Case Studies

Brunel Franklin praised for brilliant service.

Marya Harris of Blackheath, London, has heaped praise on financial experts Brunel Franklin after they took the Halifax to task on her behalf – and swiftly secured her a full refund of excessive bank charges.

'I couldn't fault the service I received in any way. Brunel Franklin was absolutely brilliant,' said a delighted Marya. ‘Every person I spoke to was polite, pleasant and professional. I was kept fully informed at all times and would recommend them to others without a shadow of a doubt.'

As a long-standing Halifax customer, Marya had been increasingly annoyed by the bank's 'excruciatingly high' charges and the final straw came earlier this year when she was charged £39 for being a mere 45p overdrawn. ‘It was really getting ridiculous and I was completely fed up with the amounts of money that kept disappearing from my account,' she said. Having read a newspaper article about a man who sent the bailiffs to his local bank, Marya was determined to recover her money but decided to try more conventional methods.

She spotted an advert for Brunel Franklin on the internet and took the company's 60-second online test to see if the experts could get her cash back. Brunel Franklin has vast experience of the financial services industry and offering clients a stress-free service is among its priorities. ‘I downloaded some forms and we exchanged a few emails but Brunel Franklin did absolutely everything for me,' explained Marya. ‘I was told not to deal directly with the Halifax and to leave it all to them which suited me fine. Brunel Franklin rejected the bank's initial offers and then kept fighting my case until they managed to get a refund of all the charges I'd paid for the last six years.'

Marya, who is 61 and a retired nurse, said she was appalled by the performance of banks in general. ‘They charge customers a fortune but they're none too keen to pay anything back. I did consider trying to get a refund myself but thought I might as well do it properly and use a professional service. I can't thank Brunel Franklin enough for what they did. Aside from reclaiming the money, the courteous way I was treated and their customer service was what impressed me most, a complete contrast to the banks!' she added.

Brunel Franklin, said this latest scandal had further damaged the already tarnished reputation of the financial services sector. ‘It's hardly surprising that people are rapidly losing trust in the institutions when so many are blatantly taking advantage of their customers,' he commented. ‘Everyone accepts that banks provide a service and have a right to make charges, but the average size of these penalties is in no way proportionate to the costs involved, and simply cannot be justified. The more people who decide to challenge the banks, the greater chance there is that they'll learn a valuable lesseon and treat customers more fairly,' he added.

Anyone who thinks they've been unreasonably charged by a bank can contact Brunel Franklin for expert help. Just log on to www.brunelfranklin.com and take the simple 60-second test or telephone 0800 051 54 51 free of charge. The company operates on a no win, no fee basis and will pursue each case every step of the way to achieve the best result possible for clients.

Claims Expert wins £27,000 for Couple 'Worried Sick' Over Debt

One of UK's largest ever PPI payouts helps ease financial woes

A couple who paid thousands of pounds for payment protection insurance (PPI) have won their money back after one of the country's leading financial claims companies BrunelFranklin.com pursued their fight to prove the policy was mis-sold. They were awarded a staggering £27,000 by the Financial Ombudsman Service after taking Brunel Franklin's advice to reject an initial offer of just £8,000 from vendor, First Plus.

The pair, from Suffolk, were caught in a vicious circle of debt after taking out a £100,000 top-up loan to pay off a previous one and to help with bills and other living expenses. To their astonishment they were approached by First Plus with an offer to lend the maximum sum available. They were told that PPI costing £25,000 would be payable if they wanted to borrow the full amount, contradicting an earlier assertion that the product was optional. The couple said the representative automatically calculated the repayments to include the insurance, said they could claim the cost back after five years and said they failed to explain they were entitled to shop around for a better deal.

It was only when they were struggling to make the massive monthly repayments that they approached another bank and learned the PPI was far higher than comparable policies on the market and probably unnecessary because of existing employment cover. The `cash back' claim really didn't add up either; they were eventually offered a settlement figure of only £3,000 by First Plus after attempting to pay off the debt. "I was beside myself with worry and there was a real possibility that we could lose our home,” said the 48-year-old childminder, whose husband is a teacher.

In desperation, she surfed the internet, logged onto BrunelFranklin's website and instructed the company to take on their case for compensation. "In the meantime I received a letter from First Plus offering about £8,000 and was tempted to grab it with both hands but Brunel Franklin recommended I should not to accept and said we were entitled to more. It was a long haul, but without Brunel Franklin's help, we would probably never have got the amount we were entitled to.

"We were worried sick about the debts and I am appalled by our experience of the financial services industry. The banks are desperate to throw money at you but then bamboozle you over the phone and skirt around important issues at a time when you're in a horrendous situation and need their help,” she added.

Sally Bowyer, managing director of BrunelFranklin.com, said the scale of PPI mis-selling is shocking and urged people with concerns to seek professional guidance without delay. "The figures involved in this particular case are frightening and the insurance would have ended up costing a total of £55,000 - more than half the amount of the top-up loan. The conditions were not explained and this mis-sale only exacerbated this couple's already serious money problems,” she commented.

"We see cases every day where people have been led to believe that lending is dependent on taking out the bank's insurance, policies are added automatically or sold when the cover is unsuitable, or in some cases worthless. People who believe they may have been mis-sold PPI should make an appropriate claim and those responsible for shoddy practices should be held to account,” added Sally.

BrunelFranklin.com has helped thousands of people who have been let down by financial institutions. If you have grounds for a PPI claim, it will be pursued on a no-win, no-fee basis by a team of highly experienced staff dedicated to securing the maximum payout.

To find out if Brunel Franklin can help you, just log on to www.brunelfranklin.com and take the simple 60-second test. Alternatively, you can telephone 0800 0515451 free of charge.

Elgin woman recommends Brunel Franklin to challenge bank charges.

Isobel Williams of Elgin, Morayshire, is delighted that she decided to use Brunel Franklin to reclaim thousands of pounds in excessive charges from the Bank of Scotland.

Having held a personal account with the bank for around 27 years, Mrs Williams became increasingly frustrated by the scale of its penalties many of which were incurred at a time when money was tight after her husband suffered an accident at work.

‘I was charged around £30 for being overdrawn and for returned items such as cheques even though the money to cover them was usually paid in a couple of days later,’ she explained. ‘The charges were imposed very quickly without any breathing space and I thought they were pretty high for what amounted to sending out a standard letter.’

Mrs Williams, 45, initially considered trying to recover the charges herself but was unsure about the procedures involved and, with a full-time job as a technical assistant, she lacked the time to deal with the complex paperwork and legalities involved. So when she spotted an internet advert for financial experts Brunel Franklin, she took the company’s online 60-second test to see if she could get her money back.

Brunel Franklin has vast experience of getting a fair deal for its clients and operates on a no win, no fee basis so they have nothing to lose. ‘I received a telephone call from Brunel Franklin the next day and one or two emails requesting some details and authorisation and they took care of everything. It was much quicker than I expected and I was very happy with the service,’ commented Mrs Williams. ‘I really wasn’t sure about the ins and outs of the small claims court and I was definitely right to get professional help. I may have had to pay for the service but I got money that I wouldn’t otherwise have had’.

The Bank of Scotland initially offered to repay just over £3,000 but Brunel Franklin rejected the figure and insisted on a full refund totaling £4,329 for the last six years. Mrs Williams has now recommended the company to several colleagues because of the swift and successful outcome of her claim. ‘I think that banks should consider giving customers a small amount of time in these situations instead of charging them straightaway and I don’t think they can really justify the size of the fines, ‘she commented. ‘Brunel Franklin only took a few weeks to get my charges refunded and it was a lot easier than trying to do it myself so I’m very pleased with the result.’

Brunel Franklin, said Mrs Williams was amongst tens of thousands of customers who were being penalised by banks at every opportunity. ‘Challenging a financial institution can be a very daunting prospect for anyone not familiar with the law and banks have been getting away with unfair practices for decades. We know all about the tactics they employ to avoid paying up but we have the determination and expertise to make sure they refund the amounts to which people are entitled. I would urge anyone who thinks they’ve been unfairly charged to seek professional help and give themselves every chance of reclaiming money that’s rightfully theirs,’ he added.

People can set the ball rolling right now by getting in touch with Brunel Franklin. After receiving an instruction, experienced staff will pursue every aspect of each claim so clients have no time-consuming calls, complicated paperwork or legal jargon to worry about. Just visit www.Brunel Franklin.com for more details and to take the simple 60-second test or telephone 0800 051 54 51 to speak to a Claims Assessor.

Derby man shocked by cost of PPI.

When Matthew Green of Stenson Fields, Derby, took out a secured loan last year he thought some element of payment protection insurance might be useful. What he didn't realise, however, was that he would end up paying more than £10,000 for less than one year of cover.

It was only when he attempted to re-mortgage his property that the full costs of the policy, sold by Picture, became apparent and Matthew received a nasty shock.

'My mortgage advisor went over my paperwork for the £47,000 loan and wanted to know why I was paying almost £12,000 for PPI,' he explained. 'Even worse, the loan was over a 25-year period but the insurance policy only covered the first five years. We asked for a settlement figure from Picture who offered about £1,500 which meant it had cost me almost £10,500 for eight months' cover.

'My loan application was dealt with over the phone and the payment protection part just got swallowed up with all the other details. It wasn't clear that I didn't have to take the insurance out or that the loan wasn't dependent on having it. I definitely didn't realise that if I settled early, the PPI payments would still be taken for the whole term,' said Matthew, 41, who works as a CNC programme operator. His mortgage advisor told him about financial experts Brunel Franklin, and the company is now pursuing his case for compensation.

'I just want to be in a position where I can pay off Picture and draw a line under the whole experience but re-mortgaging will probably be a lot harder now,' commented Matthew. 'I am annoyed about what's happened and much more wary about financial products which seem to be sold at massive commissions to customers who don't always realise what's involved. There must be thousands of other people in a similar position to me who don't understand the seriousness of their situation or just how much the cover might cost them,' he added.

Brunel Franklin, said it was scandalous that PPI policies were so often mis-sold. 'Firms who used unscrupulous sales tactics to sell PPI are finally having to pay for the shoddy way in which they mistreated customers. The fines being levied are relatively small when you consider that up to 35 million people may have PPI and many of them don't even know they've got it. Those who do have it didn't necessarily ask for it, or want it.'

'We have dealt with no end of cases where the cost has been added automatically to the loan or people have been led to believe it's a compulsory requirement when it is in fact optional,' he said. 'In Mr Green's case the interest on the PPI was calculated over the 25 year term of the loan even though he was only insured for the first five years which is clearly unfair.

Borrowers who do want payment protection may already be covered under some existing insurance or an employer's sickness scheme and, if not, they have every right to shop around for the best product for them. People should be made well aware of these facts at the point of sale but once again financial institutions are happily ripping off customers and should be brought to book,' he added. 'We would urge anyone who thinks their policy was mis-sold to seek specialist help without delay.'

To find out if you might be entitled to compensation for a mis-sold PPI policy, just logon www.brunelfranklin.com and take the quick and easy 60-second test. If you have grounds for a claim, it will be pursued on a no win, no fee basis by a team of experienced staff dedicated to achieving the maximum payout possible. You can also telephone Brunel Franklin free of charge on 0800 051 54 51 or email info@brunelfranklin.com

Sussex woman paid for worthless PPI policy.

Joya Antao of Haywards Heath, West Sussex, took out a credit card in 2001 but had no idea that payment protection was included in the agreement.

Since she was unemployed at the time, the cover was actually worthless but Joya was charged for the insurance every month. The unexpected fee, coupled with her own spending, meant that the bills soon began to spiral out of control leading to months of worry for Joya. She eventually had to raid her savings and even sell some possessions in order to clear the debt and is now adamant that she will never take out a credit card again.

