Account in Joint names?

WorriedByDebt

I received a decision back from one of my previous lenders. It was for a policy dating back to 1996.

First the good news. The letter upheld my complaint, and I will be sent a cheque in the next 28 days.

Problems:

1) They say that the account was taken in joint names. I don't remember doing this. I asked who it was and they wouldn't tell me.They said if I gave them a name they could confirm if it was correct. I gave them the name of my first wife (married in 1996) and they said it wasn't her. I gave them the name of my second wife anyhow, and they said it wasn't her. Can I force them to tell me who the other person is? It's possible (but unlikely) that the other person might have been my father, and he's died.

2) They've taken tax off the amount to pay. This isn't income, it's a refund of money taken unlawfully. Surely they can't take tax from it?

thanks

WBD

dunstonh

1) They say that the account was taken in joint names. I don't remember doing this. I asked who it was and they wouldn't tell me.They said if I gave them a name they could confirm if it was correct. I gave them the name of my first wife (married in 1996) and they said it wasn't her. I gave them the name of my second wife anyhow, and they said it wasn't her. Can I force them to tell me who the other person is? It's possible (but unlikely) that the other person might have been my father, and he's died.

You could spend £10 and do a data subject access request. There may be some documetnation that happens to have the second name on it.

2) They've taken tax off the amount to pay. This isn't income, it's a refund of money taken unlawfully. Surely they can't take tax from it?

You misunderstand. First of all, it was not taken off unlawfully. There is no court involved here. They are refunding the premium paid and adding interest to it. The premium refund is not subject to tax but the interest is.

WorriedByDebt

Thanks for the quick reply.

The "redress due" is £1800 and the deduction is "less basic rate tax on redress" = £219. It seems a large proportion of the overall amount?

dunstonh

WorriedByDebt wrote: »

Thanks for the quick reply.

The "redress due" is £1800 and the deduction is "less basic rate tax on redress" = £219. It seems a large proportion of the overall amount?

Not really. The further back the PPI premium was paid, the larger the interest is and, in turn, the larger the tax payment is. Lots of people are getting far more back in interest that the premiums they paid.

It looks like £1095 of your £1800 is interest.

-taff

If you haven't rceived £1000 in interest this year [or won't] you can claim it back from the HMRC

[Deleted User]

-taff wrote: »

If you haven't rceived £1000 in interest this year [or won't] you can claim it back from the HMRC

I'm certain that's not the criteria for a refund!

Any refund of tax is based on total income, surely, not just the amount of interest received in a given year?

-taff

I'm not sure how the tax on the interest is considered. Whether you can class that as interest as part of the £1000 or not.....No harm in asking.

[Deleted User]

-taff wrote: »

I'm not sure how the tax on the interest is considered.

It's based solely on the customer's income. If the customer is a tax payer then the interest amount will be added to taxable income for that year. If the customer is not a tax payer or their earnings are less than their tax-free allowance then a refund will be due.

Where are you getting this £1000 interest tax free "allowance" from?

-taff

You are allowed to earn £1000 tax free in interest on savings accounts, not sure whether this will fall under that or not.

Are you certain it doesn't?

Edited bit - Actually, the power of google has just confirmed it does fall under that umbrella.