HSBC Small Business Loan PPI :(

TheStick

Hi Lovely People

I need some advice - I managed to find the paperwork for two Small Business Loans that my husband took out in 1995 & 1996.
At that time he had just started a business but his bank would not lend to it, but only to him directly. He has been with the same branch of HSBC since the 1980s.
The loans were both small business loans but were addressed to him personally at our home address and repaid out of his personal account (which he still has).

The first loan was for £4850 with £270 for the credit protection insurance loan (plus £72.91 interest), then in 1996 the loan was absorbed into a second loan for £7000 with £440 CPI (plus £167.86 for credit) repayable over 5 years. I also still have the letters which show that he was credited for £161.08 as a refund on the 1st business loan insurance and another letter telling him that his account would be debited with £443.80 for the new small business loan insurance.

So to get to my point - we sent off the HSBC PPI complaint forms on 30th October and received a reply yesterday.

The letter says "I note that "the company he set up" is showing on Companies House as a dissolved company (we went into liquidation in 2011 unfortunately). In these circumstances I am unable to correspond with you futher or investigate the issues you have raised until the company is restored to the company register!!!! :mad:
Once this has been done please confirm so that I can then arrange for any issues raised as part of your complaint to be investigated" You can refer to the Ombudsman etc etc... and then at the end it says... "Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience however in order to protect our customers we need to ensure that we only progress any concerns raised with the person(s) holding the correct authority."

What??!!! The loan is clearly made out to him personally, he personally repaid it out of his existing bank account and the company is only mentioned in the paperwork as his employer!! Can they do this? The company obviously no longer exists.

I am a bit stumped as to how to take this further and would really appreciate any advice you can give.

In other news... I KNOW I had PPI with my TSB Credit card - even have the credit card numbers and the dates that I held them from Lloyds. But when I tried to claim I was told that they couldn't find any PPI; it was from the 1990's and I know TSB was taken over by Lloyds and presumably they got rid of all the paperwork, just wondered whether it was worth pursuing further - I have nothing to back up my claim

Thanks for reading

Nasqueron

Did you tell them it was a personal loan, not a business loan?


Your own case - as you say there is no proof you had PPI therefore nothing to base a complaint on

TheStick

Hi
The paperwork was marked up as a Small Business Loan so could not tell them it was anything else

Bermonia

Regrettably there is very little you can do on both counts.

With regards to the business loan, I assume the business was a limited company, as such any redress due would have to be paid to that limited company which is now dissolved - HSBC will not budge on this and FOS would not consider your husband an eligible complainant in this scenario.

Due to the passage of time with regards to the TSB card, unless you have some evidence that you paid PPI which trumps their internal records there is nothing more to be said.

Sorry I appreciate this is not the news you were hoping for but there really is no point utilising any more of your time on these.

TheStick

Thanks for the feedback - the business loan was not to the company and was not paid by the company - it was to my husband. The company was not mentioned on any paperwork and it was signed by him. �� Don’t really understand I’m afraid.

[Deleted User]

TheStick wrote: »

Don’t really understand I’m afraid.

All you need to understand (and appreciate) is that the loan is regarded as the borrowing of a dissolved business, so you won't be getting a refund of any PPI there may have been..

Bermonia

Not wishing to be rude but a business loan IS for the company and IS paid by the company as to what bank account your husband chose to make payments from is up to him - as a limited company he was able to distance himself from and liabilities of that debt, ultimately this means he has also distanced himself from any potential redress.

-taff

TheStick wrote: »

Hi
The paperwork was marked up as a Small Business Loan so could not tell them it was anything else

TheStick wrote: »

The company was not mentioned on any paperwork and it was signed by him.

TheStick wrote: »

The loan is clearly made out to him personally, he personally repaid it out of his existing bank account and the company is only mentioned in the paperwork as his employer!

I'm confused. Can you clarify the above?



As for your complaint, if you want to make sure there is nothing left, you send TSB a SAR. Unlikely to get anything back though but you don't know till you try.

TheStick

Hi Taff & Bermonia - thanks for the replies.

Ok so this is / was the situation. My husband started a business - but the bank would not lend to the new company but only to him personally with repayments coming out of his personal account. He had been self employed before.

The loan was a Small Business Loan (probably shouldn’t have been in hindsight but hey ho), the paperwork is made out to him personally at his then home address. In the paperwork there is no mention of the company which is why I thought that we may be able to claim.

I would not be trying to claim a business loan which was to do with the company.

I know it’s all water under the bridge but would have liked to get something back from the PPI pot.

dunstonh

The loans were both small business loans but were addressed to him personally at our home address and repaid out of his personal account (which he still has).

There is no legal requirement for a limited company to have a bank account and you can make payments from third party accounts. It is daft to do so as it usually creates increased costs with accountants. Can create confusion. He would have been asked the bank details to pay it from at the time. He should have given the company details.

The letter says "I note that "the company he set up" is showing on Companies House as a dissolved company (we went into liquidation in 2011 unfortunately). In these circumstances I am unable to correspond with you futher or investigate the issues you have raised until the company is restored to the company register!!!!

That is the correct response.

What??!!! The loan is clearly made out to him personally, he personally repaid it out of his existing bank account and the company is only mentioned in the paperwork as his employer!! Can they do this? The company obviously no longer exists.

As he was a director on the company, that makes the company his employer.
If it was a business loan, that make the company the legal party involved.
The director's name would be on the paperwork as that is the person the shareholders have voted to have as director and act on their behalf.

Yes they can do it and are legally correct.

- the business loan was not to the company and was not paid by the company - it was to my husband.

A business loan is for the business. Not an individual. How the directors spend the money is up to the directors (and shareholders).

He had been self employed before.

What he was before doesnt matter. At this point, he was a director of a limited company.

TheStick

Thank you for replying, I appreciate your time, I will let it go.