

Last week we randomly got an annual statement from Paymentcare(don't ever remember getting one before!)

its not random. Its a new requirement to send out an annual statement of benefits.

having read through was astounded to read that we are NOT covered for unemployment or redundancy, only sickness and critical illness??

Critical illness cover is not part of MPPI. It usually part of a life assurance policy. So, you wouldnt expect that. MPPI comes in Accident & sickness form, unemployment only form or all three.

i have done has told me that Santander withdrew the product altogether in 2012?

With the retail distribution review, most of the banks have pulled out of regulated financial advice. Banks were never good value anyway (typically insurance costs ran around 25-50% more than an IFA) and banks often had lower quality products as well. So, its not a bad thing they dont do it anymore.

You need to look at your documentation at point of sale. If it says you have unemployment cover then there is something wrong. However, if it doesnt say that then you are basically stuck with an unprovable allegation that is not supported by paperwork. There is also the issue that even if you complain and your complaint is successful, you have actually paid less than you should have. So, nothing to refund. You may be better getting a new policy that does what you want and think yourself lucky you got away without needing a claim and therefore paying less.

[Deleted User]

rebekahsennen wrote: »

Last week we randomly got an annual statement from Paymentcare(don't ever remember getting one before!) and having read through was astounded to read that we are NOT covered for unemployment or redundancy, only sickness and critical illness?? We were reeling, i felt ill! We found the paperwork and phoned them and they agreed we weren't covered, and that our notes showed we had indeed taken out the policy in branch

You cannot complain that this insurance was mis-sold unless you can somehow prove that you were "told" the insurance covered more than it does. You should have checked the insurance cover was all you desired long before now.
The fact that this insurance is no longer available is not indicative that it was mis-sold to you.

rebekahsennen wrote: »

More than anything, we are VERY concerned at now having no cover.

You could make a mis-selling complaint and see what comes of that, but your first priority should be to find some insurance that does provide the cover you need and then cancel any which does not.

dunstonh wrote: »

You may be better getting a new policy that does what you want and think yourself lucky you got away without needing a claim and therefore paying less.

I concur.

magpiecottage

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

your first priority should be to find some insurance that does provide the cover you need and then cancel any which does not.

While you are at it, see if an independent adviser can get you the same or better life/critical illness cover cheaper than the policy you already have.

As DunstonH says, a bank will only offer its own products so somebody who can sell products from the entire market is likely to do better.

Just do not cancel the existing policy until the new one is actually in force.

[Deleted User]

magpiecottage wrote: »

Just do not cancel the existing policy until the new one is actually in force.

Yes, that was my advice too.

rebekahsennen

Thanks for your reply. I am in the process of wading through bags of old paperwork to find the original documentation! So frustrating as i know 100% we asked for the policy to cover accident and sickness and unemployment. I guess without the paperwork it is proving we weren't given what we asked for though? Can i just ask why you say we have paid less thatn we should have?

[Deleted User]

rebekahsennen wrote: »

Thanks for your reply. I am in the process of wading through bags of old paperwork to find the original documentation!

Even if you find this, it won't show anything other than the cover provided in the annual statement you received.

rebekahsennen wrote: »

I guess without the paperwork it is proving we weren't given what we asked for though?

Yes, as has been said, that would be an unprovable allegation. I can't see any documentation you may find assisting you in any way to prove it's not what you asked for.

rebekahsennen wrote: »

Can i just ask why you say we have paid less thatn we should have?

You wanted more cover than you have. Such cover as you wanted would clearly have cost more than you have so far been paying (unless you perhaps went elsewhere for the insurance).

dunstonh

I guess without the paperwork it is proving we weren't given what we asked for though?

Evidence to support your allegation is going to be key.

Can i just ask why you say we have paid less thatn we should have?

Accident & sickness (AS) is cheaper than Accident, sickness and unemployment (ASU). You are effectively complaining that you want to pay more for better cover.

For the benefit of the rest of this thread, if you see AS and ASU, then its abbreviations of the above.

[Deleted User]

dunstonh wrote: »

Accident & sickness (AS) is cheaper and Accident, sickness and unemployment (ASU).

I'm pretty sure your sentence should read
"Accident & sickness (AS) is cheaper THAN Accident, sickness and unemployment (ASU)."
Hope that helps the OP.:)

magpiecottage

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

I'm pretty sure your sentence should read
"Accident & sickness (AS) is cheaper THAN Accident, sickness and unemployment (ASU)."

Indeed.

And I have seen cases where an incorrect (and cheaper) policy was recommended taken to FOS with the intention of getting the premiums refunded. As the complainant could now purchase the correct policy for less than (or no more than) the monthly premium would have been from that point on, no redress was awarded.