www.iva.co.uk

We have a DMP with Payplan and were scheduled to finish in a few months, however due to some of our creditors not freezing interest it looks as though it will take at least another year. We did not use an IVA as we did not want to risk losing the house.We have also paid into PAYPLAN'S Cover My Payments insurance scheme - to the point of almost 10k.

My husband's job now looks very uncertain - it looks as though he may either be made redundant or dismissed, so we are incredibly concerned.
I contacted Payplan to discuss the Insurance Cover to be told that it would not pay out if here dismissed but might if he were made redundant. As you can imagine ,we are distraught. We thought we were doing everything properly and by the book in order to clear our debts in full.
What would our options be if he were to lose his job?
We could afford to live on my salary, but would not be able to continue paying into our DMP at the same level.
Would we be able so consider starting an IVA - how would this affect the house? We owe 13K on the mortgage which finishes in August (this is not arrears , but due to shortfalls in Endowments)
Please advise

Hi. First of all, if the job goes he cannot be summarily dismissed --- he should be offered (given) redundancy.

So, the question is : Will the insurance pay out if he is made redundant ?

I am appalled that Payplan, who "sold" you this policy, cannot answer this simple question!

Now ... when you were "sold" this policy, was it made clear that it wouldn't pay out in given circumstances (sounds like it wasn't). I would hazard a guess you might be able to claim that this policy was mis-sold.

Worth looking out the paperwork and see what you were sold.

Hi

The policy should cover redundancy but none I believe will cover dismissal.

If you have far more equity in your property than you have unsecured debts then an IVA will probably not work so you will probably need to remain in the DMP but at much reduced payments until your husband is back in work[if the insurance will not pay out]

Regards

Thank you, Foggy , for your prompt reply.

If he is made redundant then Payplan have said they may pay out, but were unable to offer much information at this point. If he is dismissed, then they have said they would not pay out, unless it went to a tribunal and he won. I pointed out that we had paid in a considerable amount and that we had asked several times for info as to what was covered and what was not but had not got anywhere really and certainly no hard facts.
Understandably we signed up to this Insurance cover when we were very worried about our finances and determined to clear them in full over the shortest period of time. In the current economic climate we felt we were covering our backs in any eventuality. It would now seem not.....

Hi

I wonder if Payplans own PPI, which I believe is included in all DMP plans, could be a subject of mis-selling ??


Regards

It looks that way, Andy. Especially as Payplan seem to have point blank refused to explain the pros, cons and salient facts.

I don't know if that is the case, Andy, - but it is not compulsory, just an option but we felt as our monthly payments were so high ( around 3k) we needed some reassurances.

Scaredycat -- PPI (which is what this is) doesn't have to be compulsory to have been misold -- even if you specifically asked for it. If it wasn't explained properly to you at the outset, or if it was unsuitable, then it could have been mis-sold.

It seems odd that the banks missold PPI and have had to repay billions and the when you get into financial trouble they refer you to Payplan who sell you more PPI.
Surely the regulators should look at this?

Smells a funny colour to me. Not sure why they can't give you a full explanation of whether they can pay out or not!!

Paul

Employees who play redundancy versus dismissal play a very dangerous game. I am sure that Julie our resident HR expert will have something to say about this - and no PPI policy will pay out on dismissal so far as I am aware.

I am not sure what you mean , Melanie.

As far as I am aware, we are not playing any games. My husband was requested to attend a meeting , as were other members of the workforce. Mistakes have been made, but it would appear blame is to be apportioned ( fairly or otherwise). No decisions have been made as yet, but my husband is sick with worry what implications this might have.

We are not trying to "scam" anyone - we bought into the "Cover my Payments" as we felt it would enable us to ensure we could repay our debts in full. We asked as many questions as we could at the time but were only repeatedly told to enquire further should the need arise - and not to enquire of Payplan , but that they would "put us through" to the "Cover my Payments" team.

I am hoping I have misinterpreted the tone of your reply - perhaps because I am feeling very vulnerable - but am really disappointed.

I'm wondering if Mel meant to say employers rather than employees scaredycat.

Hi scaredycat,

Thank you for raising your concerns.
In order for us to fully answer the queries that you have raised and to assess the best course of action, could I ask that you contact me directly with your contact information (including your Payplan information) and I will see about asking a senior member of staff or our compliance team to answer the questions that you have raised for you.

My e-mail address is: samuel.jepson@payplan.com.

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you require any further information or assistance.

Thank you, Samuel , I have emailed you .