Sentinel (AI Scheme) compensation help guide

ashamim

I got a letter today from the AI Scheme for £150.68 for the period after Jan 2005. Contacted the helpline after reading some of the other replies to this forum post to see if I'd been paying in before then. Seems I have!!

Was given details to contact the complaints line at HSBC (seems they administrate the defunked GM Card), who have now logged a complaint for the period 2000-2004. Fingers crossed another cheque maybe!

davo777

my wife received a letter about her AI / Sentinel card - she hasn't used it in years. She was going to through it away until I mentioned I had read about these letters on MSE.
I filled it in for her , SHE GOT A CHEQUE FOR £147 today!!
everyone, do this - its easy!!
cheers martin & merry Christmas!!

troubrs

I had this for some time, then cancelled it because I really didn't see the benefit of it for what it cost. I couldn't remember what level of cover I had, when I started or when I finished, so the letter & form lurked around for ages. I came across it, using in part the templates & simply stated that I had bought it becuase it offered protection against fraudulent use of my cards, then I cancelled it when I realised that banks were liable for this so the cover was unecessary. Less than 2 weeks after sending it off I have today received a cheque for £248.78! Thanks MSE, had I not read the article on the website & followed your advice I may not have bothered to send it off! :j

joannasinbox

Got £79 from Barclaycard for the period before 2005 and £280 from A1 for the period after that.
I am absolutely certain that I did nor agree to any kind of insurance, so was not hopeful. This must have been either pretty well obscured or done without my knowledge.
Either way, I advise anyone, who has had this product, to have a go.
Many thanks MoneySavingExpert.:T
BTW, I was not sure which template to use so I put in a very vague statement:
'The product provided cover for fraudulent use of my cards. This cover was not needed because the card issuer already provided this protection'
It worked
For pre 2005 claim (Barclaycard) I called 0800 0966580.

joannasinbox

Yorkie46 wrote: »

Hi, this is my first post and nobody else seems to have answered my question.
If I claim through this scheme I understand my current cover will cease. Once any claim is made and successful is there anything that would preclude me from taking out another policy with Sentinel in the future should I wish to.

When I spoke to Barclaycard, they told me that there should not be a problem with me applying for Sentinel again. I have not tried yet.

flebert

Like many others on this thread, I closed my Sentinel account some years ago, and I can't remember when I started it, when I finished it, or what the exact promise was. I know that I had it for quite a number of years, and that it offered compensation for any money lost as a result of losing one or more cards, but I can't remember the amount of compensation on offer. Consequently, I have just written (in black ink and block capitals, of course)

"THE SENTINEL CARD PROTECTION SCHEME OFFERED SERVICES AND COMPENSATION FOR LOSS OF CREDIT CARDS, WHICH I NOW KNOW WOULD HAVE BEEN COVERED BY MY CARD ISSUERS. YES, I FELL FOR IT, AND BOUGHT PROTECTION THAT I ALREADY HAD, WHICH MAKES ME FEEL PRETTY FOOLISH - BUT WE CAN ALL BE DUPED"

I'm not sure that it's really what is required, but it says "Fill in why you want to be considered for compensation" - and that's my reason. We'll see ......

Unfortunately, I don't seem to have the envelope any more, so I'll have to pay for a stamp. Ouch!

alibaba5

Just thought I would share my experience of claiming a refund for payments made after 2005(through the scheme) and also for pre 2005 (directly with Barclays). I had a Barclaycard from roughly 1992 that charged me £20 each year for Sentinel cover. I remembered eventually becoming financially savvy at some point and managing to get the cover cancelled but could not remember at what point that was.


When the scheme sent me a refund I originally got £140, a decent amount but less than I was expecting. I then used the template letter for pre 2005 claims in the "Sentinel (AI Scheme) compensation help" section of the site. The big issue that I had was I had kept no paperwork from the 90's so had to remove this section of the template letter "I enclose copies of my statements dating back to when the first payment was taken and any related documents". This worried me and thought it would give Barclays a reason to turn my claim down.


I should not have worried and I got a response within 3 weeks and a refund for £240 arrived with me within 4 weeks. Very simple and very straightforward and a minimal amount of effort required to receive total compensation of £380.

ajay35

THANK YOU!!!

I have successfully received my cheque for £210 by following your advice and using the template that you provided. My mum has also received a cheque for £240. ( not sure why hers is more than mine, but I'm not prepared to return my cheque and challenge it)

Neither my mum or I had any paperwork relating to A1 Sentinal, only the letter which came throug the post. The time for the cheque to arrive was really quick, about 3 weeks. I expected to have to wait until the closing date before hearing anything form them.

Thanks again.

AcidHouse

Hi all, an update on my claim - I posted the form back on 1st December & received my cheque today for a total of £69.97 including interest. Thanks MSE - without your weekly email confirming that the form wasn't junk mail, I would never have claimed :A:beer:

mum2one

I have finally sent the form back in today's post, if I hadn't got the email and remembered to find this thread - I wouldn't bothered claiming thinking it was spam, whether it's a penny or a £1 - be gratefully recieved xx