Bank of Scotland credit card PPI

PSW

BOS have rejected my PPI claim but cant give me a final decision so are keeping my complaint open. I wonder if anyone has any advice on what should be my next steps?

I recently filled out a Bank of Scotland PPI complaints questionnaire for a credit card I took out in 1998. After about 10 days I got a phone call to go over some further information that they needed, although it was just reiterating what I had put on the questionnaire.

I have now received a letter which looks like a generic rejection letter which I have a couple of objections & concerns with.

Firstly, as this seems for the most part like a generic response I'm concerned over how seriously my complaint has been looked into and not just automatically rejected.

Next, in investigating my complaint it seems like they have cherry picked the information that I supplied to find in their favour by omitting information which I believe would show I was miss sold this policy. Was this intentional? I couldn't say, however I do find it highly suspicious that information I supplied, like speaking with an advisor prior to applying, my employment benefits which included 6 months full pay and in the event of redundancy my package which would be 1 months salary for each completed years service. At the time of applying I had completed 7 years employment.

Continuing with their finding & conclusions they seem to be making assumption's. For example they conclude I was not advised of the terms of the cooling off period however, that wouldn't have affected my decision to purchase the policy. How do they know what my decision would have been? I think this is at the heart of my complaint; if I would have known I had a cooling off period whereby I could cancel the policy, It would have at the very least given me the opportunity to question the advisor as to why, if It was compulsory for me to take ppi if I wanted to be eligible for this credit card as I was advised. Why was able to cancel the policy. Highlighting the fact the PPI policy wasn't a requirement of being eligible for the credit card. It would have also given me the right to actually cancel it.

The letter goes on to say that given their findings in relation to my concerns they do not feel that the policy was miss-sold. However as they have been unable to consider the concern about disclosure of the level of commission my complaint will remain open.


So now what? I was thinking of replying, outlining my concerns and at the same time sending them a sar letter & payment so that I'm ready to send to foc.

Is this the best course if action?

Sorry just one last thing, Am I able to ask them for evidence(I didn't get any policy document, something else which they ommitted) that a precondition illness, asthma which I've had since a child would not have disqualified a claim if I needed to make one? They conclude even though I wasn't asked if I had any precondition illnesses because of my identified needs for the remaining benefits, the policy can still be seen to be suitable to me.

[Deleted User]

If you feel you have been unfairly rejected, you can refer your case to the Ombudsman. You have six months in which to do so.

No point writing back to the Bank, unless you can provide new and compelling evidence not in your original complaint. Now is not the time to request a SAR either.

You appear to be looking for new complaints to make, but the Bank will already have checked to see if the PPI was suitable as part of their complaint investigation.
No point asking them about pre existing conditions either. Asthma would have been very unlikely to be the main reason for unemployment or long term illness preventing you from working.

Just refer the case to the Ombudsman. No point trying to build another case AFTER you have already been rejected.


EDIT:
Incidentally, the only reason your complaint is not now closed is because of the Plevin ruling, which MAY result in you getting a refund of commission which may have been paid.
Make no mistake, though, your PPI complaint has been rejected.

dunstonh

BOS have rejected my PPI claim but cant give me a final decision so are keeping my complaint open.

Have they stated Plevin as the reason? That would be the only reason to reject and keep the complaint open.

I have now received a letter which looks like a generic rejection letter which I have a couple of objections & concerns with.

Each complaint is looked at on its own merits. There is no generic rejection letter. Although each letter must contain certain text in a certain way.

I couldn't say, however I do find it highly suspicious that information I supplied, like speaking with an advisor prior to applying, my employment benefits which included 6 months full pay and in the event of redundancy my package which would be 1 months salary for each completed years service. At the time of applying I had completed 7 years employment.

Allegations about verbal conversations are very weak and carry virtually no weight unless there is other evidence available to suggest what you say is correct.
If you had spoken with an adviser there would be an audit trail. However, most advisers do not get involved with credit other than with mortgages. So, are you sure it was an adviser and not a bank clerk? Most PPI is non-advised. The advised side of things has a much better track record on PPI and sees most PPI complaints rejected.
Also, your wording suggests the person you spoke to wasnt the person that submitted it. Is that the case?

redundancy pay is irrelevant as it is not guaranteed.
Sickness pay can be relevant on loans and some credit cards when the period is 12 months but less so when you have less than 12 months cover. Its mostly irrelevant on MPPI.

For example they conclude I was not advised of the terms of the cooling off period however, that wouldn't have affected my decision to purchase the policy.

