M&S PPI Reclaim

Fierybiscuits

Hi there. I hope someone might be able to offer some advice.

My mum and I decided to sit down last summer and fill in the PPI reclaim forms she'd had knocking around for months and finally send them off. We applied to Lloyds and M&S as well as CPP. A couple of months later she received money back from both Lloyds and CPP, but had a refusal letter from M&S. This was October. We were disappointed (and a little aggravated by some of the wording in the letter), but didn't take any further action as we were a bit distracted by a recent house move, Christmas etc.

I've just come to fish out the letter and realised that we only have 6 months in which to take it to the FOS if we want our case reviewed, which will make the deadline next week. However, we're unsure whether it is worth bothering at this point as it's so late in the game, and whether we even have any kind of case.

My mum took out the credit card, which was formerly the chargecard, in 1991. She has no recollection of how she took out the card (whether in store, over the phone etc.), but at the time she and my dad were both working. The letter she has received doesn't mention anything about her taking out PPI at this time, and states that it was in fact sold to her over the phone in 2005, and that the script used would have ensured that the adviser would have made made it clear that this was optional and confirmed eligibility. The letter says that "although you were entitled to employer benefits, our policy would pay out in addition to these benefits." My mum doesn't remember agreeing to PPI, but at the time my dad had not long passed away, she was still working full time and obviously had a lot to deal with. She's adamant that if it had indeed been offered and explained properly to her, she would not have knowingly agreed to it. She's certain she would not have thought it necessary based on her personal circumstances.

M&S haven't provided us with any evidence but from reading the letter it seems fairly final, and to take it any further would seem hopeless. However I would still like to ask if anybody thinks we should bother taking any further steps before the deadline runs out, or is it a completely lost cause?

Thanks

Insider101

Depends. What are the personal circumstances based on which she says she would not have thought it necessary?

If there were exclusions in the policy which would have made it very difficult to claim, or if she had significant and provable sick pay ( I.e six months or more full pay) then she may have a shout with FOS.

M&S may not have the evidence any longer, it was ten years ago and they are required under the DPA to destroy any personal data when they consider they are unlikely to have a further need for it. This point is neutral it neither supports nor disproves your argument.

Lack of memory will weaken her position as she cannot give a specific account of what happened at point of sale. There are a lot of people who have heard about PPI misselling and, having forgotten that they had PPI, convinced themselves that they would not have taken it voluntarily, mainly due to the fact they can smell money. I'm not saying that's the case with your mother, but you will need a strog and specific argument as to why that would be the case. The factors mentioned above may suffice. On the other hand vague and unprovable comments such as her family would have paid off the card for her won't. And nor will silly ones like she would have got statutory sick pay (about £100 per week - yes I have seen people use this as an argument).

Your choice.

sun73

Fierybiscuits wrote: »

Hi there. I hope someone might be able to offer some advice.

My mum and I decided to sit down last summer and fill in the PPI reclaim forms she'd had knocking around for months and finally send them off. We applied to Lloyds and M&S as well as CPP. A couple of months later she received money back from both Lloyds and CPP, but had a refusal letter from M&S. This was October. We were disappointed (and a little aggravated by some of the wording in the letter), but didn't take any further action as we were a bit distracted by a recent house move, Christmas etc.

I've just come to fish out the letter and realised that we only have 6 months in which to take it to the FOS if we want our case reviewed, which will make the deadline next week. However, we're unsure whether it is worth bothering at this point as it's so late in the game, and whether we even have any kind of case.

My mum took out the credit card, which was formerly the chargecard, in 1991. She has no recollection of how she took out the card (whether in store, over the phone etc.), but at the time she and my dad were both working. The letter she has received doesn't mention anything about her taking out PPI at this time, and states that it was in fact sold to her over the phone in 2005, and that the script used would have ensured that the adviser would have made made it clear that this was optional and confirmed eligibility. The letter says that "although you were entitled to employer benefits, our policy would pay out in addition to these benefits." My mum doesn't remember agreeing to PPI, but at the time my dad had not long passed away, she was still working full time and obviously had a lot to deal with. She's adamant that if it had indeed been offered and explained properly to her, she would not have knowingly agreed to it. She's certain she would not have thought it necessary based on her personal circumstances.

M&S haven't provided us with any evidence but from reading the letter it seems fairly final, and to take it any further would seem hopeless. However I would still like to ask if anybody thinks we should bother taking any further steps before the deadline runs out, or is it a completely lost cause?

