Episode 10 Rip Off Britain


Episode 10

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Transcript


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We asked you to tell us who's left you feeling ripped-off.

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I think this is very, very, very wrong.

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The bank passed charges upon charges upon charges.

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Legally, it was right. Morally? That's where the doubt comes.

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And you contacted us in your thousands, by post, email,

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even stopping us in the streets. And the message couldn't be clearer.

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You don't always get a straight answer.

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- I'm not happy at all. - It's always that small print.

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-We're being ripped off big time.

-Whether it's a deliberate rip off,

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a simple mistake or a catch in the small print, we'll find out why you're out of pocket

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and what you can do about it. Keep asking the questions.

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And we do get results.

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Your stories. Your money. This is Rip-Off Britain.

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Hello and welcome to Rip-Off Britain where whatever the size of the problem or the money you've lost,

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-if you think you've had a raw deal or feel short-changed, we're here to find out why.

-We certainly are!

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And guess what - we'll see if we can get some of your money back as well.

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-And, I'm pleased to say, in some cases we have.

-Well done.

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More detail on that later on.

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We'll also be looking at companies you may have seen ads for in the papers

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promising they could get you out of debt or claim back cash you didn't even know you were entitled to.

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-They make it sound like they're doing you a favour, but it can be completely the opposite.

-Too right.

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Also coming up: the cooling-off periods with a catch.

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-You'll be charged if you want to change your mind.

-Why have a cooling-off period if you're charged

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if you cancel within that period? There's no point in even putting it in your contract.

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Our pop-up shop was a huge success when you came along to tell us your issues

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and to meet our team of experts.

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With regards to your complaint about the PPI policy, we can take that up with the business that sold it.

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Or we might be able to help you.

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Payment Protection Insurance or PPI has been one of the big consumer scandals of recent years.

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It was supposed to cover repayments on credit cards and loans if you lost your job or were unable to pay,

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but it turns out almost 6.5 million policies were mis-sold to people who could never make a claim.

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As a result, there are no end of companies promising they can get you your PPI payments back,

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but, as ever, some are better than others.

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Norma Randall is a retired sales manager from North Yorkshire.

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She received a phone call out of the blue from a company telling her she could get compensation

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for mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance.

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I said, "That sounds very interesting, but I'm not aware that I made any PPI payments."

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And he said, "Lots of people aren't aware of it, but I can assure you

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"99% of people have paid PPI at some time, either on a loan or a credit card."

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PPI or Payment Protection Insurance was often added to loans or insurance

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by banks and other financial institutions. It was designed to pay out if the customer couldn't

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meet their payments due to illness or redundancy.

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He said, "Well, I think we could get you back £12,000."

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And I gulped and thought, "Wow!

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"I can go on holiday, I can do work in the house that I need to do."

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That would be great.

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The call was from We Fight Any Claim, a claims management company specialising in PPI.

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Their sales patter to Norma does make sense.

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An estimated 2.5 million people were mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance policies

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and £215 million was paid out in compensation in the first half of this year.

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So Norma was tempted by the idea that she might be entitled to some

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and that We Fight Any Claim could get it for her.

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And then he hit me with the bombshell of, "But that will cost you £3,414.89."

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And I sort of stopped in my tracks.

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They said, "Don't worry about any payments that you make to us

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"because when your claim has been successful, it will not cost you a penny

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"because we will take our fee

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"from the value of the money that we claim for you."

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Convinced by this reasoning and the reassurance of a money-back guarantee if they didn't succeed,

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Norma decided to go ahead.

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In total, I paid £3,659.89 on my credit card to this company.

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In their paperwork, We Fight Any Claim make clear that they charge upfront

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and include a success fee in that.

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But that's unusual. Most other claims management companies charge a smaller upfront fee,

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normally under £300, then take a percentage if the claim succeeds.

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But having paid out so much, Norma had no choice but to hope she'd made the right decision.

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I didn't have a word from them for three months.

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I then began to get worried.

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I decided to phone then and spoke to a young man who assured me

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that the situation was going forward,

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that they would be able to tell me a result within four weeks.

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But six weeks later Norma still hadn't heard anything.

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She decided to cancel her claim and get her money back.

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They said, "If you want to cancel, it will cost you £1,000."

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So I decided not to cancel because I did not want them to have my £1,000.

