Upheld: PPI mis-selling complaint against Marsden Building Society
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-4676338 of 2018-12-16T00:00:00+00:00. PPI mis-selling complaint against Marsden Building Society. Outcome: Upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-4676338 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2018-12-16T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Marsden Building Society |
| Product | PPI |
| Claim type | PPI mis-selling |
| Outcome | Upheld |
| Remedy | Marsden Building Society must: (1) cancel the PPI policy if not already cancelled; (2) refund all monthly PPI payments made by Mr and Mrs M; (3) add simple interest at 8% per annum from the date each payment was made until repayment; (4) deduct any successful claims previously paid under the policy from the amount owed; (5) provide a tax certificate if requested. |
Summary
Mr and Mrs M complained that Marsden Building Society mis-sold them PPI in 1986 alongside a mortgage. Mr M had a pre-existing intermittent respiratory condition at the time of purchase, which would have been excluded from cover as a chronic or continuing disease under the policy terms. The ombudsman found that Marsden failed to adequately disclose this important exclusion, as the application form did not ask about chronic or continuing diseases and the sales process did not prompt checking for such conditions. The ombudsman upheld the complaint and ordered Marsden to refund all PPI premiums paid with interest at 8% per annum, less any successful claims previously paid.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman found that Marsden failed to provide clear, fair and non-misleading information about an important policy term - the exclusion for chronic or continuing diseases. The application form's declarations did not reflect this exclusion, and the sales process did not prompt checking for such conditions. Given that Mr M had a respiratory condition that would have counted as a chronic or continuing disease, he would have been unable to make a claim. The ombudsman concluded that if Mr and Mrs M had been given the correct information, they would not have proceeded with the purchase.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Marsden Building Society, all decisions | 24 | 19% |
| PPI mis-selling, all decisions | 85,732 | 25% |
| PPI, all decisions | 85,316 | 27% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website