Complaint upheld but setting off to third party

dunstonh

I suspect in this case there is no contract to claw the debt back given its age and if you went to the FOS they would find out if it is the case and if not, they will instruct Egg to pay the proceeds to you.

A decent complaints handler at Egg would possibly be able to argue their losses on a recalculated basis but you rarely find decent complaints handlers at the big firms and they would likely just accept the FOS decision.

Rangers123

So the best option really is just to add to the FOS caseload and wait a couple of years.

dunstonh

Rangers123 wrote: »

So the best option really is just to add to the FOS caseload and wait a couple of years.

Yes. Note that the FOS is beginning to speed up and with this one being not about the PPI complaint but the redress payment method, it may be quicker.

colonelsensible

.ombudsman-decisions.org.uk/viewPDF.aspx?FileID=5623 (needs www at front)

This is the nearest I could find to your situation. Some interesting themes (which may not be applicable to you):

1 Even though the other accounts to which HSBC applied set off were also HSBC accounts, FOS found in favour of the complainant.
2 FOS didn't allow set off in part because the complainant had other, more pressing debts.
3 FOS were concerned that some of the set off money may have been taxable, and that HMRC were more deserving recipients than HSBC's other accounts.
4 FOS awarded the complainant £100 for distress and inconvenience.

If you do take this up with FOS, you should be entitled to more compensatory interest if they find in your favour. Good luck.

Rangers123

Thanks. This is the most relevant information I found on the FOS website:

But if the debt was sold on to a third party and it cannot be bought back, or the business chooses not to buy it back, we might take a slightly different approach. That is because the consumer does not owe the business money – it owes money to the third party that bought the debt instead. When selling the debt the business made a commercial decision and accepted an agreeable price for the debt. In those circumstances, we would usually tell the business to calculate the compensation as normal at the point it sold on the debt – and to pay all parts of the compensation to the consumer. The business should also consider the possibility that the consumer might have incurred further losses since the debt was sold on as a result of PPI being included on their debt.

magpiecottage

I would give the bank one shot across the bows, pointing out what FOS says and give them a couple of weeks to change their minds.

If they don't then go to FOS.

Rangers123

magpiecottage wrote: »

I would give the bank one shot across the bows, pointing out what FOS says and give them a couple of weeks to change their minds.

If they don't then go to FOS.

Have done. Will see what they say.

magpiecottage

Do bear in mind that six month limit to contact FOS.

You can phone 0800 023 4 567or 0300 123 9 123 and talk to them about it to confirm that you are correct. They will normally then record your details and that would usually be deemed to stop the clock.

Whatever happens, if the bank doesn't play ball, make sure your complaint has been acknowledged by FOS before Christmas.

welshgasman

PMFJI but I appear to be missing something in this thread.

The payment as mentioned at the start of this thread 'is to put the borrower back to the position as if they had not taken the PPI'.

This occurs where you have a loan with no PPI insurance (or even with PPI insurance), but was in a chain from those that did have PPI previously. The payment puts you back financially as if you had no PPI on those previous loans.

If the OP was still paying for that loan, then they would benefit from the reduction of the amount being owed on that loan. The fact that the OP appears to have defaulted on the loan and it has been sold on makes no difference. The OP would have never received those funds in their hands in the first place, they always go to the loan.

Rangers123

magpiecottage wrote: »

I would give the bank one shot across the bows, pointing out what FOS says and give them a couple of weeks to change their minds.

If they don't then go to FOS.

UPDATE:

After giving it one more shot across the bows as magpiecottage suggested I didn't hear from them at all in the past two and a half months, until today. I ended up signing the final acceptance and just resigning myself to the fact that they'd set off the £940. Had a letter back today saying Arrow had after all told them that the account was closed (as I'd been insisting all along, because I settled the debt with them full & final).

As a result their original calculation no longer stood. The actual amount now was over £400 higher, due to the interest that has accrued since their initial offer in July, and now no longer included £940 being set off. So just a simple matter now of signing the new acceptance form and they'll be mailing a cheque for just short of £5000. I've actually made more money by Citi taking so long to resolve this, I don't have any other accounts that are earning me 8% interest at the moment.

Merry Christmas, and thanks to everybody for their advice!