Halifax told me I had no MR insurance (Halifax Building Society Insurance in general)

Member Name: Karol Elliott

Product:	Halifax Building Society Insurance in general
Date:	10/04/08 (116 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: None whatsoever

Disadvantages: Soul destroying

I've had mortgage repayment insurance for the past 20 odd years and used it in 2001/2, I can say my experience was very positive, maybe they were still a building society then! When I took out my insurance originally there was no such thing as Halifax insurance, it was just the Halifax. Anyway, September 2007, I looked in danger of being made redundant again, and I called to check my details to be told I no longer had a policy. Having remortgaged earlier in the year I thought that I must not have ticked the right boxes and I'd been a plonker, I checked all my remortgage paperwork and sure enough no mention of the insurance or the separate premium for it. Just to avoid confusion I should point out that there was only ever one amount being deucted from my bank each month, so I couldn't tell from that that I had been paying the insurance. I'm not one to dwell on something like this, it's happened, get over it, move on.

However, in February 2008 I received my annual statement and discovered that I had been paying it and that I had it in place when I was made redundant. The language was choice in my house that night, in fact I had to wait a couple of days until I was calm enough to call the Halifax. I was very and I mean very angry for a couple of reasons, 1 - the Halifax had told me I had no policy and I believed them 2 - I had taken the first job I was offered after my redundancy, as financially I could afford to do no other, this meant a £7,000 drop in salary and me taking a job that I can honestly say I would NEVER have taken had I not needed too.

When I found out that I had no insurance, I applied to them for a three month holiday to give me the cushion I needed and was refused, I complained and was refused. A customer of 30 years, who'd never missed a payment, refused, what sort of customer service do they call that. Consider as well that their letter refusing me suggested I take out Mortgage Repayment Insurance in the future, hmmm., let's think, I think I might have. Their payment holiday offer is a complete and total joke, not worth the paper it's printed on.

Anyway I contacted the halifax when I was calm enough, and just as an experiment called to ask if I had insurance, a very nice man called Kieran said "no", so I asked him why my annual statement showed monthly deductions for it. Long silence ... eventually very apologetic and passed me on to placating man.

I am sure I must have some form of legal address on this, not sure what I do, or how I go about it though. At the very least they should refund all my payments for insurance when they failed to provide the service.

I have formerly complained to them, but a month on and I still have not had the courtsesy of a reply. Any ideas anyone?

Summary: The Halifax DO NOT give you Xtra