PPI enquiry confusion - Woolwich/Barclays

Hello,

Earlier in the year I was contacted by a PPI claims company (through Unite) to find out if I would like a free PPI check?

I told them I thought it was very unlikely that I had been mis sold PPI as I had been self employed for many years and was aware that PPI was not applicable to the self employed.

However they convinced me that it was worth enquiring, so I gave them all my details, and after a week or two they came back to me to say that we (my ex husband & I ) had paid ppi I on a Woolwich/Barclays (tracker with loan pot) mortgage taken out in 2002 and still running.

I was very surprised about this, as the mortgage was on a shop...the shop from which we traded and derived our income as self employed people. It was our Barclays business banker who suggested the mortgage to us.

At this point I decided that if I had a valid reason to complain about mis sold PPI I could do it myself. I filled in Barclays online enquiry form - they have two. I used the first general one. because the second one, although it mentions Woolwich loans, says the first one should be used for Woolwich mortgages.

I got a reply from Barclays today but there is no mention of the mortgage, just an old Egg card, and if I remember correctly I cancelled the PPI on that one month after I took it out, when I saw it on my first statement.

I phoned up the contact number on the Barclays letter to ask why there was no mention of the Woolwich/Barclays mortgage, but all the guy could say was that the claims company must have made a mistake! This is unlikely as the claims company came back to me with account info that they had not got directly from me.

So I'm wondering what to do next? Fill in the second enquiry form on the Barclays site or go straight into making a claim using the info from the claims company? Is it better to use Barclays online claim form or the Resolver one?

Any advise from those who have done this would be much appreciated, thank you.
«13

Comments

  • Don't use a claims company, they'll take half your money if any is due.

    I've been using resolver. It sends the complaint to the right address so no getting it wrong.
  • Some points to note;
    There was never any need to use a company to check if you had PPI, they do nothing you cannot do yourself and for free.

    Mortgage PPI usually does cover the self employed, so do check that you definitely were not covered before making any complaint of that nature.
    MagWag wrote: »
    So I'm wondering what to do next? Fill in the second enquiry form on the Barclays site or go straight into making a claim using the info from the claims company?
    You need to do some proper research on this yourself.

    Do you really think a PPI claim company would provide all detail of a "potential" complaint? They just want you to sign up with them.

    You could and should have simply filled in the enquiry form on Barclays site in the first place.
    MagWag wrote: »
    Is it better to use Barclays online claim form or the Resolver one?
    Why are you insistent on using third parties rather than going directly? Resolver is just a E-Mail template and (though free) doesn't enhance a complaint in any way.
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 116,033
    Name Dropper First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Post
    Forumite
    Earlier in the year I was contacted by a PPI claims company (through Unite) to find out if I would like a free PPI check?

    Not surprised to see Unite involved. They get a cut of the CMC bill. Nice little earner for them.
    I told them I thought it was very unlikely that I had been mis sold PPI as I had been self employed for many years and was aware that PPI was not applicable to the self employed.
    That is actually not correct. Most PPI does cover the self employed fine. However, it is a significant minority that does not. You tend to find credit card or loan PPI is weak with self employed but Mortgage PPI is usually better quality and covers it.
    This is unlikely as the claims company came back to me with account info that they had not got directly from me.

    Barclays never bundled MPPI in with the mortgage. It was a separate direct debit. So, it should be easy for you to see if you had it or not.
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • MagWag
    MagWag Posts: 35
    First Anniversary First Post
    Forumite
    OK, thank you to everyone who has replied.

    Please Moneyineptitude, be more gentle with your language...I wasn't insistenton anything...just filling in the information on what had gone before:

    1) I didn't think I had ever had PPI
    2) A claims company said they could find out for me for free (so what's to lose)
    3) Claims company say that I did pay PPI on the mortgage (I didn't think I had, so it probably would have been miss sold)
    4) I fill in enquiry form on Barclays web site to check.
    5) Barclays say no record of PPI on mortgage.