'I had no idea I was going to be paying for payment protection on top of what I was spending as nobody ever told me about it,' she explained. 'It wasn't mentioned at any point and I just noticed it on my bills. I feel very strongly about what happened as I struggled with the repayments and the insurance was no use to me anyway. I was very worried about my finances for a long time and eventually got help from the Citizen's Advice Bureau but it took me two or three years to sort it all out. Thankfully I'm debt free now but I really want to warn other people about my experience so they don't end up in the same position.'

Joya, 58, is particularly concerned about just how widely credit cards are promoted. 'I went into the Alliance and Leicester to set up a savings account and they tried to sell me another credit card even though I was asking about something completely different,' she said. 'I
was still unemployed and it wasn't what I'd gone in for. In fact it was the very opposite because I wanted to know about savings not credit.'

Joya was surfing the internet looking for help with her finances when she found the website for Brunel Franklin. She took the company's online 60-second test and discovered that she might be eligible for compensation on the grounds that the PPI policy was mis-sold and Brunel Franklin is now pursuing her case.

Brunel Franklin, said: 'Paying for insurance that you're not aware of is bad enough but paying for a policy you could never claim on in the first place is absolutely appalling. It is ludicrous that people are being sold PPI that won't offer them any cover at all because of their circumstances. Being unemployed is an immediate bar to this type of product because these customers have no income to protect.

'It's the vendor's responsibility to get the necessary details and ensure the product is suitable but we are seeing more and more cases where this just hasn't happened and it's yet another example of an abuse of trust on the part of lenders. Many seem very reluctant to tell people that PPI is optional or that they're entitled to shop around for a better deal. Instead they keep customers in the dark knowing full well they'll get a nasty surprise later. Anyone who thinks their PPI policy was mis-sold should get specialist help straight away,' he added.

To find out if you might be entitled to compensation for a mis-sold PPI policy, just log on to www.brunelfranklin.com and take the quick and easy 60-second test. If you have grounds for a claim, it will be pursued on a no-win, no-fee basis by a team of experienced staff dedicated to achieving the maximum payout you are entitled to. You can also telephone Brunel Franklin free of charge on 0800 051 54 51 or email info@brunelfranklin.com

Hampshire couple get Bond payout, thanks to experts

When Sue Evans of Fleet in Hampshire received a voluntary redundancy payment in 2000, she simply planned to put it in her regular savings account. But Abbey National, where she was a long-standing customer, was quick to suggest 'a better use' of the cash.

Sue was urged to invest the money in a bond for five years by an advisor who claimed that members of his own family were signing up for the 'high growth' product.

A year later, Sue and her husband Adam were horrified to learn that their original investment had shrunk by a massive £4,000. 'There was absolutely no mention of any risks at the time. It was just hype, hype, hype,' said Sue, 37. 'We were told to expect steady growth and a good return and couldn't believe it when we received our statement. We thought we were doing the right thing and were really worried about losing so much money.'

Determined not to give up on their hard-earned cash, the couple approached Brunel Franklin to see if they had grounds for making a claim. Within just four weeks, the company secured a compensation payout of more than £8,000.

'It meant that we got all our money back as well as peace of mind and we couldn't have asked for more,' said Sue. 'We were very impressed with the service which was quick, friendly and efficient. The staff explained everything really well and it took just a couple of telephone conversations to sort it all out. Money worries are not something that people tend to talk about but I'd recommend Brunel Franklin to anyone in a similar situation,' she said.

Now understandably wary of the financial services industry, Sue has reverted to her original plan to safeguard her family's finances. 'The money is now in a savings account which is where it's going to stay,' she added.

Brunel Franklin, said the Evans's case was a typical example of blatant mis-selling. 'People trust the financial institutions to act in their best interests but sadly that isn't always the case. I'm delighted that we were able to turn things round for Mr and Mrs Evans who, like many other innocent victims, did not deserve to be given poor advice and have their money gambled away.'

'In our experience, it's all too common for people to be told about the advantages of a particular bond while advisors gloss over the question of risk and don't properly explain the terms, conditions and possible pitfalls,' he warned.

Anyone who thinks they may have invested in a mis-sold bond should get help straightway and Brunel Franklin will do everything possible to make sure they receive the maximum payout to which they're entitled.