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I wanted all my money back, not just minus £1,000. So I agreed to let them carry on.

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Even so, because she'd paid the fee on her credit card, Norma decided to ask the credit card company

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for their take on the situation.

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I then rang my credit card company who informed me

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that they had, in fact, sent a letter to the claims company in the January

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stating that there was no PPI on the accounts.

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Not what she'd wanted to hear.

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Norma then called the company she had a loan with as their product was the only other one

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that could possibly have PPI attached, but again she was told it hadn't.

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So, armed with that knowledge, that - as she initially thought - she'd never been sold PPI,

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let alone mis-sold it, Norma went back to the claims company, who had a very convincing response.

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He said, "This is a usual tactic that banks and credit card companies adopt

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"to try to avoid the refund of any monies to their customers.

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"But we are going to take this further."

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Norma's credit card and loan providers were adamant that no PPI was ever paid

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or sold to her. But We Fight Any Claim continued to insist there was a claim to be fought for.

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By now, Norma simply didn't believe them, but they still had over £3,000 of her money.

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They're in denial about the fact that I haven't got PPI.

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We Fight Any Claim could go on with this for years and in the meantime they're holding my money.

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They've no right to it because they haven't done what they promised.

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Emma Parker from the Financial Ombudsman Service says the claims management industry is growing fast

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but for reclaiming Payment Protection Insurance, their services may not even be needed.

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There's been a recent report on this by Money Saving Expert and Which which highlighted

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a number of misleading claims made by claims management companies.

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They've suggested that consumers' chances of success are higher with them.

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Or haven't highlighted the role of the free Financial Ombudsman.

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These are misleading

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and companies that are regulated with the Ministry of Justice, it can take action.

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Well, Norma contacted the Ministry of Justice, too, and after they wrote to the company

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she did finally get all of her money back, plus the interest she'd paid while the balance was on her card.

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We Fight Any Claim told us they don't fully agree with what Norma's told us, but concede there were

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portions of their service that could have been completed more efficiently.

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They say their claims process can be complex and time-consuming when it may appear nothing is happening,

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but they blame that on banks who can be "less than co-operative".

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They apologised to Norma that their service fell short, but still don't seem to accept

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that she didn't have any PPI.

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Although it's all now resolved, Norma's annoyed at being put through so much unnecessary worry.

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I'm cross. I'm angry. I'm angry with myself, but also with the people who persuaded me

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to part with all that money.

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If you're contacted by a company that says it can claim back money in the same way Norma was promised,

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however persuasive they are, don't sign up until you've checked with your lender whether you had any PPI.

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Only then can you decide whether you have a claim to make.

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Big companies don't always make things easy to understand

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and it can be confusing trying to work out why you haven't ended up with what you expected.

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So if you feel bogged down, we've put together a booklet of tips and advice.

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You can find a link to the free guide on our website.

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Or to receive a copy in the post, send an A5 self-addressed envelope to the address we give at the end.

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It's something most of us don't like to think about,

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but writing a will can make life for those we leave behind less painful.

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When you write a will, you also have to appoint an executor, someone to carry out your wishes.

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There are companies who can do all this work for you, but it's an unregulated industry

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and the fees these companies charge vary enormously, which can really eat into the estate left to you.

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Linda Neuwenhuis remembers good times with her feisty Aunt May.

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Aunt May was quite independent. And she was before her time.

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Quite a feminist. She didn't tolerate any messing about.

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When May died in the summer of 2008, Linda contacted the company her aunt had used to write her will, ITC.

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The biggest in the business, they told Linda she'd been left virtually everything

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and sorting things out should only take a few months.

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He confirmed that it was a quite straightforward will, just concerning my husband and myself,

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and it should be over by Christmas.

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As well as writing her will, Aunt May had also appointed ITC as executors,

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so when their representative came to see Linda, she asked him what the company would charge for that.

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He said it's all been taken care of.

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In my naivete, I thought maybe the will process had been prepaid.

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So I assumed that there would be no cost for them actually administrating the affairs.

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And I felt quite happy, initially.

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For the rest of the year, Linda supplied ITC with any information they requested,

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but although she'd been left confident that the will would be settled by Christmas,

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it came and went with no news.

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Linda also began to doubt what she'd understood about the cost,

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so she wrote to ITC and was shocked by their reply.

