Reclaiming from a loan in the late 80's

The_Jester

Back in the late 80's when I was a serving soldier I took out a £2000 loan with the RBS to buy a car. I was forced to take out insurance with this loan.

I had to leave the army a few years later to look after my mum who was ill. I tried to claim the insurance which was refused as I left the army voluntarily.

Anyway the loan was paid off and I never though any more about it until all the PPI rulings came out. I didn't think I had any paperwork for it but I found the credit agreement the other day while going through my old army stuff in my dads loft.

I'm told I can still reclaim the insurance I paid for it plus interest but I thought it was time barred due to the fact it was over 20 years ago.

If I can claim how do I go about working out how much I'm owed?

I've attached a copy of the old agreement obviously omitting personal info.

Cancel that, it won't allow me to post attachments.

The_Jester

One other thing.

It states on the credit agreement 'insurance option' but I was never given an option. I was told I had to take out insurance or I wouldn't get the loan.

Being only 18 at the time I never questioned it.

dunstonh

I'm told I can still reclaim the insurance I paid for it plus interest but I thought it was time barred due to the fact it was over 20 years ago.

Timebarring wont apply on that at this stage.

If I can claim how do I go about working out how much I'm owed?

You will be told if your complaint is successful. No point trying to work out a hypothetical figure.

Put your complaint in and see what happens.

wolverines

1) Definitely mention in your complaint that you were a serving soldier. This usually leads to a successful complaint as most policy books exclude war related injuries meaning the policy was not suitable for you.

2) Definitely send a copy of the credit agreement showing the PPI otherwise you will probably get a letter saying they cannot find evidence of it. Almost certain any documents the bank would have had about it will have been destroyed a long time ago.

3) If upheld, your redress will be whatever the premium was plus 8% interest however, as the poster above has stated, don't count your chickens before they hatch.

dunstonh

1) Definitely mention in your complaint that you were a serving soldier. This usually leads to a successful complaint as most policy books exclude war related injuries meaning the policy was not suitable for you.

That actually doesnt make it mis-sold. A lot of policies wont cover war risks but will cover activities outside of war risk. The FOS don't seem to have a problem with that and rightfully so. For example, if someone in the armed forces was knocked down by a car in Manchester and killed, a life assurance would pay out. However, if killed in Iraq through bombing, it would not. It is an exclusion rather than a blanket ineligibility.
example: http://www.ombudsman-decisions.org.uk/viewPDF.aspx?FileID=21249 (worth noting how this case would probably have succeeded had the claims company not been involved as they appear to have used a generic list of reasons which resulted in the most likely reason for success on that case being rejected)

I would certainly note armed forces in the complaint but just be aware that it would require a blanket ineligibility for that complaint reason to work rather than a war zones exclusion.

And just to cloud that issue, here is a different FOS decision that puts a different weight on the exclusions. Again, its not about the exclusion (which is not an issue) but how it was presented at point of sale: http://www.ombudsman-decisions.org.uk/viewPDF.aspx?FileID=49334

wolverines

The first decision is a strange one, although it is from 2013 and I don't think it would be the same today. The latter is much more current and other fos decisions on this all go the same way. The exclusion is relevant as it goes to suitability. A soldier has a very real possibility of being sent to a war zone and therefore being affected by the exclusion. This is something that should have been considered and presented by the advisor in the case of an advised sale. I know for a fact that at least one of the major banks will immediately uphold a complaint for this reason, although I'm not sure about rbs.

I agree that you should also include your other complaint points as well though!