Ex Husband wants a share of PPI

Nbg

My wife had a successful PPI claim against Barclays for her 'Additions' account (for many years paid a monthly fee) back in 2017. The account had previously been in her name & that of her ex husband, however after divorce in 2013 he voluntarily came off the account, in the same year. He has recently emailed my wife claiming that she has committed fraud as the money the bank paid directly into her account should have been split 50 50. The money was paid directly from Barclays to her account & she made the claim. She originally opened the account in 1993 on her own, long before she met & married her now ex husband. Does he have a claim given that his name was on the account from 2005 until 2013.

brettcta

Yea he does, however his ire should be pointed at Barclays. If the account was joint for a period that was covered in the mis-sale complaint then he is entitled to half, however the bank shouldn’t have paid your wife 100% of the redress.

he should contact Barclays and ask them to pay him his half, that is if your wife didn’t sign a disclaimer, which some banks do, which says that the emphasis for splitting redress, should the need arise, is on the complainant and not the bank. If this is the case and she signed a legal waiver, then she is legally liable and will have to pay him his half of any redress they were both due.

Nbg

Thank you for the quick reply. The only paperwork we filled out were the pro formas on this site. The bank acknowledged our letters and eventually paid the money directly into our account. Just to confirm, his 'argument' is with Barclays, not us (before I 'calmly', respond to his obnoxious email!)?

brettcta

Nbg said:

Thank you for the quick reply. The only paperwork we filled out were the pro formas on this site. The bank acknowledged our letters and eventually paid the money directly into our account. Just to confirm, his 'argument' is with Barclays, not us (before I 'calmly', respond to his obnoxious email!)?

He should initially direct his complaint at Barclays but as I say, if your wife’s signed a waiver as part of the acceptance forms then she will be liable.

dunstonh

PPI is refunded to the policyholder and it doesn't matter whether the account it was paid from was sole, joint or third party.  It is the policyholder that matters.
PBA complaints have nothing to do with PPI.

Does he have a claim given that his name was on the account from 2005 until 2013.

Potentially yes, he does as there is joint and equal liability during that period.  However, it is not necessarily as clear cut as that as the divorce settlement may have had certain instructions on it that split things differently. 

Just to confirm, his 'argument' is with Barclays, not us (before I 'calmly', respond to his obnoxious email!)?

I disagree that it is to do with Barclays.   They paid it back to the account it was taken from.  That is normally how it works.  This scenario is an unusual one and that is why it is more complicated.

If he goes back to Barclays and they agree with him that he should have been refunded 50% for the period that he was on the account, they will claw back that amount from your wife.  They won't just pay him and let her keep hers.  However, he is not an account holder currently and has no right to obtain information on the account. So, Barclays may tell him that he needs her signature to release information to him.

Alternatively, take a look at the terms of the divorce settlement and see if anything in that fits the bill.

He has recently emailed my wife claiming that she has committed fraud 

That is complete and utter rubbish.    She is the account holder.  No fraud has been committed.  This is just a dispute on whether the ex is entitled to an amount or not.   

Nbg

Thank you for the reply, I appreciate your time. That's kind of what we were thinking re the 'fraud' side of things but it's nice to have that backed up. Spent around an hour & a half on the phone to Barclays a few days ago, they dont appear to think theres anything wrong so I think it's ok.