HSBC says I had PPI but didn't pay any premiums so can't claim?

MaximumFish

Hey all,

I've been spurred on to question this by the latest MSE email... I put in a PPI claim after HSBC contacted me themselves, and after some back and forth I got a letter saying that while I had PPI for some time, I didn't pay any premiums so I have no claim for a refund. Now, insurers aren't exactly in the habit of providing free policies so I can't help but find this baffling!

Is this normal? And is it something I should be questioning? I just don't get how this could be possible...

:money:

[Deleted User]

Did you pay any premiums? Were you using the card? And if you were, where you clearing in full each month?

MaximumFish

That's the thing - Having a had a fair few credit cards and the odd loan over my time I can't actually remember any of the details. It doesn't help that I've moved a lot in the intervening years either. That said, I think it was either a loan for a car or a card that was used for a balance transfer, but either way it's long since been paid off and the account closed.

I just find it odd that I could have PPI but not pay any premiums on it, but you seem to suggest that could happen if I was paying in full each month?

nidO

Most credit card PPI policies charge(d) you based on the balance being carried on the card.
This then means if your card is always paid in full every month the balance being carried is always zero, meaning you pay a portion of this zero for the PPI premium, which is therefore also zero.
This means you have a PPI policy but it isn't actually covering you for anything (as it's there to pay your zero balance) and you aren't paying anything for it.

Insider101

MaximumFish wrote: »

That's the thing - Having a had a fair few credit cards and the odd loan over my time I can't actually remember any of the details. It doesn't help that I've moved a lot in the intervening years either. That said, I think it was either a loan for a car or a card that was used for a balance transfer, but either way it's long since been paid off and the account closed.

I just find it odd that I could have PPI but not pay any premiums on it, but you seem to suggest that could happen if I was paying in full each month?

How can you complain that you were missold PPI if you cant even remember what product you are complaining about, let alone what happened at the point of sale?

As stated above, if it was a credit card or overdraft then if you never used the facility while the product was in force then you wouldn't have paid any premiums. But this is a question best directed to HSBC. The fact that they wrote to you is irrelevant, banks have been simply writing to everyone who had a policy and would not check first to see whether they actually made a payment on it.

magpiecottage

Insider101 wrote: »

How can you complain that you were missold PPI if you cant even remember what product you are complaining about, let alone what happened at the point of sale?

There are lots of ways to claim a missale of PPI.

Last month I went to a garage and put fuel in my car.

I now find it is no longer there. It was a Paid Petrol Input, so clearly it is missold PPI!

MaximumFish

Thanks for the info, nidO, that's just what I needed.

As to Insider101's comment, they wrote to me suggesting I submit a claim, so I did. I told them that I don't remember any of the details (other than it's not something I would've voluntarily signed up for), so they investigated. Assuming for a moment that I had paid some premiums and there was a claim there, should I not be entitled to my money back simply because I don't remember paying it? Doesn't seem right somehow.

dunstonh

As to Insider101's comment, they wrote to me suggesting I submit a claim, so I did.

They did not write to you to suggest you complain. The CCL they send is an invitation to complain if you feel you were mis-sold. The only criteria for being sent it is if you had PPI.

Assuming for a moment that I had paid some premiums and there was a claim there, should I not be entitled to my money back simply because I don't remember paying it?

No. That is not a valid reason for complaint. I had someone some months ago phone me up and ask me to explain something I did as they didnt know why I did it. In their case, there was a report which I sent (which i know they read as they sent the acknowledgement slip back) and I had spent about 2 hours with them explaining it. When I started to re-explain it, he interrupted after a few minutes saying "oh yes, I remember now".

So, going by your argument, I would have mis-sold that guy and should pay him compensation as he forgot.

Doesn't seem right somehow.

If you didnt pay anything then it wouldnt be right to be refunded anything.

Insider101

MaximumFish wrote: »

Thanks for the info, nidO, that's just what I needed.

As to Insider101's comment, they wrote to me suggesting I submit a claim, so I did. I told them that I don't remember any of the details (other than it's not something I would've voluntarily signed up for), so they investigated. Assuming for a moment that I had paid some premiums and there was a claim there, should I not be entitled to my money back simply because I don't remember paying it? Doesn't seem right somehow.

I think there is maybe something lost in translation here. As per Dunstonh, I doubt their letter would have suggested that you submit a complaint. It probably listed some potential complaint reasons and offered you the opportunity to make a complaint if you felt you had been missold. However, misselling complaints relate to misleading advice or information provided at the point of sale. Hence the question as to how you made one when you don't seem to remember the sale.

Your answer is fair enough when explained like that (though when I worked in this field, I did see any number of cases where this was stated and it turned out the complainant had simply forgotten taking out the product). But anyway, getting back to the point, I suggest that you ask them for an explanation. However, the bottom line remains the same, if you have never paid any premiums for whatever reasons then there is nothing to refund.

Insider101

dunstonh wrote: »

No. That is not a valid reason for complaint. I had someone some months ago phone me up and ask me to explain something I did as they didnt know why I did it. In their case, there was a report which I sent (which i know they read as they sent the acknowledgement slip back) and I had spent about 2 hours with them explaining it. When I started to re-explain it, he interrupted after a few minutes saying "oh yes, I remember now".

Fair point but I think what the OP was getting at was that if he was missold then he should be entitled to a refund and the fact that he doesn't remember paying for the PPI shouldn't change that. Obviously, that did beg my original question as to how he could remember being missold if he couldn't remember what happened at the sale. Which has now been answered.