Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance News Articles
 

YES, YOU'RE INSURED; THAT IS UNTIL YOU FALL ILL AND YOU MAKE A CLAIM

 Care worker Janette Marshall took out a £5000 bank loan just months before being diagnosed with breast cancer. But Janette, 47, was horrified when she was told the loan protection insurance she took out was invalid. Her bank, Lloyds TSB Scotland claimed she must have known she was ill when she signed the loan papers. Janette, who had a breast removed earlier this year, sent in letters from her GP and the cancer specialist who treated her explaining that she was not diagnosed until after she took out the loan. But Lloyds TSB refused to budge. She said: "I can't believe they can be so heartless. I'm disgusted at the way I've been treated."

 Janette, of Newton Mearns, Glasgow, was more than pounds 5000 in debt when she was approached by the bank who offered to help last October. They offered to reshuffle her existing loan and give her an extra special deal. Her monthly interest payments would decrease... and she would end up pounds 500 better off. Janette jumped at the chance of getting her finances back on track. She even took out the loan protection insurance which covered the instalments should she take ill. The new loan had monthly payments of pounds 179 over five years, which included a loan protection premium of pounds 34. Janette, said: "I was happy enough with the way it worked out. I thought it was a good idea to take the extra insurance cover as well."

 But in January, Janette, and husband Iain, 50, received the devastating news that she had cancer. She said: "I was in a state of shock. How could I have breast cancer? It just didn't make sense. "The specialist told me I would need a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery." Two weeks later, Janette was admitted to Canniesburn Hospital, Glasgow, for the operation. She said: "I was in for 14 days and the specialist told me that everything had gone well." In the meantime, Iain, a retired chef, contacted Lloyds TSB to make a claim on the insurance policy.

Janette said: "I received a claim form, filled it in and sent it back. I assumed it would be a formality and the payments would be covered." But she couldn't have been more wrong. After numerous phone calls in which the bank claimed they were "looking into it", Janette received a letter saying Lloyds TSB would not cover the monthly payments. She said: "They basically told me that I should have known that I had breast cancer when I signed up for the loan. "I couldn't believe it. The first time I attended the hospital was after the loan was signed and, even then, the mammogram showed up benign. "I had no reason to think that I had cancer. "I even sent letters from my own doctor and from the specialist at the hospital but it didn't do any good. "It's hard enough to go through what I've gone through without having to deal with something like this."

In desperation, Janette turned to me and I wasted no time in telling the bank exactly what I thought about their policies. They treated Janette disgracefully by refusing to accept all the expert evidence she provided that she could not have known about her condition when she took out the loan. A Lloyds TSB spokesman said: "Due to the circumstances and the customer's condition, we have offered to accept the claim on the previous loan and have offered to refund the insurance premium on the current loan. This offer is made as a gesture of goodwill."

Not before time - and it finally takes all the worry away from Janette.

 Don't fall for text con BE wary if you receive a text message on your mobile promising a free holiday or pounds 5000 cash. The texts are marked "Urgent" and advise you to dial a premium rate 0906 number from a landline. They read: "Your ABTA complimentary 4 * Tenerife Holiday or pounds 5000 cash await collection." But it's a scam - the prizes don't exist and calls cost pounds 1.50 a minute and can last 10 minutes. A spokesman for premium rate watchdog ICSTIS said: "If you receive a text message asking you to dial an 0906 number to win a holiday or a cash, never respond." Return of data scam I WARNED about Data Protection Agency Services Ltd, who sent out demands threatening a large fine unless businesses paid pounds 111 to register with them, more than a year ago. After an Office of Fair Trading probe, they were shut down. Now new firm Data Protection Agency Services are on the go with a pounds 95 fee. Take my advice. If you get one of their demands, file it in the bin. Hearts yield to my socks appeal And give 4ft Thomas a pair smaller than him HEARTS-MAD Thomas Patterson was over the moon when dad Terry bought him the club's away strip for his fifth birthday. He pulled on the dazzling white top and silver/ grey shorts. They were a perfect fit. Then he tried the socks. They were not perfect. In fact, when stretched they were taller than 4ft Thomas. But when engineer Terry, 41, tried to get a replacement pair from Hearts, they gave him the red card treatment. In despair, Terry turned to me in a bid to get socks to match the pounds 60 outfit. Terry, of Selkirk, Roxburghshire, said: "I asked if I could exchange the socks for a smaller size. I knew they existed because I had seen another wee boy with them on. "But Hearts refused point blank. They said I would have to buy another kit and they couldn't sell them separately. I can't believe how ridiculous they're being. Thomas is so disappointed." I got on to Hearts to demand some fair play... and they immediately solved the problem. A spokesman said: "We have sourced a pair of perfectly-sized socks for Thomas and they are on their way to him." Delighted Thomas said: "Now I can play football with my friends." Bless his cotton socks. VERDICTS Pal refuses to get out of my flat I RENTED my flat out to a friend who was having no luck finding a house while I went travelling in Australia for a year. I didn't draw up a tenancy agreement. I'm back now but my friend refuses to leave. I've been left homeless and at the end of my tether. How can I get rid of him? ALTHOUGH there is no written contract, a lease can be constituted by a verbal agreement between the two parties. For this to work, there must be an agreed rent and term. It appears you only allowed him to stay in the property until he could arrange alternative housing. If you have given proper notice to quit you can raise a court action to have him removed from the premises. Seek legal advice before doing this as the process is complicated. If you do not follow proper procedure you may have to go through it all again. What is ex due from house? I AM a Scot living in England. My wife and I separated 18 months ago but didn't get divorced. I live in the marital home. Although the mortgage is in joint names, I pay it. What is my wife entitled to if the house is sold? THE position in England differs from Scotland. North of the border, all assets of a marriage are valued at what's known as the "relevant date," namely the day of separation. In England the assets are valued at the date of divorce. Loan firm want pounds 6000 for van I BOUGHT a van over 60 months. After the first payment I told the finance firm to repossess it. They now want pounds 6000. Do I have to pay? YES. The Consumer Credit Act entitles you to write terminating an agreement but you are liable for half the original purchase price. It seems you didn't cancel in writing. The finance company is entitled to the full amount, less any payments made, and any sums received when the car is sold on. pounds 500 bedroom suite price hike I ORDERED a bedroom suite and paid a deposit, with the balance due on delivery. I then received a letter asking for another pounds 500 due to a price increase. Can I insist on the original purchase price? IT depends on the terms of the order you signed. If it refers to possible price increases prior to delivery, you're bound by it. If not, they must supply at the original price or they are in breach of contract. Raise a court action to get them to deliver.