Another PPI disaster with Halifax

[Simonistired]

Re: Another PPI disaster with Halifax

The following is the initial draft I have written to send to the CEO of Halifax and the CEO of the LloydsTSB group. Any thoughts would be welcome here (I have used XXXX in place of actual staff names):

Dear CEO
It is regret that I find myself contacting you regarding a complaint that was raised in December of 2012. The poor handling of this complaint by Halifax Staff has led to:
1: A formal complaint has been submitted to the Information Commissioners Office as a direct result of Halifax employees failing to follow current Data Protection Legislation.
2: A formal complaint has been submitted to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
I have enclosed copies of recent communication relating to this complaint, but in summary.
Point 1: Formal Complaint to the Information Commissioners office.
On the 17th of May I submitted a standard Data Subject Access Request to Halifax card services requesting specific information (I listed the information I required clearly in my DSAR) relating to one of my accounts. Halifax have a legal responsibility to supply ALL data that relates to an individual within 40 days. This simple request was not met as only copies of statements were provided, the 40 days have since passed and I have not received the relevant information.
I contacted Halifax again to explain that this request had not been met and the complaint was handled by XXXX XXXX. I was assured by XXXX that my complaint had been escalated to him and he had the authority to resolve the complaint - moreover, he would personally deal with it. He had every opportunity to resolve this by simply honoring the request, but again has failed to do so. Which is clear by his standard response letter. His involvement and failure to act appropriately has directly led to me submitting the formal complaint as he had every opportunity to supply the data but has failed to do so. Any complaint submitted to the ICO may lead to a fine and/or prosecution.
Point 2: A formal complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service
I have an ongoing complaint with Halifax Card Services regarding the mis-selling of PPI insurance on my credit card. This has been ongoing for many months, and to date I have had dealings with the following personnel:
XXXX XXXX
XXXX XXXX
XXXX XXXX
XXXX XXXX
My complaint relates to specific points about the process and the manner in which the complaint has been handled, both in general and by XXXX XXXX.
1: Throughout this complaint, on more than one occasion, specific points I have raised were either mis-represented or completely inaccurate in the responses form Halifax Employees.
2: It is very clear from the quality and wording used in all of the letters that “standard” replies are being used - albeit slightly re-worded - rather than the complaint being fully and accurately investigated.
3: Evidence Halifax staff have relied upon in making their decisions has not been made available to me, even after a direct request.
4: Statements from XXXX XXXX are both inaccurate and un-substantiated.
5: Halifax does not hold a copy of my original Credit Card Application form.
I have specifically requested copies of all evidence used by Halifax to reject my complaint. Nothing has been presented to me.
My original contract has not been produced, leading me to believe that it does not exist.
The response letters I have received have served only to delay the process further by me having to take advice and draft additional letters of complaint. It is because of these delays that I have been left with a matter of weeks to refer this complaint to the FOS and have felt it necessary to do so in order to not miss the deadline.
XXXX XXXX has made statements relating to a conversation that she was not witness to. It is difficult for me to understand the following statement when she was not present at the time of the conversation:
“In light of my findings, I feel that out adviser acted fairly and reasonably throughout the sale”
Despite extensive research, I have not found a single case in Law where the case has been successful using the following argument:
“I have investigate the complaint fully, and can find no reason to uphold your complaint” where no evidence has been supplied to support this statement other than a standard letter of response.
With regards to staff acting fairly or appropriately, recent press regarding LloydsTSB Group staff as highlighted by an undercover reporter clearly demonstrate that staff are either poorly trained and lacking in experience or have been directed to mis-inform and mis-lead customers to divert complaints. As highlighted here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22852554
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/22851346
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/lloyds-admi...3.html#BvGKxco
As LloydsTSB have publicly admitted that staff in their group misbehaved when dealing with customer complaints, what evidence exists to prove that other staff do not do the same, or had not done so in the past? This further removes confidence that staff act in good faith. My own experiences with the above mentioned staff supports the reporters point of view.
It has been accepted by the Financial Ombudsman Service following a land mark case that PPI has been mis-sold (and the need for the FSA to produce the Handbook on PPI Redress contained within PS 10/12) that the tactics used by staff to sell PPI has been mis-leading, un-informed and often dishonest. On cases from the LoydsTSB group that are referred to the Finical Ombudsman Service the FOS are ruling up to 98% (at least) in favour of the customer.
In light of all this evidence to support my complaint that I was mis-sold PPI (including my own stated account of what happened), and the fact that Halifax have, as yet, failed to produce a single piece of evidence to support its decision to reject my complaint, I find it difficult to believe that staff should leave me with no option but to refer this complaint to the FOS when it clearly states that all parties concerned should make every effort to resolve the dispute without the need to contact the FOS.

