Daily Mail - 07.08.2019

Daily Mail, Wednesday, August 7, 2019 Page 45

I WENT through a claims

management company for my

payment protection insurance

(PPI) claim. It took just 12 pc

of the payout, and I got back

nearly £40,000, so it was worth

it. It saved me the hassle of

finding the paperwork.

J. M., by email.

SURELY if an organisation

has mis-sold you a product,

then it should be obliged to

contact you. The way in which

this scandal has been handled

has enabled third parties to

charge for the service.

K. T., Droitwich Spa, Worcs.

I GOT back more than £15,000

in PPI compensation from

my mortgage provider and

bank combined. I also got

£1,500 for a mis-sold packaged

bank account. I did have to pay

fees, but the whole process

was quickly handled.

A. T., by email.

AFTER receiving incessant

cold calls, I eventually took the

plunge with one of the ‘no win,

no fee’ claims companies. In the

end, I got a cheque for just £7.51.

I wouldn’t say it was worth it.

G. M., Newcastle.

I THINK some of the staff who

handle PPI claims at one bank

are paid bonuses to dismiss as

many as possible. I am actually

taking the bank in question to

the small claims court.

G. D., Cambridgeshire.

I WAS being pursued by a

claims company, but decided

to approach my bank myself.

I didn’t think I would get a

penny back, however I have

received a letter to confirm

that I am owed £2,636.

Z. R., Newcastle.

I DON’T get why people don’t

make the claims themselves.

It’s not difficult — it just takes

half-an-hour of filling in forms.

Why would you not want to

keep all the cash for yourself?

K. W., Swindon, Wilts.

EVERY week, Money Mail

receives hundreds of your

letters and emails about

our stories. Here are some

on our report about claims

firms targeting households

ahead of the August 29

deadline for claiming

PPI compensation...

YOUR LAST-

MINUTE DASH

FOR PPI CASH

I RECEIVED a statement from Npower

that did not show my 13 direct debit

payments, so, on August 24 last year, I

wrote to ask what had happened to

them. The firm replied to say that it

was investigating, but, since then, I

have had no contact, despite chasing

it on several occasions.

My meter hasn’t been read for

months, but my direct debits have

reduced to £24. I don’t know what is

happening, but I’m sure £24 a month

will not cover my electricity use.

I am 82, live alone and worry that I

am being set up for a nasty surprise. I

can only assume Npower is ignoring

me, in the expectation that I’ll forget

or just go away.

R. L., Co. Durham.

You’re not the only one who felt that

way. You wrote to me back in January,

and it took until July for me to get a full

response from Npower and assurance

that your issue had been resolved.

on June 12 — nine months after you

had questioned your billing and almost

five months after I made contact with

the firm — I was informed that the

matter was still being investigated by

the executive complaints team.

Three weeks later, it was resolved.

Basically, you received a confusing bill

based on actual meter readings, which

did not show payments you had made,

although these had been included on

past statements. This, not unnaturally,

led you to believe that your payments

had not been credited to your account.

Npower has now provided you with a

statement to show the payments were,

in fact, credited. But it also reassessed

your billing under the billing code of

practice because your direct debit had

not been reassessed for more than 12

months. As you suspected, it was set too

low, which caused you to fall into debit.

Npower admits that, had it reassessed

your payments at the right time, your

balance would have been less, or possibly

in credit. It has apologised for this error

and, as a goodwill gesture, has wiped the

£210.83 outstanding balance you owed.

I understand that you are happy with

this resolution, so I suppose good things

can be worth waiting for.

MY MOTHER is 83, arthritic and has

poor sight. She was getting large-print

÷ WRITE to Tony Hazell at Ask Tony,

Money Mail, Northcliffe House,

2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT or

email [email protected]

— please include your daytime

phone number, postal address and

a separate note addressed to the

offending organisation giving them

permission to talk to Tony Hazell.

We regret we cannot reply to

individual letters. Please do not

send original documents as we

cannot take responsibility for

them. No legal responsibility can

be accepted by the Daily Mail for

answers given.

Money Mail, July 31

YOU HAVE

YOUR SAY

statements from HSBC but, since

July 2018, they have stopped.

