M&S &More Card - PPI

cobster

Hi there
Feel a right fool as I have just been going through my credit card statement with M&S &More and see that they are charging me PPI. Now this is something that I would never knowingly have signed up to and checking on the back of the statement it says that "after a 30 day cooling off period where you can cancel without incurring any cancellation charges". It then states that "after the cooling off period ends we will not return any of the monthly premiums". I have statements dating back to December 2004 which have no reference on the back to the PPI - this only occured in March 2007. I believe this PPI came into play when I was moved from the M&S Chargecard to the M&S &More card. Do I have a case for claiming back PPI premiums on this? I really want to cancel this as I already have other insurance in place to cover any such eventualities as not being able to pay my card.
Thanks in advance
Cobster

luxor4t

Good luck with your attempts.
I was so frustrated by their customer 'service' that I cancelled the card.

cobster

I've had two responses from M&S so far, the first a holding letter saying they would be in touch within a short timeframe, the second saying that it is taking them longer to obtain the information than they thought so asking for extra time. I wonder if this is because they have so many claims for mis-sold PPI or whether they are truly trawling the archives to see if I ever ticked a box requesting PPI.

Will report back when I hear from them. Fingers crossed.

cobster

M&S &More wrote back to me to say that the PPI had been in operation on my account since 1985 when I first took out their Chargecard. Unfortunately they do not hold a copy of the application form from that time. They said that when the card was transferred from Chargecard to &More I would have received information and details of cancellation procedure and as I have not previously challenged the PPI and have "enjoyed the benefits" for over 20 years that they do not deem this to have been mis-sold.

I intend to write back to them to say that had I realised what the policy was then a) I would have claimed for the two periods of unemployment due to redundancy in both 1991 and 2001 and b) I would have cancelled the policy in 2002 when I went self-employed.

A friend of mine was approached in store in November and decided to take out the &More card. I mentioned about the PPI and she said that she had questioned the girl promoting the card who really couldn't explain what it was but that it was a very good benefit to have. My friend wanted more details so another assistant was called over who said that it was an insurance policy that they were told to recommend to customers taking out the card. He disagreed with the push on the insurance policy and that is why he refused to promote the card as part of his job. She did call the next day to make sure that it was recorded that she definitely did not want the cover.

Grrrrrr

cobster

Well I did write back to them and got a response basically saying that as I had not asked the question before they can not now accept that I was mis-sold. Their computer says I asked for it when I applied - so of course that can't be wrong!! However, the letter they sent me was on plain paper - they'd forgotten to put the headed paper in the printer. Operator error or computer error??? They did say that if I don't agree with their findings then I need to take it to the Ombudsman, which I am happy to do. However, I feel like writing back to them for a) a copy of the application form where I opted in to PPI, b) confirmation that it was something I had to opt in to and not out of and c) a copy of the literature that was around at the time of my applying so I can see how clearly PPI was explained.

I want to cancel my card with them becausel using it regardless of getting points from it leaves me with a nasty taste. I feel unvalued by them! But if I cancel it now would it cause problems with taking my case to the Ombudsman? Or should I just wait and leave it dormant until the situation is concluded?

Anyone else had any success with claiming PPI from M&S?

missile

My wife had a dispute with &More. They were unable to produce their copy of the signed agreement. After countless letters, e mails and phone calls, we got nowhere. Complained to the Ombudsman and got compensation within two weeks.

Like you they tried to suggest it was her fault. She got compensation, but no appology. We cancelled our accounts.

cobster

Thanks for that Missile! Good to hear that someone has had a positive result from &More. I am definitely going to take it up with the Ombudsman.

robnye

go for it, wait until you are happy with there response, then cancel the card and make sure they no why

cobster

Hi. I've just received a response from the Ombudsman about my claim and they have said that it appears to have been sold by an Independent Financial Advisor and therefore is outside of their jurisdiction! It wasn't from an IFA - it was a form I was given in store. I am going to write back to them to explain as I am sure that PPI would have been an option that you had to opt out of rather than opt in. Any thoughts on whether it is worth pursuing?