Tesco Bank Wont Reopen PPI Claim?

CammyFace

I claimed PPI miss-selling on my Tesco Credit Card way back in 2012.

It was rejected but I never took it to the Ombudsman.

After reading advice on the MSE website about trying again, I decided to give it another go -

If you submitted a PPI reclaim in the past, and didn't take it to the Ombudsman, then it's worth restarting your complaint. More than 60% of cases escalated to the Ombudsman have been upheld in the consumer's favour - a shockingly high figure, given these are complaints that banks have already turned down!

If you tried to reclaim within the last six months, and your bank rejected your case, you can go straight to the Ombudsman (see below). But, if you complained more than six months ago, you need to restart your reclaim.

So I filled out the paperwork again, mentioning about the claim being rejected in the past and that I think they were wrong etc. I was expecting another simple rejection letter that I would then be able to take to the Ombudsman.

Today I got the letter. It said that the claim was dealt with back in 2012, and since that was more than 6 months ago, 'the Financial Ombudsman Service rights prescribed at that time are no longer available'.

Surely they should have looked at my claim and sent me another rejection if they still didnt think it was miss-selling? Not just say, sorry it's been dealt with and you cant go to the Ombudsman??

Nasqueron

CammyFace wrote: »

I claimed PPI miss-selling on my Tesco Credit Card way back in 2012.

It was rejected but I never took it to the Ombudsman.

After reading advice on the MSE website about trying again, I decided to give it another go -

If you submitted a PPI reclaim in the past, and didn't take it to the Ombudsman, then it's worth restarting your complaint. More than 60% of cases escalated to the Ombudsman have been upheld in the consumer's favour - a shockingly high figure, given these are complaints that banks have already turned down!

If you tried to reclaim within the last six months, and your bank rejected your case, you can go straight to the Ombudsman (see below). But, if you complained more than six months ago, you need to restart your reclaim.

So I filled out the paperwork again, mentioning about the claim being rejected in the past and that I think they were wrong etc. I was expecting another simple rejection letter that I would then be able to take to the Ombudsman.

Today I got the letter. It said that the claim was dealt with back in 2012, and since that was more than 6 months ago, 'the Financial Ombudsman Service rights prescribed at that time are no longer available'.

Surely they should have looked at my claim and sent me another rejection if they still didnt think it was miss-selling? Not just say, sorry it's been dealt with and you cant go to the Ombudsman??

They are allowed to apply a time-bar (the 6 month referral) and are enforcing that which is perfectly within their rights. You cannot just keep complaining every time they reject it to try and get access to the FOS.

CammyFace

You cannot just keep complaining every time they reject it to try and get access to the FOS.

In what circumstances could you ask them to re-open a case then?

I included complaints in my claim that were not in the original one, so it wasn't an exact copy or anything.

dunstonh

After reading advice on the MSE website about trying again, I decided to give it another go -

A few people have commented that they read this article and got nowhere. The problem is that the article is wrong.

It is written in the right spirit as some banks have been willing or required to reopen old cases (many of whom are reviewing without the need for the consumer to ask to reopen). However, the rules are that if you do not refer your case to the FOS within 6 months of your rejection then you are timebarred from future complaint and the FOS cannot review your complaint unless the company volunteers to do so.

Today I got the letter. It said that the claim was dealt with back in 2012, and since that was more than 6 months ago, 'the Financial Ombudsman Service rights prescribed at that time are no longer available'.

That is the correct response and the response you would expect to get.

Surely they should have looked at my claim and sent me another rejection if they still didnt think it was miss-selling? Not just say, sorry it's been dealt with and you cant go to the Ombudsman??

They are acting correctly. It is this site that is wrong.

In what circumstances could you ask them to re-open a case then?

In general you cannot. There are rare cases where significant new information has come to light that was not available at the time which could see them reopen. However, that doesnt happen often.

I included complaints in my claim that were not in the original one, so it wasn't an exact copy or anything.

Did you actually have a genuine complaint or are you just making it up on the fly? Surely the reasons you had before would be the same now. Not new reasons. However, that is all irrelevant. You cannot get your case reopened unless the firm volunteers to do so. its game over for you.

CammyFace

Did you actually have a genuine complaint or are you just making it up on the fly?

I had a genuine complaint which I still feel cheated over since it was rejected.

None of it was 'made up on the fly' and new complaints were included as since the first rejection, I have spoken to people who have had the exact same issue with the way PPI was included on their account.

I was alot less savvy with my money back in 2012 so didn't really think much about the possibilty that banks might just knock back your claim even though it may have been valid. Stupidly I just trusted that your bank wouldnt be trying to screw you over.

societys_child

Posters may be able to offer more informed advice if they knew what the original genuine complaint was?

[Deleted User]

CammyFace wrote: »

I had a genuine complaint which I still feel cheated over since it was rejected.

In that case, why didn't you go to the Ombudsman when the original complaint was rejected?

Only if you had compelling new evidence, not in your original complaint, would you have had any chance of getting it reopened now. It might help if you detailed what the reason for the original rejection was and what "new" complaint reason you gave this time around?

Your complaint was concluded in 2012. I doubt you can take this any further now.

The MSE article encourages people to complain again (basically against the rules) because some banks have been forced to re-assess formerly rejected cases because the regulator found fault with their complaint handling processes. Since the Banks concerned are required to contact the customers affected, the MSE article is not really helping anyone.

magpiecottage

You can still ask the Financial Ombudsman Service to look at your complaint.

However, when Tesco provide it with evidence that you were sent a letter in 2012 which explained your right to so and that you must make the request within six months - and says that it is unwilling to waive that limit, the Ombudsman will be prohibited from considering it unless:

1. It believes the letter did not properly explain your right to ask it to consider the complaint.
2. Tesco agrees to waive the time limit (which seems unlikely)
3. It is satisfied that there are exceptional circumstances which prevented you from complaining sooner. This could include serious illness (for which it normally expect you to provide evidence) or new evidence of wrongdoing (which would need to be something that you could not have obtained earlier even if you had tried - not merely something you have now stumbled across).