Consumer Advice Bureau on Selling ‘The Assist Pack’
How do you Sell The Assist Pack™?
Sales focus on Payment Protection Mis-selling Claim
PRICE PLANS / Commissions
GG The Assist Pack - UK £99.00 Commission £35.00
GG The Assist Pack - UK £145.00 Commission £55.00
GG The Assist Pack - UK £195.00 Commission £80.00
CRITERIA
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Secured Loans with Payment Protection
Unsecured Loans with payment Protection
Credit Cards with Payment Protection
Car Finance with Payment Protection/GAP Insurance
Store Cards with Payment Protection
Mortgages with Payment Protection
Any finance agreement with payment Protection Insurance taken out in last 6 years.
Agreement does not have to current/live – does not matter if paid off.
Copy of PPI agreement with signed contracts
POINTS TO WATCH OUT FOR
Any client currently in arrears or owing money on defaulted balances will have any refund taken off
their outstanding debt to the company, if there is a surplus they will receive it, they will be invoiced on
the total amount recovered. Any client in a Debt Administration Plan, IVA, or Bankruptcy will also have
any refund deducted from the amounts outstanding.
If a credit card and it has a current balance some lenders will automatically reduce the current balance
by the amount of refund, some will also try to reduce the credit limit by the same amount to stop the
client using the card, we will attempt to stop this happening, if the client wishes to pay the fee off the
card that has been refunded we can take payment by phone
Some lenders will attempt to re-write the loan agreements to reflect a lower monthly payment as well
as refunding the client in cash, we only charge on the amount recovered.
Moral of the above is really to try and avoid people with large arrears etc as the chances are they will
not be able to pay our invoice.
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The aim of this training aid is to focus on using a reclaim for payment protection mis-selling
service approach and script to achieve a positive sale. It is important that you follow the flow
example as defined below to achieve optimum results from every call.
The call flow:
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Background information
What is Payment Protection Insurance (PPI)
PPI is an additional insurance plan that many lenders 'sell' to their customers which may
potentially help them in the event that they are unable to repay their loan due to accident,
sickness, unemployment.
If you've taken out a mortgage, a loan for a kitchen or a car, applied for a credit card or
consolidated your debts, payment protection insurance will almost certainly have come into
the equation.
Statistics reveal only 4% of people ever claim on their PPI policies and that one in four of
these claimants is refused. Small print exclusions and administrative nightmares are usually
to blame.
Even more worrying, you might have payment protection insurance without even knowing
about it. Some unscrupulous salespeople automatically include payment protection insurance
in the quotes they give for monthly loan repayments.
The Consumer Advice Bureau can assess a clients PPI sale, which will reveal whether the sale
was in the client’s best interest.
What does PPI cost?
Loan Type
Loan
Amount
PPI
Premium
Premium as % of total loan
Unsecured personal
loan
£8,933
£2,217
25%
Unsecured personal
loan
£11,000
£5,133
47%
Hire purchase for car
£5,059
£2,157
43%
Hire purchase for car
£6,895
£2,317
34%
Unsecured loan
£5,600
£744
13%
Secured loan
£25,000
£12,127
49%
Secured loan
£35,000
£10,150
29%
Conditional sale for
car
£4,300
£2,394
56%
Unsecured personal
loan
£13,000
£3,367
26%
(Source Citizens Advice Bureau evidence report findings Sep '08)
The Citizens Advice Bureau reports that PPI premiums can add between 13% and 56% to the
price of a loan, Payments can also carry high interest charges when lenders add insurance
charges to the loan total.
As the table above shows PPI is n cheap and the average PPI claim is £3000+
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What is the regulator doing about the mis-selling?
During the investigation of the PPI Market, the FSA has taken action against a number of firms
and are continuing to investigate 150 others. Below are examples:
(Fined £7,000,000) for: failing to treat its customers fairly when selling PPI in
connection with home shopping products. The FSA found that A and L did not have adequate systems
and controls in place to minimize the risk of unsuitable sales.
(Fined £1,080,000) For: failing to treat its customers fairly when selling PPI in
connection with home shopping products. The FSA found that HSBC did not have adequate systems
and controls in place to minimize the risk of unsuitable sales.
(Fined £610,000) For: failing to have adequate systems and controls for
selling insurance which includes PPI and for failing to treat its customers fairly.
(Fined £840,000) The FSA has fined Liverpool Victoria Banking Services
Limited (LVBS) £840,000 for serious failings in the sale of single premium payment protection
insurance (PPI). The penalty was imposed for failings in relation to PPI offered to customers who
telephoned LVBS seeking unsecured personal loans between 14 January 2005 and 8 August 2007.
The regulator said that when customers rang LVBS to apply for a personal loan, LVBS added the cost of
PPI to the quotation without the customer asking for it. If customers realised they did not have to buy
the cover and objected to it, LVBS then put pressure on them to take the PPI.
mortgage related PPI in the sub-prime market
(Fined £56,000) For: failures relating to its sale of
(Fined £455,000) For: failing to treat its customers fairly when selling PPI. The
FSA found that Loans.co.uk did not have appropriate systems and controls to minimise the risk of
unsuitable sales.