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I was absolutely horrified

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when I got a letter back to say that their fees would be

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in the region of £15,500 plus VAT.

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The initial remarks, the gentleman told me, "It's all been taken care of,"

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when I specifically asked for how much it would cost.

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He didn't give me any indication at all.

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Despite suggesting that they'd provide a swift service, it took nearly two years of chasing

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before ITC finally settled the will.

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The Legal Services Board is carrying out an investigation into whether the industry needs regulating

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after a survey showed that the way wills are written and administered isn't always good enough.

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Wills are such important documents. It's the only way to make sure those you leave behind get your wealth

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in the way that you intended. If a will goes wrong, it can have huge financial implications

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so it's really vital that everyone who sells wills to the public demonstrates their competence,

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follows a code of conduct, is insured and consumers can complain to the Legal Ombudsman.

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Come on, then, Cracker.

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There have been a number of changes at ITC since they wrote May's will.

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They no longer provide that service, for the last six years only dealing in probate,

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and they've also changed their fee structure. They eventually reduced Linda's bill from £16,000 to £5,000,

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in line with their new prices and what independent solicitors told us was a reasonable price.

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ITC told us they sincerely regret any distress Linda felt.

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They administer a large number of estates every year, the vast majority having a positive outcome,

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and pride themselves on delivering the highest levels of service and value at what is a difficult time.

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They dispute some of Linda's allegations, but say they acknowledged at the time

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that there were issues with this case, apologised and reduced their fees accordingly.

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As far as they're concerned, this was all satisfactorily resolved over a year ago.

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But despite their efforts to make amends, Linda still feels aggrieved.

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I'm so angry on her behalf.

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I don't think they deserved a penny because of all the work I had to do myself. I think it was outrageous.

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Writing a will can be a minefield for all sorts of reasons,

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so with more information of what to think about, here's Gary Rycroft from the Law Society.

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If you've never made a will before or it's a long time since you did,

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do some research first. Telephone some local firms of solicitors

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and find out how much it's going to be to make a will. Then you'll know the market rate.

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Don't feel pressurised into other legal services or products.

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Some things offered may be Powers of Attorney or trusts. They may be good ideas for you,

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but never feel pressurised to sign up there and then. Always take it away with you and think it through

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with a trusted family friend.

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Never, ever pay for will storage.

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Most firms of solicitors will be pleased to store it for free.

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If you do decide to store your will, find out where it will be stored.

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It mustn't be in an attic or garage. Make sure it's in a fire-proof safe.

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At this stage, I would say never sign up for probate and estate administration services.

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You don't know what the value of your estate will be at your death.

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Let your executors sign up for the best deal at the relevant time.

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There's no point in paying now for services that may not be required from a company which may not exist

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at the time of your death.

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We teamed up with BBC Learning to open a pop-up consumer advice shop

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at the Trafford Centre, Manchester.

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We've had a fantastic response from members of the public.

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It's been a great opportunity for us to meet you and hear your problems

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and BBC Learning have been very busy encouraging people to improve their maths

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in their interactive area.

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Our experts are helping lots of people, too, and Martyn James from the Financial Ombudsman Service

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is helping out with a common rip-off: Payment Protection Insurance.

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Alison and her friend tried to claim back mis-sold PPI through a claims management company.

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They said they could get us back in the region of £780.

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But they expected us to pay £280 upfront.

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-Upfront?

-Upfront.

-Before you even got any claim.

-In order for them to do the research.

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They guaranteed that we would get that money, otherwise we would at least get the £280 back.

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So we waited for the forms, we filled them in, like a letter of authority, and sent them off

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and to this day, over a year ago now, despite numerous letters, I've heard nothing.

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-It's been a year?

-Far too long.

-And she's paid out money.

-They are regulated by the Dept of Justice.

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That's the good news. However, unfortunately,

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there isn't an ombudsman scheme or other organisation you can turn to to get the money back from them.

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All that you can continue to do is put pressure on them.

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With your complaint about the PPI policy, we can take that up with the business that sold it,

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and we might be able to help you. That you can do for free.

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Unfortunately, once you've paid them, you may need legal action.

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Knowing the next step to take can make the difference and if you need any further advice, visit:

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We are a nation in debt.

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Between us, we owe a staggering £1.5 trillion.

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Now that is not an easy figure for any of us to get our heads around,

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but that really is the total level of personal debt that's owed

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by the 50 million or so adults in Britain today.

