PPI Authority Expiring

[Andyroid]

Hi, I know there has been a lost posted regarding this, but I'd like some advice. Back in 2012 I signed with Fast Track reclaim to pursue some PPI for me. I was under a lot of pressure at work, and like many people I figured 80 odd percent was better than nothing. A couple of claims were upheld, i got my money and paid the fees. Some were rejected. About four weeks ago I got a letter from my bank saying that an original claim that was rejected has now been upheld, and I received compensation. I have just got a letter from Fast Track demanding 25% plus VAT for the successful claim they have made on my behalf. I can only assume my bank contacted them in some way. I have two questions, 1. can they come after me after nearly 10 years? and 2. Does the cap of 20% plus VAT for fees apply in this case? I'm being threatened with court, so I don't want to have them trash my good credit rating. Any advice would be much appreciated. Many thanks

[EXC]

It might all depend on why the bank decided the claim was now upheld after all this time. Can you post up the text of the letter from them?

[Andyroid]

Hi
Thank you
The letter from the bank says that the initial claim was rejected, however they have subsequently reviewed their records and have decided that there is compensation to pay, hence crediting me with compensation. To be honest I'd completely forgotten about the whole thing as it's been so long.
I'm not even sure how FastTrack found out, I'm assuming the bank contacted them.
If they're due the fee, then they're due it, but given so long has expired and given that they haven't contacted me in any way since 2012 I'm loathe to do so.
Hope that makes it a little clearer?
Andrew

[EXC]

I'd really need to see the text of the letter if you can post it up. The wording of why they decided to review it is important.

Also you need to contact your bank and question why they have informed Fast Track about the compensation offer as usually letters of authority (which they would have had for the claim originally) usually only have a 6 month lifespan before they have to be renewed.

[Andyroid]

Hi so the verbatim text of the letter is:

Dear Mr XXX
Your Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) policy with RBS credit card number **** **** ****

As part of our ongoing commitment to customers, we have undertaken a further review of our
original decision issued to you on 09/01/2013 regarding your above noted PPI complaint.
In our original decision we stated that your PPI policy was not mis-sold, however following this
review, your complaint has now been upheld and we will pay you the following redress.

Your Refund
Your refund amount, net of any income tax, has been calculated as XXXXX and
takes into consideration:
All PPI premiums paid, including:
Any erroneous overlimit fees paid as a result of the PPI premiums
o Any compound interest charged on the PPI premiums or erroneous overlimit
fees, based upon the interest rate charged on the credit card
In addition, and in line with Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) and the Financial Conduct
Authority (FCA) guidance, we have applied additional statutory interest where applicable. Gross
interest is paid at 15% up to 31" March 1993 and 8% from the 1st April 1993.

What happens next?
As you hold an account with us, we will credit this within 28 days from the date of this letter. You
do not need to take any action as this will be done automatically. The payment will appear on
your statement with our PPI reference quoted at the top of this letter. If you are in arrears, this
payment will be used to reduce the amount of those arrears. The remaining balance of payment,
if any, will then be paid to you. Please note in some instances it may be necessary to issue
payment by cheque.
If you believe there were other factors that should have been taken into account that would alter
the calculation please write to us to outline them, enclosing copies of any evidence available. We
must receive this within 6 months of the date of this letter to be considered.

Points to consider
Please note, we will also arrange to pay Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC) the tax
calculated on the gross statutory interest. HMRC regard any statutory interest payable as part of
our refund as income, therefore tax is due to be paid on that income. A HMRC ruling, effective
from 19 October 2013, details that statutory interest payments must be paid net of the lower rate
of income tax, currently 20%, irrespective of your personal tax status.

As we are unable to provide any tax advice, if you believe you should be exempt from paying
tax, are required to complete a tax return or pay a higher rate of income tax, you should contact
HMRC direct to discuss this further, following payment.

Please note, if you are, or have been, subject to an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA).
Protected Trust Deed, Bankruptcy or Sequestration, any monies due may be required to be paid
to your insolvency practitioner. Failing to do so may result in the failure of your arrangement or
further action being taken against you. If we identify you are subject to any of these
arrangements, any acceptance and/or payment account details you provide will be deemed as
invalid and a copy of this letter will be sent to your Insolvency Practitioner. On receipt of their
authorisation we will arrange for payment to be made in accordance with their instructions.