(Fined £1,085,000) For: failing to treat its customers fairly when selling PPI.
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protection insurance.
(Fined £721,000)
For: serious failings in its sales of credit card payment
What are the parameters of a client’s potential claim?
Customers have to have had a loan or credit card. It does not matter whether the client’s loan
or credit card is now finished. We can look at current and paid off loans, and any finance
going back to 1974.
1. Customers have to be over 18 years old.
2. Customer must have a loan with PPI or previously paid off a loan which had PPI
3. Customer must have a credit card with PPI
What can be wrong with the sale of PPI which means I can make a claim?
1. Did the adviser tell the client it was mandatory to take out the PPI? If so it was mis-sold
2. Did the adviser fail to ask any questions about the customer’s previous medical
history? If so it was mis-sold
3. Did the adviser include the PPI without actually telling the customer? If so it was missold
4. Did the adviser fully discuss the cost of PPI and how interest is added to the PPI, If not
then it was mis-sold
5. Only a full assessment will identify if you have to pay it back or not.
6. 95% of all PPI mis-sold claims are upheld by the financial ombudsman
Ways to assess your loan or credit card PPI
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You can make a claim for mis-selling yourself, but remember you will be dealing with
the banks, and 75% of all claims started by individuals are unsuccessful due to the lack
of expertise with dealing with the banks.
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You can use a claims management company
Benefits of using a claim’s Company
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We will look at multiple credit cards and loans
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Full backing of legal & finance experts
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Will increase any claim with an interest calculation, which can double a claim
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We will provide a full financial audit on your loans and credit cards
What does the customer receive?
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Legal documentation and a guide on how to complete them.
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Step by step guide on how to claim. Which explains what the customer should do, what
to expect in response and what to do next.
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Full back up support, and a step by step management team who will provide all of the
necessary claims support through to the end of the claim.
DO’S & DON’TS
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Do give out examples wherever possible
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Don’t forget to emphasise that it is an example
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Do try to explain the whole system to the customer
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Don’t give the impression that you work for or on behalf of a bank
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Do offer peace of mind by giving out our contact details to verify us
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Don’t imply that we are associated in any way to any government bodies.
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Do explain that we only charge £99.99 for the pack
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Don’t go on and say that they can pay after they have received their money back.
Facts
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80-85% of all loans and credit cards are not written on the correct paper work and that
means that they are missing key information.
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There are 7 million credit agreements taken out each year in the UK
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Each year £5.5 billion pounds is sold in PPI premiums
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PPI mis-selling Scripting
Important Information:
When we discuss our PPI mis-selling service we need to make sure we highlight with the
client, that we don’t just look at current loans & credit Cards, we can also audit previous loans
and cards for a PPI compensation claim.
If you choose to focus on a script based on the PPI mis-selling claim service, then you will
need to make sure you ask the right questions, and so that the client will buy the services of
The Assist Pack we need to highlight the importance of all of the linked services, which the
client will become entitled to.
Examples:
Hello Mr/Mrs ........................... my name is AGENT NAME and I am calling you today from the
CONSUMER ADVICE BUREAU, we are a consumer notification service, and have been asked
to call you regarding an important public announcement regarding people with loans and
credit cards.
I need to ask you a couple of important questions? I will only take 2 minutes of your time?
(1) Have you had any loans or credit cards since 1974, did you know
there is a 75% chance that these were sold with a PPI policy that
may have cost you thousands of pounds?
(2) Are you aware that loan and credit card companies who have been
selling payment protection insurance have been fined millions, and
you are entitled to make a claim?
(3) Did you know you are entitled to a service which will assess all of
your loans both current and past, and our specialists will identify
how much you can claim back in PPI premiums?
(4)
Did you know that a number of high street banks have been fined
millions of pounds for mis-selling PPI (refer to the fines in the
background info section)
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Client shows interest
£5.5 Billion pounds a year is raised by banks by selling you worthless PPI on loans and credit
cards. That is your money and we will help you claim back what’s rightfully yours..
I would like to tell you some exciting information regarding what the Consumer
Advice Bureau can do for you!
1. If you have been mis-sold PPI on loans or credit cards we will be able to manage a claim
to recover it for you.
2. For most people they don’t even know they have had PPI sold alongside the loan or
credit card, and its a real surprise when we send them a cheque for thousands.
3. We will initially assess all of your loans and credit cards, do not worry if you do not
have the paperwork we will apply for this on your behalf.
4. Our exclusive team of experts will work with you, offering advice and information as
and when you need it.
5. Once we have got all of the information regarding your loans and credit cards we will
be able to indentify exactly how much money you will be entitled to claim back in PPI
premiums. This typically runs into thousands of pounds.
6. We offer professional help to guide you through the process; after all, the loan
company isn’t just going to roll over and say here is your money back
7. Once we have identified the claim, we will also make a second claim for interest
applied to the PPI premium, which can add a further 50%+ to claim size.
8. And finally we will complete an audit on your loans and credit cards to check whether
you actually have to pay back the balance or cancel the entire debt. Exciting isn’t it.
