PPI Claim against Halifax - Waiting for Ombudsman

CatherineMarsh

When we applied for a mortgage in 2002 with the Halifax we were advised that we had to have payment protection otherwise our Mortgage would not be agreed. A few years later we realised we were paying over the odds and the policy was not correct for us and changed to another provider. We contacted the Halifax to reclaim what we were missold and got a very standard letter back saying no. We went to the Ombudsman (who originally lost our letter so we got put further down the waiting list). After 2 years our case was looked into. The Halifax provided wrong information on our employment and said we had taken it out 4 months before we had started the policy! We explained this to the Ombudsman but still they believed the Halifax and their lies.

We have now gone to appeal and are waiting for the findings. We highlighted all the lies that the Halifax had made and even sent all the paperwork we still have for that policy (including the booklet they provide you with). There has been a further delay with the Ombudsman as they are looking into the recent court ruling before making any decisions!

I just wondered if anyone else had been successful with a claim against the Halifax or if they had to go through as much trouble as we have.

dunstonh

When we applied for a mortgage in 2002 with the Halifax we were advised that we had to have payment protection otherwise our Mortgage would not be agreed.

That is a very weak complaint. It is a allegation of something said with no evidence to back it up. Indeed, every fraudulent/try-it-on complaint makes the same allegation (including half of all PPI complaints where people dont even have PPI).

A few years later we realised we were paying over the odds and the policy was not correct for us and changed to another provider.

that works against you as it indicates that you believe you felt the policy type was important.

We explained this to the Ombudsman but still they believed the Halifax and their lies.

How would the ombudsman know that you are not telling lies?

They cant just believe what you tell them. The evidence has to point towards a wrongdoing.

We highlighted all the lies that the Halifax had made and even sent all the paperwork we still have for that policy (including the booklet they provide you with).

You keep saying lies. However, what lies are you referring to?

Errors in data are not unexpected considering 2002 is pre-regulation of insurance and it was 14 years ago. Back then, audit trails on insurance applications would be minimal.

There has been a further delay with the Ombudsman as they are looking into the recent court ruling before making any decisions!

The court case ruling shouldnt have any impact on MPPI. Commissions on MPPI are typically around 25-35%. The FCA are looking at a 50% limit.

I just wondered if anyone else had been successful with a claim against the Halifax or if they had to go through as much trouble as we have.

Halifax tend to roll over easily on PPI. Even MPPI which has fewer issues. So, hearing that they did not uphold your complaint is unusual. Normally, if you have the Halifax TMPP, they pay out on the MPPI segment but reject the non-PPI segments (life assurance, CI cover, income protection). However, given how weak your complaint is, maybe they decided there were no grounds in your case.

In respect of the FOS, most MPPI complaints get rejected. It is considered a more important product covering a significant debt. You went on to buy an alternative indicating you felt there was a need for coverage. So, I can see why your complaint was rejected (based solely on what you have typed). The ombudsman rarely override an adjudicator on simple cases (like PPI).

Nearlyold

No doubt some customers will have been successful though whether they had to go to so much trouble will depend on their circumstances.

What is not clear from your post is what your complaint actually was, the fact that you switched to another mortgage PPI provider shows you did have a need for such a policy, could you be a bit more precise as to why the policy was not correct for you and was missold.

NB Just a guess but I wonder if Halifax gave the date of your PPI application rather than the start date as I assume it didn't start until your mortgage commenced

magpiecottage

CatherineMarsh wrote: »

We explained this to the Ombudsman but still they believed the Halifax and their lies.

We have now gone to appeal and are waiting for the findings. We highlighted all the lies that the Halifax had made

I know for a fact that a decision by an ombudsman cannot be appealed, so this statement cannot be true.

So, by your definition, you are lying.

In reality, as others reading will appreciate, you have made a mistake. Your have dealt with an adjudicator, not an ombudsman. Now an ombudsman will decide whether they agree with the adjudicator or not.

However, it is wrong for you to assume that just because somebody has a different stance to you that they are lying. They too may be mistaken.

Nearlyold has suggested one possible reason why they gave a different start date. Not only is it plausible but if they are relying on the application form it demonstrates that they have indeed looked at what evidence is available.

It is also quite possible that you simply remember something that never actually happened. That is a phenomenon that is well documented.

Throwing round unsubstantiated allegations of lying does not support your case but suggests you might not be acting entirely rationally.

