PPI sold unfairly rules judge
A landmark court case in which a mum-of-three defeated credit
card giant MBNA could open the floodgates for millions to sue their
credit card providers.
It is the first time in legal history that a person has had
their credit card balance wiped off due to the mis-selling Payment
Protection Insurance (PPI).
The ruling came after MBNA attempted to sue Lynne Thorius, 49,
for her credit card arrears totaling over £8,000, but the judge
threw the case out on the grounds that the credit provider had
unfairly sold the PPI policy to her.
Despite making it clear in the credit card application that she
did not want the policy, Ms Thorius found that MBNA had initiated
it anyway at a cost of £20 a month, which eventually increased to
£30 a month.
She said: "When I noticed [the PPI] on the statement, I rang
them and told them I didn't want it. They said I wouldn't have got
the card if I didn't tick the 'yes' box.
"When I tried to explain that I hadn't, they just wouldn't
listen."
Unfair relationship
District Judge Jacqueline Smart decided that an "unfair
relationship" had arisen between Ms Thorius and MBNA because she
was advised to take out the PPI by the card giant but was not told
it would receive commission.
The judge also refused to allow MBNA to enforce Ms Thorius's
debt because the company failed to produce the necessary
documentation.
MBNA said: "Cases decided in the county court are decided on
their own merits and do not form binding precedents."
The case came days after the Financial Services Authority
ordered financial institutions to reinvestigate 185,000 rejected
PPI complaints made since 1 July 2007. If policies are found to be
mis-sold then the customer must be compensated.
Claims Financial
Testimonial
"I just had to put pen to paper and write to say I'm more than delighted with my settlement that you won me back from my PPI I had with Lloyds TSB. The Claim Forms were simple to fill in. It was a breeze"
Mr R Evans 11 Nov 2010