PPI questions from Bank

AJN1701

Hi, I put in PPI claim in August and this week I have finally received phone calls from HSBC. I was asked some very  closed, direct questions about when I got my loan and credit card (both had PPI attached). I took out the loan & credit card in very early 2000s; nearly 20 years ago. So I couldn’t remember, for example, whether I applied in branch or by post. I also wasn’t sure if the PPI had actually been discussed with me. Will my uncertainty about this information affect my claim?
Thanks.

[Deleted User]

No. Only if you make something up that is later shown to be a lie.

Just tell them what you do remember.

dunstonh

 was asked some very  closed, direct questions about when I got my loan and credit card (both had PPI attached).

As to be expected. 

I took out the loan & credit card in very early 2000s; nearly 20 years ago. So I couldn’t remember, for example, whether I applied in branch or by post. I also wasn’t sure if the PPI had actually been discussed with me. Will my uncertainty about this information affect my claim?

No.   People who claim perfect recollection actually do more damage than good.   You are not expected to have perfect recollection.   That said, if your complaint stated things as fact, then claiming poor recollection on the phone would go against you.  However, claiming something as fact that cannot be proven is even more damaging.  Even more so if the opposite can be proven as it removes credibility.

Whether PPI was discussed or not will not be a strong complaint reason.   It is something that cannot be proven either way and its not something that results in success normally (on that particular reason).

Rach1999

I eventually decided to submit PPI claims last year. So far everything is just pending - awaiting responses from either the lender or the regulator. However where I have had responses, in both cases the lender has verified that I had a relevant financial product with them, but that as the claims date back to the early 2000s, they have not retained my records. In one case they have closed my complaint on the basis that they cannot say if PPI was taken out. In the other, they told me it was my fault for not claiming earlier and that I must have seen all the publicity about PPI and therefore have an invalid claim. Neither of these responses seem to me like they are being “helpful” which I understood they had been instructed to be? Before I get the next, inevitable rejection letter, what is the best course of action on these two? Thank you. 

brettcta

Well for the first one, the only course of action is to provide statements evidencing the PPI you paid on the account. Banks are advised by the FCA to delete records 6 years after the account closed and whilst most of the time records still exist there’s no requirement for them to keep them longer than they need to but if you have documentation, they’ll re-PPE your complaint.

on the 2nd point, that sounds like you’ve been time-barred. If this is the case, they’d have written to you a number of years ago inviting you to make a complaint about the sale and giving you three years from the date of the letter to complain. If you didn’t lodge a complaint on those 3 years (which you haven’t) and you were still at the same address they wrote to, then it’s game over, thanks for playing. The FOS won’t overturn a valid time bar.

Whether or not you find this helpful is neither here nor there, they don’t appear to have done anything wrong and you’re looking to be bang out of luck on both counts

dunstonh

 In one case they have closed my complaint on the basis that they cannot say if PPI was taken out. In the other, they told me it was my fault for not claiming earlier and that I must have seen all the publicity about PPI and therefore have an invalid claim. 

The PPI issue was going on for over 15 years.  As data protection rules require them to destroy records no longer required, the longer you leave it, the more likely it is that records will no longer exist.   So, they do have a point.

 Neither of these responses seem to me like they are being “helpful” which I understood they had been instructed to be? 

How are they not helpful?   A factual statement of the position is helpful.   You may not like the answer but it doesn't mean it is not helpful.

Before I get the next, inevitable rejection letter, what is the best course of action on these two? 

Use your own records to supply them with any evidence of its existence.   If neither you or they have any records, then its usually game over.