[SAVA05]

Re: Another PPI disaster with Halifax

The following is the initial draft I have written to send to the CEO of Halifax and the CEO of the LloydsTSB group. Any thoughts would be welcome here (I have used XXXX in place of actual staff names):

Dear CEO
It is regret that I find myself contacting you regarding a complaint that was raised in December of 2012. The poor handling of this complaint by Halifax Staff has led to:
1: A formal complaint has been submitted to the Information Commissioners Office as a direct result of Halifax employees failing to follow current Data Protection Legislation.
2: A formal complaint has been submitted to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
I have enclosed copies of recent communication relating to this complaint, but in summary.
Point 1: Formal Complaint to the Information Commissioners office.
On the 17th of May I submitted a standard Data Subject Access Request to Halifax card services requesting specific information (I listed the information I required clearly in my DSAR) relating to one of my accounts. Halifax have a legal responsibility to supply ALL data that relates to an individual within 40 days. This simple request was not met as only copies of statements were provided, the 40 days have since passed and I have not received the relevant information.
I contacted Halifax again to explain that this request had not been met and the complaint was handled by XXXX XXXX. I was assured by XXXX that my complaint had been escalated to him and he had the authority to resolve the complaint - moreover, he would personally deal with it. He had every opportunity to resolve this by simply honoring the request, but again has failed to do so. Which is clear by his standard response letter. His involvement and failure to act appropriately has directly led to me submitting the formal complaint as he had every opportunity to supply the data but has failed to do so. Any complaint submitted to the ICO may lead to a fine and/or prosecution.
Point 2: A formal complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service
I have an ongoing complaint with Halifax Card Services regarding the mis-selling of PPI insurance on my credit card. This has been ongoing for many months, and to date I have had dealings with the following personnel:
XXXX XXXX
XXXX XXXX
XXXX XXXX
XXXX XXXX
My complaint relates to specific points about the process and the manner in which the complaint has been handled, both in general and by XXXX XXXX.
1: Throughout this complaint, on more than one occasion, specific points I have raised were either mis-represented or completely inaccurate in the responses form Halifax Employees.
2: It is very clear from the quality and wording used in all of the letters that “standard” replies are being used - albeit slightly re-worded - rather than the complaint being fully and accurately investigated.
3: Evidence Halifax staff have relied upon in making their decisions has not been made available to me, even after a direct request.
4: Statements from XXXX XXXX are both inaccurate and un-substantiated.
5: Halifax does not hold a copy of my original Credit Card Application form.
I have specifically requested copies of all evidence used by Halifax to reject my complaint. Nothing has been presented to me.
My original contract has not been produced, leading me to believe that it does not exist.
The response letters I have received have served only to delay the process further by me having to take advice and draft additional letters of complaint. It is because of these delays that I have been left with a matter of weeks to refer this complaint to the FOS and have felt it necessary to do so in order to not miss the deadline.
XXXX XXXX has made statements relating to a conversation that she was not witness to. It is difficult for me to understand the following statement when she was not present at the time of the conversation:
“In light of my findings, I feel that out adviser acted fairly and reasonably throughout the sale”
Despite extensive research, I have not found a single case in Law where the case has been successful using the following argument:
“I have investigate the complaint fully, and can find no reason to uphold your complaint” where no evidence has been supplied to support this statement other than a standard letter of response.
With regards to staff acting fairly or appropriately, recent press regarding LloydsTSB Group staff as highlighted by an undercover reporter clearly demonstrate that staff are either poorly trained and lacking in experience or have been directed to mis-inform and mis-lead customers to divert complaints. As highlighted here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22852554
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/22851346
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/lloyds-admi...3.html#BvGKxco
As LloydsTSB have publicly admitted that staff in their group misbehaved when dealing with customer complaints, what evidence exists to prove that other staff do not do the same, or had not done so in the past? This further removes confidence that staff act in good faith. My own experiences with the above mentioned staff supports the reporters point of view.
It has been accepted by the Financial Ombudsman Service following a land mark case that PPI has been mis-sold (and the need for the FSA to produce the Handbook on PPI Redress contained within PS 10/12) that the tactics used by staff to sell PPI has been mis-leading, un-informed and often dishonest. On cases from the LoydsTSB group that are referred to the Finical Ombudsman Service the FOS are ruling up to 98% (at least) in favour of the customer.
In light of all this evidence to support my complaint that I was mis-sold PPI (including my own stated account of what happened), and the fact that Halifax have, as yet, failed to produce a single piece of evidence to support its decision to reject my complaint, I find it difficult to believe that staff should leave me with no option but to refer this complaint to the FOS when it clearly states that all parties concerned should make every effort to resolve the dispute without the need to contact the FOS.