Thanks

Hello, what documents have you got which show your mum paid ppi in 1991? If she did have insurance with the M&S card back then, it's possible she filled in an application form which had a de-select ppi box.


Many customers failed to tick this box and ended up paying for insurance, although it would have been itemised on her statement every month.


It might be worth asking M&S if they have only used your mum's account details from 2005, can they go back further as I got my M&S records dated from 1999?


With the FOS deadline approaching you could submit a complaint now but ask if they could place it on hold while you investigate further.

Fierybiscuits

Insider101 wrote: »

Depends. What are the personal circumstances based on which she says she would not have thought it necessary?

If there were exclusions in the policy which would have made it very difficult to claim, or if she had significant and provable sick pay ( I.e six months or more full pay) then she may have a shout with FOS.

M&S may not have the evidence any longer, it was ten years ago and they are required under the DPA to destroy any personal data when they consider they are unlikely to have a further need for it. This point is neutral it neither supports nor disproves your argument.

Lack of memory will weaken her position as she cannot give a specific account of what happened at point of sale. There are a lot of people who have heard about PPI misselling and, having forgotten that they had PPI, convinced themselves that they would not have taken it voluntarily, mainly due to the fact they can smell money. I'm not saying that's the case with your mother, but you will need a strog and specific argument as to why that would be the case. The factors mentioned above may suffice. On the other hand vague and unprovable comments such as her family would have paid off the card for her won't. And nor will silly ones like she would have got statutory sick pay (about £100 per week - yes I have seen people use this as an argument).

Your choice.

Hi. Thanks for your advice.

My mum says that her employer would have provided several months full pay, eventually going down to half pay, for any sick leave. She is double checking with an ex-colleague to make sure. She worked for over 30 years as a civil servant before being made redundant in 2008. When my dad passed away suddenly at the end of 2004, his life insurance paid off their mortgage in full, and she receives a fair income from his pension (as I understand it anyway).
It is for these reasons that she doesn't believe she would have found PPI necessary, but whether any of this is provable is debatable at this point in time. Being so long ago she has very little paperwork, and certainly none that goes back as far as when she took out the chargecard in 1991. If, as M&S have said, it was sold to her over the phone and they obviously deemed her eligible, then I guess we may have to accept that. My mum honestly has no recollection of agreeing to it, but by her own admission her head was mostly in the clouds for the year following my dad's death and she had so many financial things to sort out, swap over etc. that it's entirely plausible she just agreed to anything.

Thanks anyway.

WatchMan

Policies on M&S cards usually provided excellent benefit for a very low cost.

As such, a person would need to have an extremely good sick pay scheme or good savings in order for the complaint to be likely to succeed.

Insider101

Fierybiscuits wrote: »

Hi. Thanks for your advice.

My mum says that her employer would have provided several months full pay, eventually going down to half pay, for any sick leave. She is double checking with an ex-colleague to make sure. She worked for over 30 years as a civil servant before being made redundant in 2008. When my dad passed away suddenly at the end of 2004, his life insurance paid off their mortgage in full, and she receives a fair income from his pension (as I understand it anyway).
It is for these reasons that she doesn't believe she would have found PPI necessary, but whether any of this is provable is debatable at this point in time. Being so long ago she has very little paperwork, and certainly none that goes back as far as when she took out the chargecard in 1991. If, as M&S have said, it was sold to her over the phone and they obviously deemed her eligible, then I guess we may have to accept that. My mum honestly has no recollection of agreeing to it, but by her own admission her head was mostly in the clouds for the year following my dad's death and she had so many financial things to sort out, swap over etc. that it's entirely plausible she just agreed to anything.

Thanks anyway.

If, as they have said, the policy was taken in 2005 then the situation when she took out the card is irrelevant. It's 2005 that you need to focus on.

You need to confirm how much income she receives from your father's pension as if this is substantial and guaranteed for life it may support your case.

Be careful with regards to the redundancy thing as the fact that she was made redundant three years after taking the policy could tend to indicate that she may have had a need for the cover. Is there any particular reason why she did not claim on the cover when made redundant or don't you know?

-taff

Make your complaint to the ombudsman. If she didn't need or want it, had adequate cover elsewhere, then the chances are good.

PaulW922

I went to the FOS over a rejection from M&S. The time period was very similar -early 1990s - the FOS found in my favour, but I did have some statements showing PPI had been charged. interestingly M&S found my original application form from over 20 years ago..