Closing Paragraph
Thank you for your interest today. As I have mentioned The Assist Pack™ is more than just
claiming back PPI premiums. And I am sure you cannot wait to get the process started, and
what is even better we only charge £99.99 for this service which is a bargain considering how
much you are going to get back!
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I will now need to run through some questions to make sure the pack gets out to you as soon
as possible.
Proceed to the verification script.
VERIFICATION SCRIPT
THE FOLLOWING MUST READ VERBATIM AND BE RECORDED IN FULL
[START RECORDING]
Hello (good morning/afternoon), is that MR/MRS/MS ………………….……………….…….My name
is …………….……………………., this is the verification department for THE ASSIST PACK.
This call is now being recorded for security, legal and contractual purposes on the [DATE
DD/MM/YYYY] and the time is [TIME].
This call will act as your verbal agreement, confirming your commitment to order the “The
Assist Pack “. Is that OK? [OBTAIN POSITIVE RESPONSE “YES”]
And you are aware you will be charged a one off upfront fee for The Assist Pack. Is that OK?
[OBTAIN POSITIVE RESPONSE “YES”]
IF NO CANCEL VERIFICATION AND START SALES PROCESS AGAIN
In the next few days you will receive The Assist Pack in the post.
(Read slowly the next statement)
The Assist Pack provides information which will allow you to assess your entitlements, in
addition to this, it will allow you to identify whether you have a shortfall in your financial
planning, and also provide awareness of new products and services and as you are aware
there is a fee of £99.99 for The Assist Pack.
PAUSE
Is that OK Mr /Ms..................................................? (Pause for response)
[OBTAIN POSITIVE RESPONSE “YES”]
Before I am able to arrange The Assist Pack to be sent to you, I require you to confirm some of
the details that my colleague took from you.
Firstly, could you please provide me with your full name please? [LET THE CUSTOMER
ANSWER]
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And your full address
House Number / Flat
Street:
Town/City:
County:
Postcode:
And your contact telephone number?
And your email address?
And your date of birth
Thank you
Mr / Mrs.................................................... now, as mentioned earlier there is a one off Fee of
£99.99 for The Assist Pack, this will be charged today. Can you confirm that you agree to this?
[OBTAIN POSITIVE RESPONSE “YES”]
Would you like to pay using a credit or debit card?
[LET THE CUSTOMER ANSWER]
Confirm to me your card number?
Start Date?
And the expiry date?
Issue No (if switch card)
And the 3 digit security number on the back of the card is?
Thank you,
Under the distance selling regulations 2000 (amended), you have a 14 day cooling off period
should, if you change your mind you can write to cancel, this will be refunded less a 25%
administration charge, but remember the amount you are reclaiming is a lot more
than that. After the 14 day cooling off period, this is non refundable.
DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?
[OBTAIN POSITIVE RESPONSE “YES”]
One moment whilst we process this now for you,
(Process transaction whilst customer is on the line)
OK that fee has now been taken from your account, thank you.
The name that will appear on your bank or card statement for the £99.99 we have just taken
will be The Assist Pack or IGS GROUP for this transaction. Is that Ok?
[OBTAIN POSITIVE RESPONSE “YES”]
Before I go, I need to give you our contact details in case you need to speak to us at any time.
(Ask them to get a pen and paper)
Our customer service helpline number is 0871 221 3878 and website www.theassistpack.com
is that OK?
[OBTAIN POSITIVE RESPONSE “YES”]
And is there anything else I can help you with? (Pause for response)
Ok, the pack will be with you in the next few days, so thank you for your time and I wish you
every success with The Assist Pack, to make your life richer. Goodbye, have a nice day.
[STOP RECORDING]
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Overcoming objections
I can’t afford it
Inform the client of the guarantee, if we don’t get them anything they get their money back,
we are that confident that we will win. Inform that they risk losing out on thousands of pounds
in compensation.
Ask them one thing, what would they do with thousands of pounds if we recovered it for them,
ask what they would do if someone gave them two thousand pounds today?
It looks too good to be true
For many of our customers they say that trading standards have warned them of offers that
are too good to be true, be honest with the client, tell them when you first started working on
this project you too thought it was too good to be true, but the company has been around for
three years running this service and it has grown globally to the USA and Australia, due to its
success. Be confident, be assertive.
I don’t like paperwork – I haven’t got the time
The Assist Pack has been designed to be user friendly, the layout and return documents are
clearly labelled, and easy to complete. The whole point of The Assist Pack is to make the
customers life easier. We do the hard work whilst they sit back and wait for the offers of
compensation.
How do I know you are a genuine company
We are marketing company, working in association with regulated companies whom are
regulated by The Ministry of Justice. We also have a significant legal team who are all
regulated by the law society. We are also regulated by the ICO (information commissioner’s
office) for data protection, to make sure any data we hold is completely secure.
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Will this affect my credit rating?
Our process is simple, once we have written off the outstanding debt, your credit file will show
that all payments are up to date, and no more are due.
I don’t believe it?
Please refer to a BBC news article on the 7th October 2009 about a credit card which was
provided by MBNA for £8000 which was written off by the court. Now you will believe it!
Please refer the client also to the companies who have been fined for mis-selling PPI
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