Personal Loan Decision Reference 2020-0389

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Case Outcome: Rejected
• Reference: 2020-0389
• Year: 2020
• Date: 02 November 2020
• Subject Matter: Personal Loan
• Conducts Complained Of: Failure to process instructions in a timely manner,Delayed or inadequate communication, Failure to process instructions
• Finantial Sector: Banking

Decision Ref:

2020-0389

Sector:

Banking

Product / Service:

Personal Loan

Conduct(s) complained of:

Failure to process instructions in a timely manner

Delayed or inadequate communication

Failure to process instructions

Outcome:

Rejected

LEGALLY BINDING DECISION

OF THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND PENSIONS OMBUDSMAN

This complaint concerns the Complainant’s attempts to redeem a life assurance policy and

use part of the proceeds to pay off a loan originally taken out with the Provider.

The Complainants' Case

The Complainants incepted a loan of €150,375.00 on 18 July 2005 for the purpose of

investing in a policy offered by a life assurance provider (“the life assurance provider”). In a

letter dated 1 September 2016 the Complainants submit that the “policy was taken out in

2005 with an investment of €200,000 comprising a loan of €150,000 from [the Provider] and

€50,000 from our own resources. The policy was assigned to [the Provider]”. The

Complainants state that “over the past 10 years we re-paid €111,000”. The Complainants

submit that the outstanding loan balance of approximately €40,000 was sold to a third party

(“the transferee”) in November 2015. The Complainants set out in a letter dated 1

September 2016 that in “April 2016 we agreed to re-pay the outstanding loan plus interest

of €42,622.17 from our policy. The value of which at that time was approx. €198,000.

Unfortunately this is when things became quite complicated as [the life assurance provider

was] unable to process the request because [the Provider / the Transferee or its credit

servicing firm] could not provide the appropriate legal documentation”.

In their letter dated 1 September 2016, the Complainants submit “Since April we have

received no communication from [the Provider], [the Transferee] or [the credit servicing firm]

despite numerous letters sent to them. Meanwhile the value of our plan has fallen by approx.

€12,000.”