St George/Bank SA refusing to give partial refund of LMI

M

Mamaof3

I was under the impression that we were eligible for a partial LMI refund if the life of our loan is less than 12mths.....we had 3 loans with them which all lasted around 5-6mths before we paid it out. We applied for a partial LMI refund and have just received a letter in the mail today saying the bank has attempted to approach the MI about our request and the MI has declined our request!

Is this right? Or is the partial LMI refund something that is optional for the banks?
 
The decision around LMI refund should be with the MI not the bank. Of course, in saying that, I thought STG self-insured.

Did they give a reason as to why?

When I arranged my refund (40%) in February this year, the confusion and the misinformation from the bank about the process to do this was quite amazing. Keep quizzing them
 
you're right in that the banks aren't that cluey when it comes to LMI refunds...we've rung up probably 6 times in the past week and each time we've asked to speak to someone in that area their response makes me think they don't know that LMI refunds are even available at all!

their exact wording is "we refer to the terms of your loan agreement which explain the nature of lenders mortgage insurance, and as the bank is the insured, we approached our insurer to request a partial refund. We regret to inform you that request was declined and so no refund is possible"

sounds like i need to persist
 
kimanand said:
you're right in that the banks aren't that cluey when it comes to LMI refunds...we've rung up probably 6 times in the past week and each time we've asked to speak to someone in that area their response makes me think they don't know that LMI refunds are even available at all! I bet they don't! Honestly! :mad:

their exact wording is "we refer to the terms of your loan agreement which explain the nature of lenders mortgage insurance, and as the bank is the insured, we approached our insurer to request a partial refund. We regret to inform you that request was declined and so no refund is possible"

sounds like i need to persist
Click to expand...

Good luck, keep trying.:eek:
 
I had a similar response whem I tried years ago. I discharged one earlier this year and I haven't bothered as I recall what a rigmarole it was last time
 
Kim, you've probably already done this - but when I had a loan discharged with BankSA I was told to send a written request for the portion of LMI to be refunded. This was only after speaking to a 2nd person, as the 1st didn't have a clue what I was on about.

I did this, and received their response by mail a few weeks later. If you've only requested it over the phone, try a written request - if you've already tried the letter approach, then ignore all the above. :D

Like Buzz said, I thought they self insured?
 
you have to be kidding me.....i know sometimes abbreviations/acronyms can be annoying but you'd think someone who works at a bank would know what LMI stands for :mad:

i rang up again to see if i could speak to someone about our LMI refund request and the guy on the other line said "sorry i'm not sure what LMI refund stands for?"

arghhhhhh :mad:

didn't get anywhere with St George but i'm not giving up!
 
Can I suggest you try the Customer Relations Department of both banks. Similar problem with me a few months back and got sick of people not knowing their own products:eek::confused:

Customer Relations Department
Our Customer Relations Department has been specifically set up to listen to you. The Department reports directly to BankSA's Executive Management, providing feedback on the Bank's products, services, procedures and any areas of concern.

You can contact us by:

Phone: Call 13 13 76 and ask for the Customer Relations Department
Fax: (08) 8424 5950
Email: [email protected]
Mail: Customer Relations Department
GPO Box 399, Adelaide SA 5001

St George Customer Relations
If our branch or Customer Contact Centre teams have not resolved your concern or complaint, please contact our Customer Relations Team.

Submit feedback online
Call 1800 804 728 (Option 1) 9:00am - 5:00pm (EST) weekdays
Fax (02) 9952 1080
 
I agree with rossdc - the Customer Relations Department is the way to go. I had a problem (not related to refund of LMI) with one bank, and got the right royal run-around. So I wrote to customer relations (4 pages outlining every grievance) - and received a telephone call as soon as my letter arrived. The first words the lady said were: "Oh my goodness, what have we done to this poor customer that she feels she has to write a four-page letter!" Everything was fixed post-haste!

Cheers
LynnH
 
well we managed to get a hold of the guy that sent us the letter declining to offer a partial LMI refund and he said the reason is because our loans were Lo-Doc.....only Full Doc loans were offered LMI Refunds.

I'm not so sure this is right because we got an LMI refund from our westpac loan which was Lo-Doc

Anyone manage to get an LMI refund on a LoDoc through StGeorge/BankSA before by any chance?
 
I would remind them of their competitors policies:

PMI
If an insured loan is repaid in full within 12 months of the initial loan settlement date and PMI is advised within 30 days of discharge, a 40% Premium refund may be available, subject to the following:

No refund is payable where:
- the Insured Mortgage has been in default;
- the amount of the refund is less than $500;
- the loan is not repaid in full; or
- the loan is repaid more than 12 months after the loan settlement date

It is the responsibility of the Lender to advise PMI of the repayment of any Insured
Mortgage.
Click to expand...

Genworth
1. The Lender should advise Genworth Financial as soon as the loan has been fully repaid so that the policy can be cancelled in our system and any refund due calculated. Please include your loan number, Genworth Financial reference number, the borrower name and the date of the final payment.

2. No refund is payable where:
- the loan is repaid within one year of the maturity date of the mortgage; or
- the notification of cancellation of the policy is received by Genworth Financial more than 3 months after repayment of
the insured loan; or
- the refund amount is less than $150.00; or
- a loss has eventuated; or
- the loan has been reported to Genworth to have had arrears

3. Any enquiries made to Genworth Financial from borrowers regarding refunds will be forwarded to the Lender to address. See below for the current refund rate table, which is subject to change from time to time:
1 year or less = 40%
Over 1 year to 2 years = 20%
Click to expand...

I have copied these from the MI's policy documents.

SGB LMI should conform with these "industry standards" in my experience.

Cheers

Stuart
 
i've just sent an email to the banks customer relations area for investigation......thanks for the PMI and Genworth bits on LMI Refunds StuartW...i've copied and pasted it in my email :D

will let you know what the outcome is and hopefully it can help others in similar situation
 
just got a reply back and this was their response:

"Whilst we accept that the policy of some LMI underwriters may be to offer partial refunds it unfortunately is not SGIA's policy to refund paid premium on Low Doc Loans. Their refund policy states "No refund is payable if :

The refund is less than $200
The loan is not fully repaid
A loss has eventuated
The loan has been in default
Specifically there are no refunds available on no deposit/flexible deposit and low document home loans."
As your loans were classed "Low doc" the underwriter is unwilling to consider a request in your instance in accordance with it's refund policy"

So something for St George/BankSA customers to note :(
 
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