I am very confident I never took PPI - should I still claim?

Yellabowley

My sister-in-law has always had a job as steady as they come, always declined to take PPI when asked about it and certainly never requested that it be added to any product she took out. As such she refused to claim knowing that she never had it. After one of her friends unexpectedly got a payout she put a claim in anyway with a company that do all the work in exchange for a hefty percentage and ended with approximately £4000 from several lenders. All of these had added PPI on without her knowledge. She is a university graduate and not someone you would expect to be easily duped. Her only regret is that she went with a company with such high rates.

Whether it's 'built into the interest' or otherwise added on through the small print, it's definitely worth claiming. You have to remember however that you not only have to prove that you had it on one of your products, but also that you didn't ask for and/or need it (although the last two can often go hand in hand).

I signed up to a company with a 50% charge, took me about 10 minutes and it turns out I had never had any. Cost me nothing, got nothing. I know others who got back as much as £12000 and as little as £400. All claim that they weren't aware of it.

dunstonh

Whether it's 'built into the interest' or otherwise added on through the small print, it's definitely worth claiming.

It cannot be built into the interest. That is not possible. That is what is being said on this thread. It would be in the documentation but not reading it is not the same as being told it is included in the interest.

Yellabowley

What he was saying was that as far as he is aware he has never had PPI on anything and that most of his credit has been applied for online. It being built into the interest was just something he mentioned in the first post which others on here have already said is not possible. That is why I put it in (what should have been) quotation marks.

All I was saying was whether you believe you had it or not, it's still worth claiming, as there a many examples of people who swore blind they never took it out but actually had. The existence of companies that do all of the donkey work make this even more relevant as it's a 10 minute process.

Montjuic

I was badgered incessantly by claims management companies for months - despite telling them repeatedly that i'd never had PPI (i always refused PPI on principle as i believed it was a scam - and as i also didn't need it anyway due to my employment conditions)

Well, i eventually gave in and told the claims management company to go ahead and write to previous creditors and waste their own time and money for nothing. Sure enough, one by one they all came back, ''no PPI''..........until the last one.........

It seemed that HSBC had put PPI on a credit card 20 years ago (i'd applied in the branch) - they would have asked me and i would have said no, but some clever !!!!!! signed me up anyway.
I was incredulous they would do that, then angry, then determined to get even. At the start of November this year i got even

Yes i took a 12% hit on the final amount to the CMC, but all told it was worth it.

Go for it, just don't use a CMC.

Nasqueron

Montjuic wrote: »

I was badgered incessantly by claims management companies for months - despite telling them repeatedly that i'd never had PPI (i always refused PPI on principle as i believed it was a scam - and as i also didn't need it anyway due to my employment conditions)

Well, i eventually gave in and told the claims management company to go ahead and write to previous creditors and waste their own time and money for nothing. Sure enough, one by one they all came back, ''no PPI''..........until the last one.........

It seemed that HSBC had put PPI on a credit card 20 years ago (i'd applied in the branch) - they would have asked me and i would have said no, but some clever !!!!!! signed me up anyway.
I was incredulous they would do that, then angry, then determined to get even. At the start of November this year i got even

Yes i took a 12% hit on the final amount to the CMC, but all told it was worth it.

Go for it, just don't use a CMC.

The refund will have been down to either another failing or an autopayout, your recollection of a 20+ year old conversation would not be the reason you got a payout. The question would be why, when you are so adamant you said no to PPI and your work cover was so great, when your first statement came and it had PPI on it, why didn't you complain to the bank immediately about paying for something you view as a scam?

PPI cannot ever be hidden -

On a credit card it increases your balance so it is on the credit card statement each and every month you had a balance (not reading those doesn't mean it was hidden).
On a loan it would be on the agreement signed up (not reading it properly or skipping to the end and just signing is also not hidden)

There were undoubtedly dodgy sales staff in banks, shops and private loans companies but they could never hide PPI in your interest, it's a claims company lie to get business from people

Montjuic

It wasn't an autopayout - they initially refused, but changed their mind after it was referred to the Ombudsman (admittedly that might be the trigger for HSBC to pay)

I have no idea why they paid out (i didn't ask and i doubt they'd tell me), but i'd guess it was due to the PPI cover being next to useless given my work situation.

As for me spotting it on my statements, well that's an interesting question - i genuinely have no recollection of ever seeing any separate accounting for PPI on there (the account was closed 9 years ago) so i have no record, and neither do they.

Undoubtedly when the salesperson in the branch asked me the question in 1994, it would not have been couched in terms such as 'PPI' - more likely it would have been 'insurance for long term sickness' or some other sales patter. The 21 year old me thought he was indestructible (ha!) so told the salesperson to stick his moneymaking scam (as i have subsequently done ever since).

