What is Virgin Money PPI?
There are many ways of referring to Virgin Money payment protection insurance (PPI), these include credit insurance, credit protection or loan repayment insurance. The purpose of PPI was to help a borrower make their repayments to Virgin Money if they couldn’t due to an unforeseen event, such as sickness, injury or redundancy.
PPI is often confused with income protection insurance. They are two completely different products. PPI provides short-term cover and is provided alongside loan and credit products. Any pay-outs under PPI go straight to the loan provider instead of the policyholder.
Income protection insurance is designed to cover 70% of the policyholder’s income if they can’t work due to accident or sickness. This is long-term protection and can cover a person until they retire if they are too ill or injured to work.
Many PPI policies sold by Virgin Money were added on to a loan, credit/store card, mortgage or an overdraft.
The duration of Virgin Money PPI usually covers a period of 12 months allowing the borrower to time to seek employment or return to work, if appropriate.
How was Virgin Money PPI mis-sold?
Some customers were sold Virgin Money PPI without knowing it had been added to their loan. Consumers say that Virgin Money advised them their loan, mortgage or credit card application would not be approved if they didn’t buy Virgin Money PPI. This meant borrowers took out the Virgin Money PPI, even though they may not need it because they didn’t want to risk losing the deal.
Were you mis-sold PPI by Virgin Money?
It is possible PPI may have been mis-sold by Virgin Money if any of the following facts occurred at the point of sale:
- Were you unemployed, self-employed or retired at the time Virgin Money sold you the PPI policy?
- Had you been unemployed, self-employed or retired when you were sold your PPI policy by Virgin Money, you would not have received any benefit from it as you would not have been covered.
- Did you know that PPI had been added to your agreement by Virgin Money?
-
- If you had no idea that Virgin Money had added PPI to your agreement, it could have been done without your consent. Alternatively it could have been an opt-out box that wasn’t clearly visible.
- Had the Virgin Money explained the total cost of Virgin Money PPI to you at the time of sale?
-
- All costings relating to the PPI should have been explained to you by Virgin Money. This will be a major mis-selling factor if it wasn’t done.
- Did Virgin Money make it known that that some of the PPI premium may have been paid as commission?
-
- If more than 50% of your PPI premium was paid as commission to Virgin Money, this is classed as high commission under the Plevin rule. You were mis-sold and due a PPI refund.
- Were you made aware by Virgin Money that you could cancel the PPI policy?
-
- Virgin Money should have explained that you had a cooling off period and could exercise your right to cancel the PPI policy within that time.
- Were you made aware by Virgin Money of any circumstances or exclusions where you would not be successful in making a claim?
-
- If Virgin Money had not made clear any exclusions or circumstances that would prevent you from claiming, you may have been mis-sold Virgin Money PPI policy.
- Were any enquiries made by Virgin Money if you had other PPI cover that would cover repayments?
-
- Virgin Money has a responsibility to find out if you had sufficient PPI cover elsewhere.
- Were you pressured into purchasing the Virgin Money PPI policy?
-
- Virgin Money should have looked at your personal situation to assess if you would benefit from having PPI without any pressure or hard-sell.
- At the time of taking out the PPI policy with Virgin Money, did you have any pre-existing medical conditions?
-
- If you had any pre-existing medical conditions that meant you could not have worked for the duration of the Virgin Money PPI term, you would not be covered by the Virgin Money PPI policy.
- Was it implied to you that Virgin Money PPI was necessary to get the finance?
-
- If the finance sought was such that required a PPI policy, Virgin Money should have let you know that you could shop around to find and compare PPI cover or if you already had PPI in place, Virgin Money should not have sold you their PPI policy.
- Did Virgin Money PPI have an upper age limit, if so, were you older than it?
-
- If Virgin Money PPI specified an age limit for cover and you were older than this, you would not be covered by the policy.
- How long was the term of Virgin Money PPI, was it was shorter than the term of finance agreement? Did Virgin Money explain that there would also be a period of no cover towards the end of the finance agreement?
-
- If Virgin Money didn’t explain that you would have a period of no protection during the term of the finance agreement, you Virgin Money PPI policy was mis-sold to you.
What could you claim from Virgin Money?
If your claim against Virgin Money is upheld, you may receive a full refund of PPI paid to Virgin Money, including any interest charged on the PPI. Statutory interest of 8% per year would also be payable on the premiums and any interest charged.
How to Make a PPI Complaint to Virgin Money?
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has set a deadline of 29 August 2019, by which time all PPI complaints will need to have been submitted. After this date, customers will lose the right to have their complaint assessed by us, or the Financial Ombudsman Service.
If you have previously received a letter from Virgin Money outlining potential concerns about the way PPI may have been sold to you, then you may have less time, so it is important to act as soon as possible.
Please be assured that by checking or complaining about PPI to Virgin Money, neither your relationship with, nor your credit score will be adversely affected in any way.
If you have a concern about how your PPI Policy was sold, it’s easy for you to contact us directly to discuss and start your check PPI for FREE.
We understand consumers may require different levels of assistance and are committed to making your check PPI** and claim process as simple as possible. Our process has been designed to make it as easy as possible for everyone wishing to make a complaint.
We’d like to discuss the details of your case with you so your complaint can be lodged as quickly as possible with Virgin Money to find out if you had any PPI charges on your loan or finance agreement.
