Old PPI Claim (1996) - how to go about it?

CaptBiggles

Hi Everyone,

I am trying to make a PPI claim on behalf of my father, for a loan which was taken out in 1996, and paid off. When writing to Lloyds, we were simply told that the account had been closed, and that was that. However, I've got an account number for the loan account, and can see the schedule of payments on original bank statements. This, coupled with Loan Analysis spreadsheets from the FSA website all tally to show that the Premium paid up front, and the PPI payments included (14.5%) in the monthly repayments. My Father was self employed at the time, but was told that he could only take the loan if he took the PPI. Although pushing it in terms of how old the loan is, it's quite clear that I've got a case. I just need some advice on the best way to proceed, we have thought about using a CMC - because Lloyds obviously won't release the data to us. But I'm reluctant to give away the money. The question is - How do I go about getting the Policy number (granted it may have been lost in the mists of time), and what shall I do now? Any help will be hugely appreciated.

Thanks

[Deleted User]

CaptBiggles wrote: »

. The question is - How do I go about getting the Policy number (granted it may have been lost in the mists of time),

You don't need the policy number if you have the account number of the loan as the two are linked. However, eighteen years on, you'll need documentation from your own archive to prove payments were made.
Do check to see if the policy would have paid out for self-employed because many did.

CaptBiggles

Thanks Moneyineptitude. So I have the account number and sort code of the account which had the loan.

I made an SAR in 2012, and received the following response:

"Dear Mr. X, Please note that we are unable to action this request as the A/C closed on 9/2/99 and therefore is beyond our timescales of 10 years@."

So, the account was closed, and as mentioned from the FSA's financial analysis spreadsheets (and original bank statements) it is clear that the PPI payments were made, and the premium was included within the loan amount.

Are you saying that all we need is the account number of the loan account to go ahead with the claim? We don't have anything like the loan agreement or PPI policy details, it is all evidenced indirectly by the bank statements and calculations of the FSA data sheets.

(Apologies if this is all wrongly used jargon and I make no sense, this isn't my area of expertise!)

Your help is much appreciated.

CaptBiggles

Also, we have original payment schedule by way of bank statements, and another important detail is that when my father queried that the PPI could never pay out as he was self-employed, the loan was called.

CaptBiggles

So what should I do? Go straight to Lloyds with what I have?

magpiecottage

You can complain to Lloyds in the first instance.

Insider101

CaptBiggles wrote: »

Hi Everyone,

I am trying to make a PPI claim on behalf of my father, for a loan which was taken out in 1996, and paid off. When writing to Lloyds, we were simply told that the account had been closed, and that was that. However, I've got an account number for the loan account, and can see the schedule of payments on original bank statements. This, coupled with Loan Analysis spreadsheets from the FSA website all tally to show that the Premium paid up front, and the PPI payments included (14.5%) in the monthly repayments. My Father was self employed at the time, but was told that he could only take the loan if he took the PPI. Although pushing it in terms of how old the loan is, it's quite clear that I've got a case. I just need some advice on the best way to proceed, we have thought about using a CMC - because Lloyds obviously won't release the data to us. But I'm reluctant to give away the money. The question is - How do I go about getting the Policy number (granted it may have been lost in the mists of time), and what shall I do now? Any help will be hugely appreciated.

Thanks

Firstly, using a CMC won't make any difference. For a bank such as Lloyds there is no absolute limit on how long you can complaint for, since they were regulated even pre-FSA. However, they are required under the Data Protection Act not to hold records any longer than they are reasonably thought to be necessary. It appears to me that they probably have some electronic record of the loan as they were able to tell you the closure date. However if, as I suspect, your SAR requested the actual paperwork then it is unlikely that they would hold that after such a long period of time.

You can still complain and they will have to investigate to the best of their ability. However, if they have no records that will prove the existence of PPI, the onus will be on you to provide them. Even then, there is the issue of whether it was actually mis-sold or not. Complaints on the basis of being told it was compulsory are notoriously difficult to prove and the self-employment thing only works if the cover excluded self-employed or imposed such onerous conditions as to make a successful claim on the policy unlikely.