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Among them is pensioner Geoff Burgess. For him, things were a bit tight. He had some debts,

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but he felt he was managing them OK.

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That is until he was cold called by a company called Beneficial Claims.

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Now they seemed to be offering him a solution that might mean

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he didn't have to pay back his loans at all. Sounds too good to be true?

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Unfortunately for Geoff, it was.

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Geoff and May Burgess thought they were doing fine with their money.

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77-year-old Geoff was paying off a loan, but had no problems meeting the repayments,

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until in January of 2010 he got a call out of the blue from a company called Beneficial Claims.

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They told him his loan may not be enforceable under new legislation,

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meaning he may not have to pay it back.

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Beneficial Claims phoned me up and said we'd got this loan and they'd look into it.

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And then I wanted to know what was this going to cost me.

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And they said,

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"Well, the fee will be £360,

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"but if we win your case and get your money wrote off,"

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then the fee would be a percentage of the money we got wrote off.

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But things took an unexpected turn when Geoff received his next credit card bill.

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And my credit card bill came

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and I nearly went mental.

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I couldn't believe... I had to look at it two or three times to see.

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I said, "Who the hell's taken this amount of money off me?!"

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A hefty £5,518 had been taken from Geoff's credit card

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by, you've guessed it, Beneficial Claims,

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so when he got in touch to ask why, how did they explain it?

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That money was being used as a down payment more or less to work on my case for me.

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Then I tried to get through to them

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that the fee was agreed of £360.

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Not nearly 6,000!

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We've looked at Geoff's paperwork

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and it does seem that all he initially agreed to

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was £360 for them to review his loan and credit card agreements.

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It's just unbelievable.

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It really is unbelievable, how they wouldn't explain why.

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I'm still no wiser now over why they did it.

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I just don't know. Nobody has explained why they took that much money.

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Despite Geoff's efforts, his demands for a clear explanation and a refund

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did not get the response that he'd hoped for.

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His case was simply passed to a sister company called Money Worries.

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They said they've transferred it to another company

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who is better equipped and have more knowledge of dealing with it.

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I said, "I don't want this really. I want my money back."

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He said, "We can't do anything about it now. We've passed it all over to them.

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"You'll have to deal with them."

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What Geoff didn't realise is that Money Worries is a debt management company,

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a service he had absolutely no need for because he has been meeting all of his repayments.

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I've never missed a payment on my loan because it goes out on a standing order.

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He didn't need his payment plan being tinkered with

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and he was particularly infuriated when they said they would work on his credit card bill.

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I said, "What do you mean, my credit card?

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"Your company has put this money on my credit card, not me.

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"I had only 260 quid on my credit card.

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"You've put the rest on and I want it back."

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By now, Geoff's repeated complaints had produced a partial victory.

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Beneficial Claims, who by now had changed their name to We Fight Any Claim,

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gave him £4,000 back,

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but the rest was still passed over to Money Worries.

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I was transferred to Money Worries

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without my consent.

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I didn't know what they were going to do,

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how they were going to do it, nothing was explained to me.

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And I didn't want them to do it,

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which I told them on numerous occasions, when I've been on the phone,

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"I want it closed down and I want nothing to do with you."

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But they didn't want to know. It just fell on dead ears.

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Geoff tried complaining to Money Worries too,

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but they told him he wasn't entitled to any refund, so Geoff wrote to us.

0:24:380:24:44

When Rip-Off Britain contacted Money Worries in August,

0:24:440:24:47

the company reinvestigated the case.

0:24:470:24:50

They said it had come to light

0:24:500:24:53

that there was still £1,365.14 of his money lodged with them,

0:24:530:24:58

money that was passed over from Beneficial Claims.

0:24:580:25:01

This money has now been refunded to Geoff.

0:25:010:25:05

The company also told us that they did not agree with Geoff's version of events

0:25:050:25:10

and that the £5,518 originally taken from his credit card

0:25:100:25:15

constituted "agreed review and legal fees".

0:25:150:25:19

They say the transfer of some of those funds to Money Worries was partly...

0:25:190:25:24

Although they're sorry for any misunderstanding, they point out Geoff signed a letter of authority

0:25:340:25:40

and a standing order mandate for them to work on his behalf, which is true,

0:25:400:25:45

but it doesn't mean that he understood exactly what he had been persuaded to sign up to

0:25:450:25:51

and he is adamant that he didn't.

0:25:510:25:54

I feel so disgusted and this company should feel ashamed of themselves.

0:25:550:26:00

I'm a 77-year-old pensioner...

0:26:000:26:03

..and my brain is not working as quick as it used to do and I thin they took advantage of it.

0:26:060:26:12

Still to come on Rip-Off Britain, we'll investigate another company making bold claims

0:26:150:26:21

about reclaiming mis-sold payment protection insurance.

0:26:210:26:25

They were very persistent in their methods of saying that I was entitled to this money

0:26:250:26:30

and that I should proceed.

0:26:300:26:32

In our financial situation, I felt we had to go for it.

0:26:320:26:36

Still on the subject of the dreaded cold call,

0:26:380:26:41

you may have been contacted yourself by companies promising anything

0:26:410:26:45

from cheaper energy bills to a better deal on your insurance.

0:26:450:26:49

That's exactly what happened to Eileen Mason from Lincolnshire.

0:26:490:26:53

She decided to switch her car insurance

0:26:530:26:56

after being cold-called with a better deal from a rival firm,

0:26:560:27:00

a decision she very quickly came to regret.

0:27:000:27:04

Countless consumers have benefited from a cooling-off period,

0:27:070:27:11

the right to cancel a contract within a certain period of time.

0:27:110:27:15

And it's what Eileen Mason was relying on when she changed her mind about an insurance policy.

0:27:150:27:21

I am a pensioner. I live on my own.

0:27:240:27:26

I've worked all my life from the age of 16

0:27:260:27:30

and at my age, I am very careful with how I spend my money.

0:27:300:27:35

In August, the 73-year-old was cold-called by Swinton Insurance

0:27:370:27:42

who said that they could get her a better deal on her house and car insurance.

0:27:420:27:47

Keen to save money, Eileen decided to take them up on their offer,

0:27:470:27:51

not least because they said she had a 14-day cooling-off period,

0:27:510:27:55

which she thought gave her a bit of breathing space if she changed her mind.

0:27:550:28:00

I understood the 14-day cooling-off period meant there wouldn't be any charges,

0:28:000:28:06

so I was quite happy to go ahead.

0:28:060:28:09

But when Eileen called her current insurers to cancel her existing policy,

0:28:090:28:14

they offered to better Swinton's quote by over £100.

0:28:140:28:18

So she gave me the quote which was a standard cover,

0:28:180:28:22

basically the same as Swinton,

0:28:220:28:25

which I thought was a better deal, obviously, because it was over £100 cheaper.

0:28:250:28:30

What fool wouldn't go for that?

0:28:300:28:33

Confident that she'd get her money back because she was cancelling within that cooling-off period,

0:28:330:28:40

Eileen then called Swinton to say that she didn't need their new policy after all.

0:28:400:28:45

They said she could cancel, but she'd be charged for the privilege.

0:28:450:28:51

The young lady said, "You do realise you have to pay a £50 cancellation fee

0:28:510:28:56

"for both home and the car insurance?"

0:28:560:28:59

I said, "What, £100?!" She said, "Yes, I'm afraid that is what we do. That's our policy."

0:28:590:29:05

But it's a policy that Eileen considers outrageous.

0:29:070:29:11

Why have a cooling-off period if you're charged if you cancel within that period or after that period?

0:29:110:29:17

There's no point in even putting it in your contract.

0:29:170:29:21

The Financial Services Authority rules state that companies cannot penalise customers

0:29:210:29:27

for cancelling within 14 days,

0:29:270:29:30

but they can charge a reasonable administration fee.

0:29:300:29:33

I don't mind having to pay an administration charge,

0:29:350:29:39

but not to pay £50. What was the £50 for?

0:29:390:29:42

All they sent to me was copies that they'd printed off

0:29:420:29:46

from obviously their glossy brochure.

0:29:460:29:51

The FSA also says customers should be told about fees like this before taking out the policy.

0:29:520:29:58

Eileen says that did not happen when Swinton contacted her,

0:29:580:30:03

but when she tried to get hold of a copy of the call to prove it,

0:30:030:30:06

she was told that only those from call centres are recorded.

0:30:060:30:10

Eileen's call was from the Grimsby branch, so it's her word against theirs

0:30:100:30:15

that they didn't mention the charge.

0:30:150:30:19

If she had told me at the time that I would be charged,

0:30:190:30:22

I would have said to her, "Cancel those quotes now because I'm not going ahead."

0:30:220:30:28

Swinton aren't the only insurers to charge a fee if you cancel within the cooling-off period.

0:30:280:30:34

Others we contacted charge anything from £5 to £55.

0:30:340:30:39

When we asked about their fee, Swinton told us

0:30:390:30:42

it doesn't exceed the administration costs of setting up a new policy.

0:30:420:30:46

They sent us a list of the 40 tasks and costs

0:30:460:30:50

that they say are part of the market analysis used to calculate the price.

0:30:500:30:55

And they insist that customers would be aware of the fee

0:30:550:30:58

because all Swinton sales staff are required to follow a script that mentions it,

0:30:580:31:04

plus it's in the terms and conditions.

0:31:040:31:07

Even so, they did offer Eileen £50 as a goodwill gesture,

0:31:080:31:12

but determined to get a full refund, she rejected their offer

0:31:120:31:16

and put in a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service

0:31:160:31:20

and the company has now refunded the whole £100.

0:31:200:31:24

Eileen says the experience has made her wary of relying on cooling-off periods in the future.

0:31:240:31:29

I have lost confidence with switching from anyone.

0:31:290:31:34

Whoever I'm with now, I will be with till the day I die.

0:31:340:31:39

Earlier in the programme, we heard about just one of the companies

0:31:390:31:43

who claim they'll get back money that you've paid out for mis-sold payment protection insurance,

0:31:430:31:50

or PPI as we call it, but there are lots of those companies around.

0:31:500:31:54

In fact, every week, about 2,500 people use one of them.

0:31:540:31:57

Unfortunately, some of those people never see a penny

0:31:570:32:01

and probably didn't even need the company's help in the first place.

0:32:010:32:05

Come on, boys.

0:32:050:32:07

John and Carol Henry have had a really tough time over the last couple of years.

0:32:070:32:13

Carol was made redundant and John had to leave his job for health reasons.

0:32:130:32:18

With neither of them working, their finances were put under huge pressure.

0:32:180:32:22

We couldn't pay our bills or our mortgage.

0:32:220:32:26

We couldn't pay the loans that we had, we couldn't pay our credit cards. We were in a real mess.

0:32:260:32:33

While he had still been working, John had taken out three loans.

0:32:330:32:37

Each time, he bought payment protection insurance to go with them

0:32:370:32:41

to cover his repayments if he became unable to pay.

0:32:410:32:44

-How much was it on this one?

-On this loan alone, it's £2,420.

-Yeah.

0:32:440:32:49

The cost of that wasn't small change.

0:32:490:32:52

In total, I have paid over £5,000 in PPI insurance,

0:32:520:32:57

which, if I hadn't done, could have paid off one of my loans.

0:32:570:33:02

After paying out so much, you can see why in autumn 2010,

0:33:030:33:08

when they became aware of the PPI mis-selling scandal,

0:33:080:33:12

John and Carol started to wonder if they had been mis-sold their insurance as well

0:33:120:33:17

and if perhaps they'd be entitled to some of that money back?

0:33:170:33:21

It dawned on me that John hadn't been asked enough questions about him taking out the PPI.

0:33:210:33:27

I think at the time he did take it out with the loans,

0:33:270:33:31

he felt very pressured into signing the forms

0:33:310:33:34

because he needed this insurance,

0:33:340:33:37

but I really don't believe, when we've discussed it,

0:33:370:33:41

that he had actually been truly informed as to what it really meant.

0:33:410:33:46

John contacted his creditors who assured him that he had not been mis-sold his PPI,

0:33:460:33:51

but a few weeks later, he received a call right out of the blue

0:33:510:33:55

from a company called Claims Management Bureau who said the opposite.

0:33:550:34:00

They insisted that he was entitled to compensation

0:34:000:34:03

and made some bold claims about just how much.

0:34:030:34:07

They informed him that he was actually entitled to a minimum of £1,500 rebate

0:34:080:34:13

on the PPI insurance that he had paid. That was the minimum he could expect.

0:34:130:34:18

I informed them that I had already contacted my creditors

0:34:180:34:22

and they told me that I hadn't been mis-sold it

0:34:220:34:26

and he insisted.

0:34:260:34:28

He said, "Yes, you are entitled to this. It's in the government guidelines."

0:34:280:34:33

They were very persistent in their methods of saying that I was entitled to this money

0:34:330:34:40

and that I should proceed.

0:34:400:34:42

In our financial situation, I felt we had to go for it.

0:34:420:34:45

Persuaded they were due some cash after all, John signed up,

0:34:450:34:49

agreeing to pay Claims Management Bureau an initial up-front fee of £234,

0:34:490:34:56

so that they could process his claim.

0:34:560:34:59

They said they were a time-effective, honest and reliable service.

0:34:590:35:04

That was music to your ears and you felt you could go along with that, you could trust them.

0:35:040:35:09

The couple didn't have the money straight away and told the company

0:35:090:35:13

it would take seven days to transfer it to them.

0:35:130:35:17

Every day without fail they rang. "Is the money in the account yet? Is the money in the account yet?"

0:35:170:35:24

I said to John, "There's something wrong. They shouldn't be panicking for this money."

0:35:240:35:30

But the couple paid up and signed all the forms at which point things went rather quiet.

0:35:300:35:35

After two months had gone by and they'd heard nothing, John called the Claims Management Bureau

0:35:350:35:41

to find out what was going on.

0:35:410:35:44

He got somebody on the phone who said to him, "Don't worry, it's all being dealt with.

0:35:440:35:49

"It's all being processed."

0:35:490:35:51

We got Christmas over, then I said, "John, you still haven't heard anything from these people.

0:35:510:35:57

"There's something not right here."

0:35:570:36:00

So he rang them.

0:36:000:36:02

The phone rang out and rang out - no answer.

0:36:020:36:06

-The phone's dead.

-Yeah.

0:36:060:36:08

In February 2011 with still no word, John contacted Trading Standards.

0:36:080:36:14

On their advice, he wrote to the company and sent the letter by recorded delivery.

0:36:140:36:19

It was signed for, but he heard nothing back.

0:36:190:36:22

Two weeks later, he sent another letter which was returned.

0:36:220:36:26

It had been opened by the post office, sent back to us,

0:36:260:36:30

informing us that the company was no longer at that address.

0:36:300:36:34

I then decided to contact the Police Fraud Squad and gave them all the details of the company.

0:36:340:36:40

The police said that they couldn't really help without more complaints,

0:36:400:36:45

but we've done some investigations of our own.

0:36:450:36:48

We got in touch with the Ministry of Justice who regulate claims companies of this type.

0:36:480:36:53

They told us that the Claims Management Bureau is not authorised by them

0:36:530:36:58

which means the company was trading illegally.

0:36:580:37:01

What that means for the £234 that John and Carol have paid is unclear.

0:37:010:37:07

Come on, boys.

0:37:070:37:09

They're hoping to get it back from their credit card company

0:37:090:37:13

and to determine once and for all whether they were mis-sold PPI,

0:37:130:37:17

they've contacted the Financial Ombudsman Service, by far the best way of finding that out

0:37:170:37:22

and one that won't cost you a penny.

0:37:220:37:24

We tried to get hold of the Claims Management Bureau for an explanation.

0:37:240:37:29

So far, we've had no response.

0:37:290:37:31

Now here's a fact.

0:37:310:37:34

Last year, seven out of ten complaints to the Financial Ombudsman

0:37:340:37:38

all related to Personal Protection Insurance or PPI, as we call them.

0:37:380:37:42

So today I've come to the Ministry of Justice to talk to Kevin Roussell who is Head of Claims Regulation

0:37:420:37:48

to ask him exactly what they're doing about this enormous problem.

0:37:480:37:53

Kevin, we're really glad that you've joined us.

0:37:530:37:56

This issue of PPI is really causing a lot of disturbance

0:37:560:38:00

and frustration to many of our viewers who have cited the case.

0:38:000:38:05

You are the regulator, so there's something adrift. You're not regulating enough.

0:38:050:38:10

We have about 900 businesses in this area which we're trying to regulate.

0:38:100:38:14

The majority are providing a reasonably good service.

0:38:140:38:18

There's a few bad eggs in that. We're chasing all those to make sure they do comply.

0:38:180:38:23

If they don't, we will close them down.

0:38:230:38:26

Do you feel you're acting quickly enough and punishing these claims management companies sufficiently?

0:38:260:38:32

Yes, I do. We can put conditions on people's licences. That means the businesses can't do certain things.

0:38:320:38:38

We don't have to shut them down. We can restrict their activities, focus on where things are going wrong.

0:38:380:38:45

I have to take into account how many consumers are with that business

0:38:450:38:49

because if it's got thousands of claims which are live,

0:38:490:38:53

it could be detrimental to close the business down, rather than trying some other means to improve things.

0:38:530:38:59

But then the other reason that people give,

0:38:590:39:02

they say that sometimes these companies just go into liquidation, not traceable,

0:39:020:39:07

so in fact the money they've paid up front that you talked about has gone. What redress is there there?

0:39:070:39:14

We track very closely where the individuals go.

0:39:140:39:17

If they try and get involved with another business, we will stop them.

0:39:170:39:21

As for consumers who have paid up-front fees, the majority have paid on credit cards

0:39:210:39:26

and they can claim back via their credit card company who shares liability for it.

0:39:260:39:31

It's not ideal, but in most cases, people get their money back that way

0:39:310:39:35

You did intervene in the case of Norma. She'd been a widow for 17 years.

0:39:350:39:40

So what were your investigations in that case?

0:39:400:39:44

In that case, the company called We Fight Any Claim, we had concerns about their activities in selling,

0:39:440:39:50

so we put some restrictions on their licence to stop them confusing consumers in what they were doing.

0:39:500:39:56

Is your advice not to pay up-front fees or in some cases are they justified?

0:39:560:40:01

There is no reason in PPI claims why you need to pay an up-front fee.

0:40:010:40:05

Sometimes if you make a request for data from a bank, there's a £10 fee,

0:40:050:40:10

but anything else shouldn't be necessary.

0:40:100:40:13

Most companies don't charge up-front fees and provide a reasonable service.

0:40:130:40:18

Your organisation has been accused of not regulating enough. It's too slow, it's not efficient enough.

0:40:180:40:24

In future, how are you going to speed that up and enforce the laws you have more quickly?

0:40:240:40:29

We're putting additional resources particularly into the PPI area

0:40:290:40:33

because it's clear from all the reports we've seen, the mystery shopping that's been done,

0:40:330:40:39

that more businesses need to comply with our regulations.

0:40:390:40:43

So Rip-Off Britain will be still knocking on your door?

0:40:430:40:47

-In a nice way, hopefully.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

0:40:470:40:51

At Rip-Off Britain, we're always ready to investigate more of your stories.

0:40:530:40:58

Confused over your bills, trying to wade through endless small print that leaves you none the wiser?

0:40:580:41:05

I might have been stupid for not reading it or I've read it and not taken it in.

0:41:050:41:10

I could kick myself. I really could.

0:41:100:41:12

Unsure what to do when you discover you've lost out

0:41:120:41:16

and that so-called great deal has ended up costing you money?

0:41:160:41:20

I thought, "This cannot be true. It's totally unacceptable." I was so angry.

0:41:200:41:25

You might have a cautionary tale of your own and want to share the mistakes you made with us,

0:41:250:41:31

so others don't do the same.

0:41:310:41:33

No-one knows about this, so this is very strange. I really would like to get this much clearer.

0:41:330:41:39

You can write to us at...

0:41:390:41:41

Or send us an email to...

0:41:500:41:53

The Rip-Off team is ready and waiting to investigate your stories.

0:41:570:42:02

It's clear from today's stories that before you agree to anyone offering to claim back money on your behalf,

0:42:040:42:10

check that you do need their services and it isn't something you could do yourself.

0:42:100:42:16

The chances are that you could save yourself not just a lot of money, but also an awful lot of hassle.

0:42:160:42:22

And at a time when money is tighter than ever,

0:42:220:42:25

you want to be confident that you are getting the best value from every pound you spend.

0:42:250:42:31

This programme is all about trying to look after your money at all times.

0:42:310:42:35

That's where we've got to leave it for today,

0:42:350:42:38

but we hope you'll join us again when we'll investigate more of your stories,

0:42:380:42:43

-showing you how to avoid being ripped off. Until then, from the three of us, bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye.

0:42:430:42:49

Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd 2011

0:43:060:43:10

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0:43:100:43:13

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