    So I come to MSE to ask for advise on what to do next? What I did do next was to get down a BIG box of old paperwork and found the mortgage documents, and I can see no evidence of ever paying PPI. 'MortgageCare' was offered at an extra £60 a month, but we didn't take it.

    So the claims company 'found' a non existant PPI policy, and didn't find the EGG one...though as it's only 2 payments at most on that, say a tenner, I think it would not be worth the time to chase it up.

    Case closed...I can now forget about PPI and get on with my day. :-)
  • MagWag wrote: »
    Please Moneyineptitude, be more gentle with your language...I wasn't insistent on anything...just filling in the information on what had gone before:
    You documented using a claims company and then asked if it was better to use Resolver than go direct to Barclays. Since these are both unnecessary third parties, I was simply enquiring why you thought either of these was a somehow better option? In my opinion you seemed to be insisting on third parties rather than researching for yourself both accurately and for free.

    In the end, you didn't even have the phantom PPI which the company claimed you did. Doesn't this indicate to you that Claim Companies offering "free" PPI checks are a waste of time? The PPI they "find" is just bait to lure you into signing a very expensive contract with them.

    I see no "language" in my earlier post which was rude or disrespectful to you in any way? :eek:

    Good luck with your Egg complaint, by the way, but don't assume that it will be "only a tenner", as the 8% interest on that can mount up over the years.
  • MagWag
    MagWag Posts: 35
    First Anniversary First Post
    Forumite
    Moneyineptitude, it is your tone which is unnecessarily combative, which makes me, the enquirer seem foolish - intentional or not.

    I never considered using a claims company for anything other than research, but even if I did, that would be my own business and my own loss. I was not sure which form of enquiry was best, so am using MSE for research, by asking other people - please don't tell me off for doing this! I am not insistent on any thing other than that I am not insistent!

    I have had some informative replies from the forum for which I am most grateful :-)
  • MagWag wrote: »
    I never considered using a claims company for anything other than research
    I just want to emphasise PPI Claim companies do no "research" that cannot be done alone, for free and far more accurately.

    I am not criticising you for using a Claim Company merely aghast at your naivety in believing they would do anything that did not bring them easy (and massive) profit.

    CMCs have no specialist knowledge nor any exclusive investigative powers. The so-called free PPI "checks" are actually far less than you could have done yourself.

    These Companies just send the same kind of speculative letters of enquiry to financial institutions that anyone could send themselves.

    In your case, it's very suspicious that they "found" PPI that didn't exist. I don't think it's beyond the realms of possibility, therefore, that they did no actual research for you at all.

    Your thread stands (with many many others) as a warning not to use a CMC for anything
  • takman
    takman Posts: 3,876
    Combo Breaker First Post
    Forumite
    MagWag wrote: »
    2) A claims company said they could find out for me for free (so what's to lose)

    Well the first thing that comes to mind is giving out your personal information over the phone to an unsolicited caller and giving them permission to contact financial institutions on your behalf leaves you wide open to potential fraud if this information is misused.

    You then also have to deal with them calling you and sending you letters wanting you to continue with a claim, plus contact from any other third party they pass your information too.

    When you could have checked yourself just as easily.
  • takman wrote: »
    You then also have to deal with them calling you and sending you letters wanting you to continue with a claim, plus contact from any other third party they pass your information too.
    The OP still has this to come of course. I wonder how they'll respond to being informed that the PPI policy they "found" doesn't exist? I doubt it will stop them from spamming the OP with calls and letters. :(
  • Brie
    Brie Posts: 9,607
    Photogenic First Post Name Dropper First Anniversary
    Forumite
    MagWag wrote: »
    though as it's only 2 payments at most on that, say a tenner, I think it would not be worth the time to chase it up.


    Ok it's only a tenner. But how many years ago? And at 8% interest compounding? How much is your time worth?? Maybe you'll get twenty back - not a bad rate for an hour of your time.
    "Never retract, never explain, never apologise; get things done and let them howl.”
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 342.5K Banking & Borrowing
  • 249.9K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 234.6K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 607.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 172.8K Life & Family
  • 247.4K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.8K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards