How to find out who I've had loans from ?

Kev64

I was clearing out some old documents today and came across a loan agreement that showed I paid £900 for PPI on a £6K loan back in 1998. I was convinced that I'd never taken out PPI so never bothered checking. I just stumbled on this by accident. Now I'm wondering what other loans I've had that might have had PPI on.

However - aside from my one find today, I've got nothing in terms of paperwork. I usually shred stuff that's expired. I know I've had several loans from the 90's onwards, but nothing in the past ten years as I moved to being a card tart, juggling 0% deals.

So, I know I've had a few loans, all over ten years ago, but I've got zero paperwork. I don't even remember what companies were involved. My credit file won't help as that will only go back six years.

How does one go about establishing who you've had loans from in the past ? Surely it can't be just send a letter to every lender in the U.K. asking "did you lend me money twenty years ago?"

[Deleted User]

Unfortunately for you, even sending a letter to every lender in the UK would be a largely futile gesture on finance as old as that. Only if you have substantial documentary evidence from your own archive are you likely to make any headway. Financial institutions generally destroy records older than six years in line with data protection. Only if you still have an active relationship with the Bank in question are there likely to be still records as old as two decades.

In addition, even the paperwork you have found may not yield any refund. If all you have is the Agreement,your document doesn't prove conclusively that you had PPI because it's possible you cancelled the insurance during the cooling off period. As you were so convinced you never paid PPI that is not an unlikely scenario.

Nothing to stop you sending Subject Access Request (SAR) letters to the most likely Banks. They cost £10 each, so be relatively certain that you at least had an account with the recipients.

Kev64

Thanks. I'll have a think about it. I wonder if in my case, it might be better to just hand it to one of these claims companies. To be honest, I can't see me contacting loads of banks to ask. At least a company would deal with all that, albeit for 25% or whatever.

[Deleted User]

Even a claims company, as dumb as they are, won't go to every lender under the sun. They rely on you giving them the info.

Kev64

Oh.

I was under the impression they did all the investigations too.

Oh well!

[Deleted User]

Kev64 wrote: »

Thanks. I'll have a think about it. I wonder if in my case, it might be better to just hand it to one of these claims companies. To be honest, I can't see me contacting loads of banks to ask. At least a company would deal with all that, albeit for 25% or whatever.

A company could only act on information you give them. They would be as much in the dark as you as to which lenders (if any) you had PPI with. They might even charge you for wasting their time.

Why don't you concentrate on the PPI you have already (apparently) found? Surely you don't want to give a claim firm a third of any redress from that?

[Deleted User]

Kev64 wrote: »

I was under the impression they did all the investigations too.

Oh, they do. Their investigation consists of them saying 'who do you have PPI with?'

Then charging you 30-50% to post the letter.

societys_child

Kev64 wrote: »

Oh.

I was under the impression they did all the investigations too.

Oh well!

They don't have access to your private data, and I don't think any of them have magic wands . . .