Halifax TMP

allyearsleaving

I took out TMP alongside my mortgage with Halifax in 2008. I sold the property in 2019 and paid off the mortgage. I got in touch with them twice afterwards to cancel the policy. I had no mortgage, no kids and didn’t feel like I needed this anymore. On the first call it felt like I was given the hard sell on the life insurance element of it and how it was still relevant to me. I then called back up and said I wanted to cancel it. Fast forward to last month, I realised I was still paying for it.

I’ve reached out to them (that was a mission and a half to get a hold of anyone!) and they have said they have a record of the 1st call but not of the 2nd. I’ve made a complaint as I had asked for it to be cancelled and it wasn’t the right product for me any longer. 

Has anyone else had experience of this previously? I can see a few policy issues people have had but none where it continued beyond the mortgage. I’m not sure if this then constitutes missold? 

dunstonh

Has anyone else had experience of this previously

Probably not as most people would cancel the direct debit at the same time if they no longer wanted it.

I can see a few policy issues people have had but none where it continued beyond the mortgage. I’m not sure if this then constitutes missold? 

Lots of people retain their life assurance beyond their mortgage being repaid.  There is no expectation or requirement for the lender to notify the life assurance company that you have repaid your mortgage.  It would be wrong for a life assurance company to cancel it just because the mortgage no longer exists.  So,no. There is no misselling.

The only area of issue is your claim of a second phone call telling them to cancel it.   you say you did that. They have no record of that.  So, you are stuck in a deadlock there.      Impossible to call the outcome of those as they are either settled on a the balance of probability or a pro-active decision if its not much involved and quicker to settle than argue.

DullGreyGuy

allyearsleaving said:

Has anyone else had experience of this previously? I can see a few policy issues people have had but none where it continued beyond the mortgage. I’m not sure if this then constitutes missold? 

The most over used word/phrase on this site!

How can what happened upon the early settlement of your mortgage be considered "mis-selling? It didnt happen until 11 years after the sale. 

Depending on what's happened post sale the continued cover may or may not be relevant but as an unadvised sale its up to you to make that determination and cancel the policy if you deem its surplus to requirements or its better value to buy a replacement product for your changed needs. Your only complaint is that you instructed them to cancel but they failed to do so but given the duration you've left it is going to be very much a one persons word against the other and a big question mark on why you continued paying premiums for so long if you'd instructed it to be cancelled... starts sound more like someone chancing it, especially if you start talking about mis-sold, because they've been fortunate enough not to need to claim so now regret the premiums. 

allyearsleaving

Thanks for coming back to me. Completely agree I wasn’t missold when I took it out with the mortgage. Absolutely needed it then. It was the conversations afterwards where I informed them I had no mortgage, no dependants and no partner but did have a good salary which also included cover as a benefit as well as a pension. Realistically, my only cost would’ve been a funeral! Looking at their website, at that point I didn’t meet any of the reasons they detail on their website why you should take it out. The call notes they have on record do show that I had advised them of my current position and they reiterated the benefits. The other call, you’re right it will be my version against theirs.  

There was definitely a naivety on my part for assuming they had cancelled it and I’m kicking myself that I didn’t check the old account. However, I do still think they’ve been a bit naughty with the conversations we’ve had. 

dunstonh

It was the conversations afterwards where I informed them I had no mortgage, no dependants and no partner but did have a good salary which also included cover as a benefit as well as a pension. 

Those conversations are irrelevant.    

. Realistically, my only cost would’ve been a funeral!

That is the life assurance element.  What about the other elements?

 Looking at their website, at that point I didn’t meet any of the reasons they detail on their website why you should take it out. The call notes they have on record do show that I had advised them of my current position and they reiterated the benefits. The other call, you’re right it will be my version against theirs.

Your current position doesn't matter to them.  They are not authorised or regulated to give you advice or opinion.   They just take instruction from you and give out risk warnings based on those instructions.

If they had offered opinions or advice, then they would have been in breach of their regulatory permissions.    

So, what you expect from them and what they are actually able to do are two different things.    If you failed to give them an instruction to cancel, they will not cancel.