Mortgage Payment Protection Plan
Sluicer
Forumite 10 Posts
Hi everyone - I hope someone can explain how I resolve the following:
Our mortgage completed in 2017, and for a number of years I had a mortgage payment protection plan in place with Legal & General. At the time the mortgage ended, for whatever reason, the protection plan was never cancelled. As the premiums were small(ish) this had lain un-noticed until last week. I was tidying up old paperwork (trying to occupy my mind after the sudden death of my mother), and discovered the renewal documents for the policy from last year. I checked my bank statement, and the penny finally dropped. I called L&G, spoke to a very nice lady who kindly terminated the policy. THEN, she uttered the words which (I didn't realise at the time) would cause me pain. "If you send us a copy of the mortgage redemption letter, and a copy of your credit report, we can reimburse your payments from the date your mortgage ended".
I was quite pleased to hear this, and with an explanation of what do I thanked her and ended the call. I traced the redemption letter from our lender, then revealed the two counterfoils for the funds transfers for both the mortgage and the further advance we took out - both clearly showing the corresponding account numbers, as well as the dates the funds were transferred. I scanned these documents, and saved them in readiness for forwarding to L&G.
That was when the fun started. I then tried to retrieve my credit report. Firstly, I tried Experian. Failed straight away. I ended-up ringing their helpline to ask why I couldn't validate my new Experian account. It transpired that I have such a 'thin' credit file, that they wouldn't let me have an account. Apparently, now having used credit since 2005 means there hasn't been enough activity on my file to generate a report. The call agent at Experian then said I could still apply for a free credit report from them without opening an account, which I did. That arrived a few days later - with no references to a mortgage. At first, I appumed this would be a good thing, given that there wre no mortgage payment records against my name.
I tried ClearScore, and got an online report which said virtually the same as that produced by Experian. Feeling cautiously optimistic and assuming I'd met my part of the deal, I sent everything I had to L&G via their encrypted email system.
I received a reply from L&G today, saying the credit reports are unsatisfactory/unacceptable, as there is no proof I have finished paying a mortgage or any evidence I haven't got another mortgage (!!) The redemption letter from the lender is also unacceptable because the address wasn't visible. They recommended I open an account with Equifax, and get a full credit report from them, as they have accepted these in the past for this purpose. The trouble with that is, just in case one of the reports from Experian & ClearScore wouldn't suffice, I'd already tried Equifax. My credit file is apparently so 'thin' that their records couldn't confirm I'd actually lived in the house I own for any of the (near) thirty I've been here!! Earlier today, I tried Equifax again, in the vain attempt to at least get something from them. After three attempts to open an account to start a request for a full report, I was met with a message saying the account was locked and I needed to contact their call centre between 9am and 5pm. This was at 5:17pm!! Can anyone sense the frustration yet?!
I should add that after being sold an endowment mortgage back in 1992 which we had confirmed a number of years later was predicted to yield a shortfall, we did *everything* to ensure we met the repayments and addressed the possible shortfall on both the mortgage and further advance with a top-up Friends Life endowment. It paid out more than the actual shortfall on the mortgage, while the further advance actually ended-up in surplus. We never missed a single repayment, nor have we ever missed any premium payments to Legal & General. I've just reached the stage with this where I'm wishing L&G's call agent should never have told us we would get a refund if these were the steps they would use to prevent us receiving it. There doesn't appear to be any need for this.
What have I done wrong, or what is it I need to do to
resolve this? I can't help thinking there are goalposts being moved
beyond my vision.
0
Latest MSE News and Guides
Childcare budget boost
More support for children from nine months and those on Universal Credit
MSE News
Replies
Just tried TransUnion. There was insufficient information about me to complete an online credit report apparently. The only other option they offer is to download & print an application form & send it to them in the post - which I've now done. I wish I knew the right way to put the query into google to get the right answer - but the uniqueness of this situation leads me to believe there probably isn't a definitive solution. I've emailed L&G and explained exactly what I've done and that there's very little I can now supply them with. I really don't know what else I can do now
Even based on the information I gave them to allow me to create an account, Experian & Equifax stopped me from completing the process. They both apparently (this is what both their online systems tell me) stopped their account creation procedures because they can't positively identify me from the information I gave - I essentially don't exist on any of their search systems due to my credit file being so thin (no CCJs, no credit cards, no missed payments, no overdraft, no mortgage, no outstanding loans, no credit - at all). That issue is apparently preventing the type of search which would show the details L&G require to refund my premiums. They're not looking for credit scores, etc., they're looking for evidence I've NOT got a mortgage. I (naively it now seems) assumed that a credit record with no signs of anything to do with a mortgage would suffice. I was wrong. They are apparently bound by anti-money laundering legislation which demands these requirements are met before they can release funds in this way. I say 'apparently' because hey, I'm new to this town and I really don't know any different than what I am being told. I suppose this is what happens when you try to pay bills when they are due, not owe anyone anything and try to stay out of any financial trouble. Well it seems to have failed, doesn't it?