The point is they went ahead and sold me PPI anyway and got away with it for 20 years possibly because, I'll be completely honest and admit it, i never used to pay the slightest attention to any bank or credit card statement. I had an extended period of financial adolescence that extended until my early 30's

So my suggestion is for the OP to ask the question, he has nothing to lose.

dunstonh

It wasn't an autopayout - they initially refused, but changed their mind after it was referred to the Ombudsman (admittedly that might be the trigger for HSBC to pay)

The FOS give the firm a chance to settle without incurring the FOS fee (and not having the case investigated). So, many firms operate a floor limit amount where they will auto payout at that point if the amount is less than the FOS fee plus a margin.

If you we look at your complaint reason, you have no factual information to support your allegation and the PPI would have appeared on every statement it was paid. So, again, it was not hidden in the interest. You just didnt read your statement and therefore didnt realise. It again highlights most of the comments on this thread that it is not hidden but it is possible to not see it if you dont look and therefore not realise you have it.

Undoubtedly when the salesperson in the branch asked me the question in 1994, it would not have been couched in terms such as 'PPI' - more likely it would have been 'insurance for long term sickness' or some other sales patter. The 21 year old me thought he was indestructible (ha!) so told the salesperson to stick his moneymaking scam (as i have subsequently done ever since).

They wouldnt have used the term PPI in 1994 as the term "PPI" didnt exist back then. It was generically known as ASU - accident sickness and unemployment cover in the 90s.

magpiecottage

Montjuic wrote: »

It wasn't an autopayout - they initially refused, but changed their mind after it was referred to the Ombudsman (admittedly that might be the trigger for HSBC to pay)

It probably was - HSBC would have been charged £850 simply to have your complaint rejected by FOS. They would then have had to pay somebody to deal with it their end.

As for me spotting it on my statements, well that's an interesting question - i genuinely have no recollection of ever seeing any separate accounting for PPI on there (the account was closed 9 years ago) so i have no record, and neither do they.

Which then begs the question "how does anybody know what was charged, let alone whether it ever existed?"

Undoubtedly when the salesperson in the branch asked me the question in 1994, it would not have been couched in terms such as 'PPI' - more likely it would have been 'insurance for long term sickness' or some other sales patter.

I have a gread deal of doubt about this.

I'll be completely honest and admit it, i never used to pay the slightest attention to any bank or credit card statement. I had an extended period of financial adolescence that extended until my early 30's

FCA rule 2.8.2 R (2) says, "The Ombudsman cannot consider a complaint if the complainant refers it to the Financial Ombudsman Service) more than:
(a) six years after the event complained of; or (if later)
(b) three years from the date on which the complainant became aware (or ought reasonably to have become aware) that he had cause for complaint;

So if the bank chose to, it would be entitled to say the policy was clearly sold to you more than six years ago (because the account associated with it was closed nine years ago) and you ought reasonably to have become aware that PPI was being charged because it appeared on statements which must have been sent to you more than three years ago. So you should have told them then, not now and a timebar therefore ought to have succeeded on that basis had HSBC chosen to apply it.

So you seem to have got lucky.

Fortunately, it is not my money you have been given!

Yellabowley

Am I the only person finding this whole thing quite bizarre. It appears that people on here are trying to convince people not to question whether they ever had PPI.


If you know that you never needed it and always refused to take out cover when asked then it is definitely worth claiming. My mother has been a teacher all of her working life. With no prospect of being made redundant and very good sick benefits she never needed PPI. I actually remember her getting very annoyed with a salesman on the phone 14 years ago (it is possible to remember conversations from such a long time ago) and saying, "Are you telling me that if I don't take out the insurance you won't give me the loan?" and refusing to take it. I've just about convinced her to put a claim in.


While we have established that the PPI cannot be hidden in the interest it could still have been hard to spot. How many people pay much attention to yearly loan statements other than the 'Amount left to pay' box. You set up the loan, you know when it ends and you know what your monthly payment is. As long as that goes out every month who would question it? Does anyone get their calculators out and work out what the payments should be at the interest rate they were given? Maybe some do but the majority put their trust in the banks to work it all out.


Obviously if you knowingly took PPI out because you needed it then to make a claim is fraud. But the existence of people who have claimed thousands, despite being confident they didn't have it, is enough to make me believe that it's worth claiming. I don't have an answer as to how the banks fooled so many people, but the very existence of 'Auto-Payouts' showed that they know that their practices at the time were immoral if not illegal and that any court case is likely to find in favour of the claimant.

Goldiegirl

Well, I can categorically state that I have NEVER had PPI.


I was always very careful about the forms that I filled in, and always declined the offer of PPI, and made sure the boxes were ticked to that effect before I signed any forms. Furthermore, I always checked my statements, and NEVER saw any signs of PPI on them.


what would be immoral is me making a 'claim'. In fact it's not a 'claim' it's a complaint about mis-selling.


How could I complain about mis-selling when I know I didn't have the product?


In answer to the question posed in the title of the thread, no you shouldn't 'claim' if you are confident you never had PPI.


If a person did claim in this situation, I'd think it was rather dishonest.


And before people start going on about 'dishonest banks', ask your self, is it fair to moan about bank's dishonesty when you are contemplating doing something dishonest yourself?