Hello Simon, it is a lot to read but David Nicholson is the CEO ( davidnicholson@halifax.co.uk ), also copy in Group Executive Complaints, GRP2441@lloydstsb.co.uk and they should respond quickly. I would not of waited 7 months I would of does this months ago and then contacted the FOS to get the ball rolling.

[Simonistired]

Re: Another PPI disaster with Halifax

Hi Sava05

Yeah, your right. It's a bit long. But often these letters are never read by CEOs, but passed on to someone else to deal with at an executive level. It's with hope that I put the ICO DSAR complaint at the top to grab attention.

[charitynjw]

Re: Another PPI disaster with Halifax

Additional point to note:

This related to an account opened in 1999 - Halifax in one of their letters state that prior to 2005 selling of PPI was not regulated by the FSA.

So you make the claim against the PPI underwriters (via the FOS)

[Bill-K]

Re: Another PPI disaster with Halifax

You certainly seem to have covered all points there, Simon - well done. As you have pointed out - Halifax have produced NO evidence at all to support their conclusion, whereas there is now overwhelming evidence in the public domain to support your assertion that they have not dealt with your complaint properly and fairly. It may be worth mentioning that you will be expecting to be compensated for the distress and inconvenience caused by their behaviour.

Regarding the point that the mis-selling took place before the FSA regulated PPI sales - I agree that they can say that the PPI selling process & methods were not subject to FSA rules. However - unless & until I can be convinced otherwise - I have always maintained that the FSA/FCA rules DO apply to the manner in which PPI complaints ARE now being dealt with. Halifax have clearly not adhered to these rules, and I believe that you have every right to expect the FOS to ensure that they now do this. Sure - the criteria that are used to determine mis-selling are those applicable at the time of the sale, and not necessarily those quoted in the FSA rules - but the process of dealing with PPI complaints AT THE PRESENT TIME is subject to the FSA rules. I think a lot of lenders are avoiding this point, and are telling us that they are not covered by the FSA rules at all with regard to pre-FSA mis-selling.

I would add my personal observation that - regardless of what criteria Halifax are using to gauge mis-selling - they clearly have no data on which to base their assertions, other than generic published sales material and general practice methods. The FSA rule DISP APP 3.3.9 allows this material as evidence - but clearly states that if there is stronger evidence, then this should be given more weight. Lloyds's publicised and admitted behaviour is the stronger evidence IMO.

[Simonistired]

Re: Another PPI disaster with Halifax

A little update for those who are interested. Cheque received for a full refund of my premiums collected by PPI, plus interest. However, they have still failed to address my complaints about their processes and procedures, and have still failed to honour my DSAR. An official complaint has been logged with the ICO as it is clear from Halifax they feel they can pick and chose what to disclose under a DSAR.

[dogtired]

Re: Another PPI disaster with Halifax

Indeed, the group as a whole are quite simply terrible at complaints.
Got two on going, one they sold to Cabot but have evidence that the account was cleared and the other got the PPI but they then decided there was outstanding balance and to date it has been "sold" to four different agents (some twice) in all had Blair Oliver Scot (2 times) Robinson Way (2 times) Wescott (two times the second being via Arrow Global) and still not proved that this is "owing":mad2:

[Bill-K]

Re: Another PPI disaster with Halifax

Congrats and well done, Simon !!!

Yes - regardless of the outcome of your PPI claim, they are still obliged to comply fully with your DSAR.

As for addressing your procedural complaints, I guess all you can do is keep on at them - but copy in the CEO, perhaps.