PPI Refund Withheld :( What should I do?

[fair_resolution]

Hi all, I'm so glad I've found you!

Does anyone have any experience or can offer advice for this please?

In Feb '11 I was made an offer for a mis-sold PPI policy. I duly returned the customer acceptance form (edited to reflect the banks response over alleged loan arrears that never were) and waited for the refund to be paid into the current account I held with the same bank I had the loan with.

No refund was received but action was taken against me for an overdraft which would not exist had the PPI refund been paid into the overdrawn account as requested. I stated time and time again with each contact the bank made about the overdraft that the PPI refund was imminent (I stupidly had faith the bank would pay) and that this payment would be more than sufficient to cover the overdrawn amount. I also informed the bank that due to previous errors they had made, I was in a financial hardship situation but was willing to offer £1 a month until the PPI refund was paid. This offer was refused and action to recover the overdraft amount continued. Three Default Notices, four debt collection agencies, over a hundred calls and letters from the bank, a diagnosed stress related illness and still no refund.

An investigation by the Financial Ombudsman Service which found the bank to be at fault but did not take my other financial losses into consideration (bank charges incurred for going into unauthorised borrowing by less than the amount of the monthly PPI cost, so no PPI = no charges incurred) has now concluded but I am unable to accept the decision as I've been advised that the findings amount to Direct Discrimination under the 2010 Equality Act.
FOS's final decision also overlooked key evidence that I supplied and separate issues that I was advised by the adjudicator could not be considered as part of the PPI claim but still had a bearing on the complaint, i.e. the cause of the overdraft being the £1180.72 incorrectly debited from my account over a period of 12 months, discovered from statements supplied by bank as part of a SAR).

I informed the bank with each contact made that the account was in dispute in light of the unpaid PPI refund and requested that further action be halted until the dispute was settled. Internal emails I received from the bank as part of the SAR stated that it was against company policy to place an account on hold during a dispute, so action continued until late 2013 when all went quiet after I told FOS of the harassment I was subject to because of the unpaid PPI refund.

It is painfully obvious that I will probably have to try the small claims court to get the PPI refund at least, but is there anything else I should be claiming for?
And, as I stew over the Letter Before Action, am I required to cite all the ICOBS, BCOBS, SYSC's, CCA and DPA that have been breached?

I apologise if this is not the sort of post that should be posted but I am now so disillusioned and confused I have no idea where to go or what to do, especially in light of talk that the banks are looking to cap PPI refunds and claims after 2015.

Please help, am happy to consider all options at this stage! Thank you for reading

[leclerc]

Re: PPI Refund Withheld What should I do?

You don't have a case in the courts for PPI, I'm afraid because an individual cannot take a case to court on PPI.

Unfortunately, you've gone through the FOS which kinda means that you've arrived after the horse has bolted.

My hindsight viewpoint is that you should have been here is 2011 when they refused to pay out or were slow in doing so, because we could have helped. When you were in financial hardship, we could have helped. Unfortunately, I suspect that they will keep all the PPI refund to repay all outstanding charges and loans etc etc and this is the point where you have asked for help and I don't think we can help now since you have arrived too late. All I can say is.....if only you arrived here sooner.

[leclerc]

Re: PPI Refund Withheld What should I do?

One last thought came to mind and that is about whether your case was arguing Maladministration of the account on the basis of the 2011 evidence?
The offer of £1.00 does not show a working knowledge of the Lending Code section 9 which relates to financial hardship(that bit I'm pretty good at)....


One last thing, where does the equality act 2010 come in?(that bit of the post has me intrigued)

[fair_resolution]

Re: PPI Refund Withheld What should I do?

Hi, thank you for replying. You're very correct in that I should have found you sooner. If only the banks would add Legal Beagles in their list of places to go for advice as FOS alone are obviously not enough!
Looking at Section 9 of the Lending Code was an eye opener, all the things that were not offered but would've helped enormously if they had.

The disproportionate bank charges levied for going overdrawn by less than the cost of the monthly PPI policy fee were the additional financial losses I was claiming for through FOS but they did not consider the evidence I supplied and even went on to suggest "If the charges were charged at all..." So much for impartiality.

The Adjudicator eventually (after much questioning) advised that should I wish to take the matter to court I should not accept FOS's final decision as by doing so the Courts would not even look at the case.

A local solicitor has advised there is a case as I have been treated unfairly in being pursued for the £386 overdraft during a time where the account is in dispute and when a PPI refund of £4200 was being withheld from the overdrawn account. Apparently a court should decide that the withheld PPI refund should be paid with an additional 8% per annum simple interest.

The solicitor also kindly told me that the cost of employing them would outweigh any compensation won so I'm best off going to the small claims court.

Maladministration sounds very appropriate, I have documented proof of that as well as I discovered that Santander had also taken £1180 from my account years ago over a period of months when I was not receiving regular statements due to Santander sending them to the wrong address.

So many errors have been made by Santander that have left me hugely out of pocket, I am tempted to list them all, if nothing else, just to shame them and help others avoid the same traps.

Santanders actions over the last four years have left me with a Microademoma (very small tumour) on the Pituitary Gland which severely limits my ability to find the energy to fight this. Again, I have been advised to go for a Personal Injury claim against Santander but due to the financial circumstances they have left me in, I am unable to afford the legal representation required and cannot find Pro Bono anywhere in South West England.

The Equality Act issue is something I am going to take to them though. When I have and know the result, Legal Beagles will be the first to know as it may help other consumers caught in the same situation.

As for evidence...Santander regularly provide me with useable evidence, as recently as last week so am tempted to sock them with Section 10 as the bank account is still in dispute!

Thanks again for your reply...off to read up on Maladministration...! :tinysmile_aha_t: