Bet I can guess!

Dare I ask??

Drivers are trying to drive up the hill I live on despite the snow. They get stuck half way up and the local kids are charging them for a push.

Reading the stickies at the top of the PPI section will explain properly but basically if you are self-employed you can't claim on the PPI policy - so it is useless to you so you were missold it.

You may not have a seperate PPI ref - I didn't. Just needed the account number. I don't know anything about Which questionnaires. Can you get account numbers from old bank statements (direct debits)? What about using this PPI reclaim letter and sending to bank - amended as appropriate? One for each account? Dear Sir/Madam Re: Account / Policy number: 123456789 I have been looking at my agreement with you, reference above and have noted that I purchased Payment Protection Insurance from you. I am now of the belief that I was mis-sold this policy for the following reasons: 1. Employment Status: Due to being self employed when I took out the policy. 2. Responsibilities When Underwriting a Policy of Insurance: On each occasion, when the details of a loan were discussed your sales advisors failed to check my personal circumstances at the time of the sale, which they are under obligation to do when underwriting a Policy of Insurance. If they had done so, they would have realised that the PPI policies were useless to me. At no time was any attempt made to ascertain if the product provided was fit for purpose, suitable for my needs or if indeed it was required at all. 3. Alternative Insurance Cover: Your sales advisors in each case failed to ask me if I had any alternative arrangements for insurance cover. My employer has a generous illness package which would cover a period of sickness as follows: 6 months full pay followed by 6 months half pay. I would also be entitled to a generous redundancy package and a substantial payment would be made in the event of my death in service (more than suffice to clear the balance of the loan). 4. Failure to Supply Important Information with Regard to Significant Policy Exclusions: I was most definitely not informed that the PPI policies could contain certain exclusions which could affect me and my ability to claim on the policies if I should need to. Additionally I was never told that Pre Existing Medical Conditions could invalidate my policy and I was never asked if I had any Pre Existing Medical Conditions despite your advisors being aware I was in receipt of a War Disablement Pension. One element of this pension includes back injury which I know is an exclusion in PPI Policies. I also believe that I would also be excluded on at least one other existing condition. 5. Widespread PPI Mis-Selling:I am now aware of the widespread mis-selling of PPI by some financial institutions, following recent media coverage and recent OFT, FSA and Competition Commission investigations and inquiries regarding the mis-selling of PPI. I believe this is borne out by Point 3 above. I am also aware that the question of PPI cover is the subject of an ongoing inquiry by the Competition Commissioner 6. Wholly Inappropriate PPI Selling - Employee Bonuses: I understand that some employees are paid higher bonuses if they get prospective creditors to take out PPI with loans. How can the best interests of the customer possibly be met, if there is a clear conflict of interest between your responsibilities to me, and the drive of your employees to sell Payment Protection Insurance whether it is suitable or not in order to receive bonuses? 7. True Nature of Single Premium PPI Not Explained: No explanation was forthcoming from any advisor on any occasion on the full extent of single premium PPI policies or the fact that they would offer little or no refund if the loan was settled early or if the insurance was cancelled. The statements you have forwarded on accounts xxx and xxx, show no element of any refund of PPI or PPI interest when the accounts were refinanced or settled. There was also no explanation that the cost of the PPI premium would be added to the total cost of credit and interest added for the full term of the agreement. I believe this practice is unlawful. 8. Unfair attachment of PPI with no competition involvement: I now believe that the single premium PPI policies attached to the loan accounts were both extremely unfair and totally unreasonable and offered me very little, if any protection value whatsoever. Furthermore I believe in light of the preliminary finding by the Competition Commission that the PPI was unfairly attached as there was no opportunity for me to seek competitive Insurance. I am therefore requesting a full refund of all costs including all single PPI premiums that have been paid, the interest added to these premiums and the PPI proportion of the direct debit payments, that I have paid over the life of the account agreement. What I expect from you is justification that the policy was suitable for me based on my circumstances and an explanation as to how your suitability criteria works. If you cannot justify this to my satisfaction I request a full refund of all premiums paid to date as well as interest on these payments. Furthermore as I believe I have been unlawfully deprived of this money, I also expect the repayment of the interest at the Statutory Interest rate of 8% to be applied to of each of the single premiums and the PPI proportion of the direct debit payments. In respect of cancellation of a policy may I draw your attention to the following reports from the FSA, namely, 'The sale of payment protection insurance - results of thematic work, November 2005' & 'The Sale of Payment Protection Insurance - results of follow-up thematic work, October 2006'' that state "When consumers cancel the PPI without repaying the loan, some firms will need to reissue the loan without the PPI. Firms should ensure they treat their customers fairly in relation to the terms on which they reissue the loan.". This means that any new loan is on the same or better terms and does not detriment me in any way and that this is to be done without making a new search on my credit file. I expect a swift response to this letter within 14 days, containing either your full justification or notice that you will be refunding these payments. If I do not receive a satisfactory response I will issue another letter notifying you of my intention to take further action if the matter is not resolved within a further 14 days. After this limit has passed I will be either contacting the Financial Ombudsman to investigate my complaint or issuing court proceedings. Yours faithfully

He can't find his contract but I suspect he's signed up for some sort of top package he doesn't need. I'll have to sort it out nearer the time and look at his options properly. I'll probably be posting for help then!

All I can say is I had no problems going to Plusnet - everything connected within 5 working days. I am dreading switching my dad from Talk Talk to Plusnet next year though ........

Yes, will probably be tomorrow before they are fully recovered ...

Any bad heads?

Whilst you could lose, after the recent-ish FSA announcement on single premium PPI policies in which it ordered some banks to contact their customers and reimburse them, I think it unlikely! FSA would take months though.

When I did a PPI reclaim, I firstly did a SAR. With that I got CCA (so knew contractual interest I'd paid) and a list of payments I'd made since starting loan. So when Northern Rock offered me PPI back, it said PPI = 59 payments of £x each (including contractual interest), totalling £x plus 8% interest = £x refundable. I could check this against SAR docs, so I knew they were offering me correct number of payments back. Have you told Alchemy how many payments you made? or given them date of initial agreement so they could work it out from that? If not, then I don't see how they can check the offer is correct or not. Jan

It is standard to request SAR when doing PPI reclaim (so you can see how many payments you have made) and SAR includes CCA. Just by asking for it you are not admitting anything. That is my understanding.

Sorry ...........

Hello Can't help on CCA or debt, but what does the offer letter for PPI say? Are they offering premiums plus contractual interest you have paid plus 8%? they should be. Check out FSA website, in PPI section there is an announcement from a couple of months ago re single premium PPI policies having to be repaid that might help. Jan

Hi Will you post how you get on? I'm interested because I'm going to switch my dad over to Plusnet when his Talktalk contract runs out in Feb. He is paying a fortune - don't think he knew what he was doing when he signed up! Thanks Jan

I'll back out now - great advice from Kitchenboy! Jan

I have had intermittent noise on my line for ages. I thought I might hit problems with broadband. That's why I just had internet initially and not the phone too, I knew I'd probably have to get BT to sort it and have read enough threads on here to know they would try and blame the other provider (plusnet) so wanted to leave my phone with them for the moment just in case. I only have one phone socket. When I just have phone line in, its noisy. When I have filter then phone line in, its even noisier (with or without internet line in as well - filter seems to emphasise noise). I'll unplug everything except phone line when I ring them. I'll do it after xmas as I'm going away for a few days so won't be here for the engineers. Plus doubt they'll deal with it now if its the green box down the road again as its snowed under. Thanks Jan

One of the directors spent a night in the cells on one of our xmas parties for arguing with the Police. That was the best office xmas party I've ever been to.

I think you'll get a letter, surprised you haven't yet. When I used to sign on Thursday's, on two occasions I got letters to say I hadn't signed on so wouldn't be paid, which I received on the Saturday. I actually had signed on and when I rang and told them they apologised for error. Maybe down to Xmas post that you haven't heard yet. Jan

yeh, they can't sack you for being late one day !!

We got wheely bins for everything (4 bins) so no fox problems anymore. Came unstuck when in Cornwall though - put black bags out and seagulls made a right mess! Can't believe they don't have wheely bins with their seagull problem.

Hightail's probably right - I noticed them looking at the thread once when I was on but they didn't post.

I am fairly sure you can - because PPI is meant to be a completely seperate policy from loan. Have a look on FSA website, the announcement they made a couple of months ago re single policy loan PPI is there somewhere. That might help you. From memory, I think they have to pay it back to you. Good luck. Jan

My plusnet was connected within 7 days. It is OK but doesn't always work. Says DSL line down sometimes. BUT I think this might be down to my phone line. It was faulty before I got Plusnet, loads of interference on line, I can hear it when I make calls. I know I need to ring BT but last time this happened my phone line was completely down for 6 weeks while they did major repairs in the green box thing down the road. The thoughts of dealing with BT fill me with dread, I just know it will be a nightmare!!