Mersey_2

CatherineMarsh "When we applied for a mortgage in 2002 with the Halifax we were advised that we had to have payment protection otherwise our Mortgage would not be agreed."



Yes, this often constitutes mis-selling (as much as others on here don't like the fact that banks are having to pay out £ Billions due to their past errors). It's essentially your evidence v the bank so that's why you may or may not succeed.


There's no guarantee you'll succeed; but, it's certainly worth pursuing and sadly can take years for the FOS or bank to look at the matter.

dunstonh

Yes, this often constitutes mis-selling (as much as others on here don't like the fact that banks are having to pay out £ Billions due to their past errors). It's essentially your evidence v the bank so that's why you may or may not succeed.

its not a case of not liking. It is a case of reality. It is a valid complaint reason (assuming it wasnt required - a number of deals in the 90s did require it). However, it is one of the weakest complaint reasons going. Very few complaints succeed on that particular point due to lack of evidence. They may go on to succeed on another point. Even something that wasnt raised.

However, in this case, the complaint was rejected by Halifax (which is unusual for them as they normally refund the MPPI element of the TMPP with little argument). It has gone on to be rejected by an adjudicator at the FOS. Not unexpected as most MPPI complaints are rejected. It is now in the hands of an ombudsman and they only overturn around 11% of adjudicator complaints and that tends to be in complicated cases (not PPI).

I think it is only fair to point out the weaknesses in the case and the statistical likelihood that the complaint is going to fail. There may be a surprise in store and the ombudsman does overrule. But nothing said so far by the OP suggests that is likely given the weakness of the complaint.

Andante1617

Hi....have just joined this forum in the hope that you can help me make a decision about whether to try to get back what is called Mortgage Protection. We were told by Halifax in 1996 that we had to have this so that we could get a mortgage to buy a house. The payments are £46+ every month. On finding this document, it appears to be a Life Insurance Policy, which was not explained at the time. We understood that we had to have it to get a mortgage and the words 'Mortgage Protection Policy' are written in large font on the front. We have almost paid off our mortgage now (and incidentally, our mortgage is no longer with the Halifax)....but we are still paying out this amount to the same provider (renamed 'St. Andrew's Life')....Surely this product was' missold to us and we should stop paying out and attempt to claim money back. What do others think? Are we likely to be successful if we make a claim? Thank you.

[Deleted User]

Andante1617 wrote: »

Surely this product was' missold to us

Why is that?

dunstonh

We were told by Halifax in 1996 that we had to have this so that we could get a mortgage to buy a house.

Quite normal in 1996. Banks used to insist on life assurance with mortgagees. Nowadays, they tend to only insist on it with commercial borrowing.

On finding this document, it appears to be a Life Insurance Policy, which was not explained at the time.

Sorry. i don't believe you. I suspect it is more likely that your memory recollection is not strong.

To get life assurance, you would have gone through a medical questionnaire, been issued with a quote and a reasons why letter. This would have been followed up with another quote sent directly by the insurer with the cancellation rights and a policy document when the policy went into force.

Surely this product was' missold to us and we should stop paying out and attempt to claim money back.

Nothing you have said suggests any hint of mis-sale.

Are we likely to be successful if we make a claim?

No. Unless you are immortal, there appears to be no wrongdoing here.

[Deleted User]

Andante1617 wrote: »

On finding this document, it appears to be a Life Insurance Policy, which was not explained at the time.

So you kept the document you signed explaining that you had Life Insurance and twenty years on want to complain that no one explained this to you? You don't see any contradiction there?

Andante1617 wrote: »

Surely this product was' missold to us and we should stop paying out and attempt to claim money back.

Why do you think your Life Assurance was mis-sold? Are you somehow immune to death?
If you stop paying the cover will stop, have you now paid off the mortgage or don't you care about your dependents?

I'm afraid not every insurance was mis-sold and some of your logic seems awry.

Andante1617

Thanks for your comments. My point is that we were told we had to have this policy because we wanted a mortgage. It is clearly named 'Mortgage Protection Policy' and thus would appear to be directly linked to a mortgage. If we had been told that this product was in fact a Life Insurance policy (which I did not know anything about twenty years ago and have only in recent years realised what they are) then we would have been wise to look elsewhere for a cheaper product. What it actually was was not made clear to us, nor were we told we were at liberty to look elsewhere for a similar product. I repeat, we were led to believe we had to take it in order to get a mortgage from Halifax. This would seem to be deliberate deceit on part of the Halifax.