The bank looked into it and

told my mum there is no reason

why she should not be getting

statements. After we complained

again, the issue was referred

to the complaints department,

which said it checked every-

thing was set up correctly.

But still no statement arrived.

After more complaints, she was

promised a system-generated

copy of the statements. She got

a letter saying: ‘Please find

enclosed a system-generated

copy of your June statement’ —

but there was no statement!

R. T., Dorset.

lArge-foNT statements are

dealt with differently to normal

statements, but HSBC is still

struggling to get to the bottom of

what happened. Its records show

the statements were sent — but,

obviously, you were not receiving

them. The bank is working with

the third party that handles them

to make sure that whatever went

wrong can’t happen again.

By now, your mother will have

received all her statements by

recorded delivery. HSBC says it

will continue to use this method

over the next few months and

monitor the situation.

It has apologised and credited

your mum’s account with £200, as

well as sending a gift basket as a

STRAIGHT TO

THE POINT

VIRGIN MEDIA agreed in March to refund

me nearly £700, after overcharging for my

broadband, TV and landline package, but

I have still not received the money.

I have tried to chase the matter via phone,

webchat and Facebook — to no avail.

E. H., by email.

VIrgIN says it issued a cheque for £653.52

in May, which you say you never received.

It has now sent another and offered you one

month’s free service as a goodwill gesture.

I BOUGHT a Ted Baker dress on eBay for

£54.99, including shipping from Bulgaria.

When, more than a month later, it had

not arrived, I asked eBay to intervene, but

it closed the case in the seller’s favour, as

it said they provided proof of delivery.

However, after checking the tracking

number with Royal Mail, the item to which

it referred was a SIM card sent from Essex

that I did not order. I feel like I am getting

little support from eBay.

V. P., Hampshire.

eBAY said it was reviewing your case when

I got in touch. Days later, it suspended the

seller and refunded you the full amount.

I WAS told by Barclays branch staff

in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire,

that, from July 15, I wouldn’t be allowed to

withdraw less than £300 at the counter.

Customers have to use the cash machine

instead, but I prefer face-to-face service.

J. R., Nottingham.

BArClAYS says it is running a pilot in

around 40 branches to improve waiting

times. Staff will signpost customers who

want to withdraw less than £300 to the

ATMs inside the branch.

The bank says this will give staff more

time to help those customers who have

more difficult enquiries.

However, it adds that if you are really

unhappy, then you can still get your cash

at the counter.

WHEN my energy supplier, One Select,

went bust in December, I was transferred

to Together Energy.

I now want to switch provider, but I am

in limbo, as it has never sent me a bill.

I’m also in credit by around £1,280.

R. L., by email.

TogeTHer energy blamed the problem

on one Select, which, it says, had not been

billing you properly.

It has now provided you with a final bill

and an explanation of the issue.

MoneyMail 45

I am. But I feel I’ve been badly

treated and don’t want to renew

my insurance with the firm.

Mrs V. P., Suffolk.

I THINK your anger is directed in

the wrong direction. Churchill is

doing its best to represent you,

but the party making the claim

has not yet told it about its next

course of action.

The claim must stay open while

the third party considers pursuing

you for the alleged damage to

their vehicle. Churchill has chased

the third-party insurer and will

update you when there is news.

The third party must provide

evidence to prove there was

damage and that it was caused

by you. This is out of Churchill’s

hands, and you must be patient.

A person has three years to

make a claim for damage to a

vehicle and six years for injury.

gesture of goodwill. A spokesman

says: ‘Circumstances such as

these are rare and do not reflect

the level of service our customers

have grown to expect from us.

‘We have taken steps to help

ensure it doesn’t happen again.’

IN DECEMBER, I got a letter

from my insurer, Churchill,

about a car accident claimed to

have happened in September.

The police said no accident

had been reported. I had been

at the location, but the only

witness was a taxi driver who

had been very rude to me a

few minutes before the accident

was meant to have happened.

I had asked him to wait for an

elderly lady who was finishing

her dinner.

Churchill has asked if I am

willing to go to court, which

I haven’t had a

proper energy

bill for two

years — am I

in for a shock?

Ask TONY

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