Black Horse have 'compensated' me on overpaid car finance interest out of the blue without prompt

whatsgoingon77

I had been wondering about the mis-selling of car finance that has been widely publicised and wondered if it applied to me, but hadn't done anything.  Anyway, out of the blue last week, I got a unprompted letter from Black Horse saying they had overcharged me interest on an old agreement and were going to issue a cheque for c. £57.  A couple of days later, lo and behold - I got the cheque (also telling me to cash it within 6 months).  Are they trying to pull something here or should I just accept their calculations and move on?  Anyone got any thoughts?

subjecttocontract

Ask them to provide the calculations so that you can get your accountant to check their figures.
Others might suggest not looking a gift horse etc......

dunstonh

I had been wondering about the mis-selling of car finance that has been widely publicised and wondered if it applied to me, but hadn't done anything

As the FCA have yet to publish their report into this and the complaints process is on hold, nobody has really done anything about it.

Anyway, out of the blue last week, I got a unprompted letter from Black Horse saying they had overcharged me interest on an old agreement and were going to issue a cheque for c. £57.  A couple of days later, lo and behold - I got the cheque (also telling me to cash it within 6 months).  Are they trying to pull something here or should I just accept their calculations and move on?  Anyone got any thoughts?

That is a totally unrelated issue.   Mostly likely caused by a difference in the number of days you paid in the settlement month.

Cheques are only valid for 6 months.  So, a useful reminder as so many people have forgotten about the rules around cheques.

whatsgoingon77

dunstonh said:

I had been wondering about the mis-selling of car finance that has been widely publicised and wondered if it applied to me, but hadn't done anything

As the FCA have yet to publish their report into this and the complaints process is on hold, nobody has really done anything about it.

Anyway, out of the blue last week, I got a unprompted letter from Black Horse saying they had overcharged me interest on an old agreement and were going to issue a cheque for c. £57.  A couple of days later, lo and behold - I got the cheque (also telling me to cash it within 6 months).  Are they trying to pull something here or should I just accept their calculations and move on?  Anyone got any thoughts?

That is a totally unrelated issue.   Mostly likely caused by a difference in the number of days you paid in the settlement month.

Cheques are only valid for 6 months.  So, a useful reminder as so many people have forgotten about the rules around cheques.

I am aware that there has been no final decision by the FCA, but wondered if Black Horse were pre-empting a potential decision that might cause them to have to pay out more to customers?  "A totally unrelated issue" - seems rather suspiciously timed to me!  The agreement ran out over a decade ago.  

dunstonh

I am aware that there has been no final decision by the FCA, but wondered if Black Horse were pre-empting a potential decision that might cause them to have to pay out more to customers? 

No they are not.    

 "A totally unrelated issue" - seems rather suspiciously timed to me!  The agreement ran out over a decade ago.  

Financial companies are paying out money for things decades before that.    FCA rules require any systems error with the potential for repeats across other consumers to be checked proactively and corrected.

So, it could be a new system has highlighted a fault from an older one. Or it could be another customer found a fault, which then led to the check on others in a similar situation.

There is nothing suspicious in the slightest about the timing, as a payment now would not avoid or reduce BH of any liability.

whatsgoingon77

Anyone else out there with a view on this?

Nasqueron

What other view do you need? They have sent you a letter explaining why they are compensating you, it has coincided with an unrelated matter. Why would they pay out now for something that isn't even decided or clear if they would even have to pay anything? The FCA would not allow them to issue a cheque for some low value and then somehow bar you from compensation after their consultation.

whatsgoingon77

 Nasqueron said:

What other view do you need? They have sent you a letter explaining why they are compensating you, it has coincided with an unrelated matter. Why would they pay out now for something that isn't even decided or clear if they would even have to pay anything? The FCA would not allow them to issue a cheque for some low value and then somehow bar you from compensation after their consultation.

Most sensible people prefer to hear the views of a range of others and not simply take the word of one or two.  Anyway, this was obviously a complete waste of time.  I can now see the types of people that peruse these forums!  Don't bother replying, as I won't ever be logging back in again.

Hoenir

whatsgoingon77 said:

Anyone else out there with a view on this?

Finance is a highly regulated and suupervised sector. Quicker and cheaper for companies to simply rectify errors in  generous manner than get embroiled in micro discussions with every individual account holder. Bank the cheque and move on. 

givenupwork

I too got a cheque after sending martins letter. So advice is; cash it, it’s not for car finance issue. Make sure they have given a receipt for martins letter & continue to keep a tab on it?

Arents

An unexpected case, my friends never received compensation