If you have signed an agreement with a third party company appointing them to deal with your
complaint, please be aware that it is our policy to make redress payments directly to you as our
customer. It is then your responsibility to advise the third party company of the settlement and to
pay any fees that may be due to them under your agreement with them.

If you are not satisfied with our decision, you have the right to refer your complaint to the
Financial Ombudsman Service, free of charge - but you must do so within six months of the date
of this letter. If you do not refer your complaint in time, the Ombudsman will not have our
permission to consider your complaint and will only be able to do so in very limited
circumstances. For example, if the Ombudsman believes that the delay was as a result of
exceptional circumstances......

Although it mentions a third party, to be honest I'd completely forgotten about Fast Track as it's been so long, and I certainly haven't
instructed them to do any further work on my behalf.
I haven't contacted them though, so I can only assume the bank has?
As I mentioned before, if they're due a fee, then I'll have to pay it, however, given the length of time that's gone, I'm loathe to do so

Any advice you can give would be really appreciated.
Best Regards
Andy

[EXC]

On this part

If you have signed an agreement with a third party company appointing them to deal with your
complaint, please be aware that it is our policy to make redress payments directly to you as our
customer. It is then your responsibility to advise the third party company of the settlement and to
pay any fees that may be due to them under your agreement with them.

You need to complain to your bank that despite them implying that they wouldn't advise the CMC of the settlement, they clearly have. You also need to raise the issue of whatever letter of authority they had from Fast Track would necessarily have been out of date. You need to ask for the LOA and the letter they would have sent to Fast Track notifying them of the settlement.

Until you get a response I wouldn't contact Fast Track.

[Andyroid]

Thank you for the advice. I have been in touch with RBS. My only concern now is that I am receiving four or five threatening calls from Fast Track each day, so I hope RBS respond soon as they are threatening legal action and trashing my credit........

[EXC]

Make a formal complaint to them (and then the ombudsman if necessary) and it should kick the collection activity into touch pending the outcome. You'll be buying time that costs you nothing.

In the meantime a complaint to your bank might even yield some compensation.

[Andyroid]

Hi
So, wanted to Thank You so very much for the very helpful advice. Very much appreciated.
I did as you suggested.
Fast Track are investigating, so currently not harrassing me.
I have received a reply from RBS, who have looked into my complaint.
Their reply reads:
"Please accept my sincere apologies that you are being threatened by Fast Track Reclaim. However wo have not been in contact with them, and they have not contacted the PPI Department since 2013 when your original PPI complaint was rejected. We do not have any recent correspondence or LOA from Fast Track Reclaim to send to you. The offer letter was sent only to you due to the time elapsed since Fast Track Reclaim first represented you. This was a pro-active review carried out by the Bank. We only contact our customers directly, unless they have provided us with a new LOA form from their representative.
I have contacted all areas of the department including our Third Party Engagement Team who have all confirmed that they have not been in contact with Fast Track Reclaim in regards to the amended decision....."

If that's the case then I'm at something of a loss as to how Fast Track were informed, and, given the text of the above, I'm of the opinion that I don't owe them?

If you have any more helpful advice or a steer, then I'd be very grateful
Andrew

[EXC]

Well done for getting that from RBS which is very helpful to your case.

Typically LOAs are only valid for 6 months before banks ask for an updated one. As they've indicated, they didn't have one so you can argue that your contractual obligations to Fast Track with respect to that particular claim expired when the LOA did.

I think that if it came to it, the Ombudsman would take the view that Fast Track didn't do any work in relation to the amended decision and that they shouldn't charge accordingly.

As to how Fast Track knew about the amended decision, I've often come across instances where the only explanation can be that bank staff are flogging this kind of info to dodgy CMCs.

I would keep the RBS letter up your sleeve for now and wait for Fast Track's response to your complaint as it might contain something that would strengthen your position further.

[Andyroid]

Thank you for the advice. I'll follow that and see where it leads. Really appreciate all the assistance, you've been brilliant!
Definitely a site and service worth contributing to.
Best Regards
Andy