Which is fair given how few people exercise the cancellation rights. It is a balance of probability decision.

Sorry just one last thing, Am I able to ask them for evidence(I didn't get any policy document, something else which they ommitted) that a precondition illness, asthma which I've had since a child would not have disqualified a claim if I needed to make one? They conclude even though I wasn't asked if I had any precondition illnesses because of my identified needs for the remaining benefits, the policy can still be seen to be suitable to me.

Pre-existing conditions have to be severe enough to invalidate the possibility of a claim in other areas. Asthma can be severe but if its your typical level then it will have no impact on ability to claim for other illnesses. Whereas if you had cancer or MS etc then it would do.

o now what? I was thinking of replying, outlining my concerns and at the same time sending them a sar letter & payment so that I'm ready to send to foc.

What evidence did you supply to back up your side of the argument? Do you have any evidence?
SAR will not help you as you know you had PPI.

You can now refer the complaint to the FOS but your argument seems to be a mixture of unprovable allegations with no evidence to back them up and the hope that a mild illness and some mid table employer benefits are enough to get the complaint upheld. Credit card PPI doesnt suffer structural problems like most loan PPI. So, in all, a fairly weak complaint.
We dont have the benefit of the full information here. So, we cannot offer much more than give a summary on what you tell us. So, if you disagree with the bank then refer the complaint to the FOS and give the FOS any evidence you have to support your allegations.

PSW

Thank you for taking the time to reply I really appreciate it. They do mention Plevin as the reason they are keeping it open. I've just been trying to find further information on this.

As far as actual evidence I guess its extremely light. The reason I thought of sending a sar letter is that on my application leaflet that I posted I had marked it for the attention of the the advisor I had spoken to, wrote a message thanking him for his advice in helping me apply & embrassingly looking back now poking fun at a football score. I only remember this so well as I was applying for an Arsenal FC branded BOS credit card and the advisor at first joked with me I couldn't have one as he supported Spurs.

I guess the only other actual evidence I have, which probably isn't evidence is their words that I wasn't told about the cancellation period or other alternatives policies and costs.

Since they haven't closed my case I guess I should just sit tight before sending it to the Ombudsman, at least that will give me some time to decide if it is worth sending to them or not.

[Deleted User]

PSW wrote: »

The reason I thought of sending a sar letter is that on my application leaflet that I posted I had marked it for the attention of the the advisor I had spoken to, wrote a message thanking him for his advice in helping me apply & embrassingly looking back now poking fun at a football score.

A SAR won't turn up evidence that you thanked any "advisor"! The only record that will have been kept will have been that you applied.
The name of the "advisor" (more likely simply a Bank clerk) is irrelevant anyhow and interviewing him (or her) does not form part of a PPI complaint investigation.

PSW wrote: »

Since they haven't closed my case I guess I should just sit tight before sending it to the Ombudsman

You have six months from the date of the rejection letter to refer your case. As already mentioned, Plevin is the only reason your case is still open and will not impact on the decision to reject your PPI complaint.

PSW

Just had confirmation from BOS that after reviewing my letter in response to their initial investigation they have carried out another investigation and now are upholding my complaint. Full refund and compensation paid.

Took a little while to get there but they came good in the end, and to be fair, BOS kept in touch throughout. Really please I didn't have to take it to the FOS

tanyan

Hi PSW

I have just been turned down for a ppi claim on a BOS credit card for the same reason you did
I have no recollection of ever signing up for it
I worked for the government for the last 25 years so get sick pay for 1 year plus redundancy
I have no pre existing medical conditions
How do I get them to look at it again??

PSW

Hi Tanya,

I just wrote back to them outlining why I was unhappy with their investigation. Highlighting areas where they had made assumptions about me, which in my opinion they were wrong to do. Asked questions as to why they had not included all the information and evidence I had supplied in their report, and how they could come to a fair conclusion without it.
I informed them of my intention to take it to the FSA and also included sar and £10 payment.

Now, I would like to think they reconsidered based on what I had written in my reply however, it was just as likely if not more so that they just took the business decision to pay out. Although I will say their second investigation did seem to take a lot more time with far more communication between us, so who knows?

[Deleted User]

PSW wrote: »

I informed them of my intention to take it to the FSA

The FSA does not accept complaints from individual customers.

PSW

Well done! Just testing everyone is paying attention😋. In all seriousness I obviously meant FOS but good spot. That will teach me to double check my post.