Mis-sold life insurance?

helenlucywray

Hi all

When my husband and I got our first mortgage in November 2006 we were told that we HAD to have life insurance and critical illness cover as part of the t&c. Now I'm a total novice in all this mis-sold stuff but I'm pretty sure that we didn't need it at all and that we've paid out over £3000 since then which, whilst sensible to have, wasn't actually needed. (At the time I remember my friends being surprised that we had been told that but I went along with it because I was young and didn't know better!)
Can anyone offer any advice? I hear all this PPI stuff and am pretty sure I've never been burned that way but this is definitely something I want to look into. I just don't know where to start.
FYI our mortgage was with Cheltenham and Gloucester (but transferred to lloyds tab then to lloyds I think - must check this) and life insurance was with Scottish Widows. How do I even begin??????
Thank you :j

[Deleted User]

You write with your complaint reasons as to why the policies were mis sold, to whoever sold them to you.

magpiecottage

helenlucywray wrote: »

we were told that we HAD to have life insurance and critical illness cover as part of the t&c

In 2006 you would have been provided with a Key Facts illustration which clearly stated what insurances were compulsory. You will subsequently have received a mortgage offer which repeated this.

If it shows that the insurance you specify was indeed compulsory then your complaint is over because it is the lender's right to decide the terms on which it offers a loan.

If it does not show you will need to provide evidence that you were told otherwise and explain why you relied on that in preference to the lender's documentation.

dunstonh

When my husband and I got our first mortgage in November 2006 we were told that we HAD to have life insurance and critical illness cover as part of the t&c.

Whilst it was unusual in 2006, there were still some lenders that needed it. Often as part of a packaged deal on the mortgage (i.e. get special mortgage rate if you buy the insurance). That is allowed if that was the case.

If you used a broker, then many brokers require you to purchase the insurance via them to get free or discounted mortgage advice. This model is allowed as long as the insurance is suitable (and for joint mortgages, life assurance is nearly always suitable).

FYI our mortgage was with Cheltenham and Gloucester (but transferred to lloyds tab then to lloyds I think - must check this) and life insurance was with Scottish Widows. How do I even begin??????

Lloyds did not require life assurance on their mortgages. They stopped requiring it around 1995ish. They have told you a porky. However, after all this time, chances are there is no evidence to support your allegation. It could be poor memory recollection. It could be mis-sold or you could be making it up. So, the evidence available will be looked at. This means they will look at the sale and the documents issued at the time and decide if you needed it or not (from a financial point of view). If you did, and its likely you did, then they will reject the complaint. if they find any wrongdoing, they will uphold the complaint.

The odds will certainly be against you as you would either need to be immortal or have alternative cover specific to the mortgage to succeed as its highly unlikely that any documentation says it was mandatory.