"Card Protection Plan" (CPP)
"Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves" sung Cher .... Yes, well, the horrid man that stole my wallet and other personal possessions from my gym locker was all of these and more. He was certainly bold, I will give him that, but he was also lucky .... lucky, that I didn't ... Read review
Advantages: One phone call and the hassle is taken away.... Disadvantages: Your calling because you've just had your cards stolen
...
With some credit card companies, it is not very straightforward or even quick to dial a number and report the theft, which is most annoying. In fact, one of the phone calls I made took over 45 minutes, which I felt was horrendous!!
This theft actually taught me a valuable lesson about closing credit card accounts that are no longer used, as I had amassed 5 credit cards - due to swapping and changing every 6-9 months for 0% ... ...call the credit and debit card companies to put a stop on your cards. You will require that crime reference number when speaking to the credit card companies to ensure that you recoup any money spent on your cards..... That's provided it's investigated and proved to be a bona fide crime, unlike some scallies (not mentioning anyone in particular!!! Seriously, can't you lot just leave my Scouse heritage alone already!! haha)
"Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves" sung Cher .... Yes, well, the horrid man that stole my wallet and other personal possessions from my gym locker was all of these and more. He was certainly bold, I will give him that, but he was also lucky .... lucky, that I didn't return to the changing rooms whilst he was in the act of jamming open my locker to steal cards, money, watch and other items I have worked damn hard for, and give him the damned good beating he deserved ! I am not a particularly violent person, but the blood was boiling when I discovered the heinous crime that had been carried out against my person.
I think, to provide a truly useful review on this service, I need to give background on the hassle involved trying to sort it all out yourself when you have had your credit cards stolen.
If you really don't want to read the background on "The crime", and "Reporting credit cards as stolen", then you can skip down to the "Card Protection Plan" bit further down.... After all, I know some of you really won't be particularly arsed about the crime, but I am going to write about it, because some how I feel it helps!
~~~~~~~~~ The Crime ~~~~~~~~~
As some of you will know from my Fitness First review, this is the gym I am a member of and frequent on an average of 4 occasions a week.
I have been a member of the gym for several years and so am familiar with a lot of the "faces" down at the gym, particularly as I go after work, and most people tend to stick to the same times when attending.
It was on one such visit in 2005, a year that was the worst of my life, with personal tragedy after personal tragedy, that the latest disaster occurred.... Seriously, you know the National Lottery advert with the big happy finger (I don't know how a finger can be happy ... just go with it yeah?!) pointing down at the lucky winner? Well, I must have had a big black arrow twice the bloody size pointed at me last year!!! Although, in truth, this particular incident paled in comparison to the rest, but the feeling you get when somebody has robbed you is not the most pleasant I have ever experienced, and I remember it taking me some time to get over my house being burgled a couple of years before.
Anyway, long story short... some waste of space gypsy, no doubt the product of borstal.... No, not the little village in Kent ... the young offenders institutes ... forced open my gym locker and stole my wallet and watch ... thankfully, leaving my car keys and mobile phone, which surprised me, but he was obviously only after the cold hard cash, watch and credit cards. Ha, that reminds me of when I got burgled ... the buggers took stereos, play stations, DVDs, CDs, left the TV and videos, yet took my quite well worn "gold" football boots!!! As I said.. "Gypsies, tramps...."!!
The first transaction on one of my cards was literally 5 minutes after my wallet had been stolen, at a petrol station around the corner! Cheeky sod!
So, you've had your wallet with bank and credit cards stolen ... what next?!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Reporting Credit Cards as lost or stolen ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is a painful process to go through.. Not only because you're upset about cards having been stolen, but also because the actual process is not straightforward and it takes some digging through your statements etc to actually find the correct number to call and make the report.
With some credit card companies, it is not very straightforward or even quick to dial a number and report the theft, which is most annoying. In fact, one of the phone calls I made took over 45 minutes, which I felt was horrendous!!
This theft actually taught me a valuable lesson about closing credit card accounts that are no longer used, as I had amassed 5 credit cards - due to swapping and changing every 6-9 months for 0% interest free offers - and not closed the accounts of those I didn't use. This may have been because I listened to an old wives tale about the more credit cards you have improving your credit rating. Yes, only if they are actually active, and having in excess of £60k spending power in your wallet really is a little scary, whilst also not be very sensible or indeed affordable! The Government really should put more stringent measures in place to eradicate the potential for huge debt, especially amongst youngsters.
This may sound obvious, but it is necessarily relevant in terms of the product I am reviewing and ultimately recommending, but if you have your wallet (or purse) stolen, contact the Police immediately to report the crime, gain a crime reference number, and then call the credit and debit card companies to put a stop on your cards. You will require that crime reference number when speaking to the credit card companies to ensure that you recoup any money spent on your cards..... That's provided it's investigated and proved to be a bona fide crime, unlike some scallies (not mentioning anyone in particular!!! Seriously, can't you lot just leave my Scouse heritage alone already!! haha)
The time taken for me to actually report my credit cards (x4), debit card, driving license, national insurance card, and certain other membership cards was well in excess of 6 hours in total and a hassle to boot.
Thankfully, for future reference, I come across the Card Protection Plan, when I was reporting my Virgin credit card as stolen. The lovely lady I spoke to provided a right good selling job on me, and I made the purchase swifter than Arkwright could ask Nurse Gladys for a bit of you know what !
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Card Protection Plan (CPP) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have always been sceptical of the added charges credit card companies add on for insurance should you lose a credit card. After all, I am not that bad at misplacing things and losing things. When something is stolen, that is a different matter and there is usually cover for such crimes, provided they are bona fida.
However, what I didn't bank on was the hassle and time caused in trying to report your cards as stolen, put a stop on them, and then have new ones posted out ~ especially if you have just moved house and have not quite informed all the relevant parties … an added issue! See, nothing ever simple and straightforward in the Newty household. That is one of the key services of the plan … if you move home, CPP will inform all your card issuers, ensuring there are several less things to think about.
Put simply, the ability to cancel all your cards with one phone call from anywhere in the world 24 hours a day, does give me much more peace of mind than the process I had to go through.
Plus, you will know that a team of people are ensuring that the cards are cancelled, causing no delay and ensuring the villains cannot do maximum damage. Unfortunately, because I was silly enough to have so many credit cards, and only one with a chip and pin facility, three of them were utilised over the space of 3 hours to the tune of over £3k. Whilst this was a bona fida crime, the process of recovering that money and having it re-credited to my accounts was a laboured process, which - once confirmed - also generated late payment fees and also needed redressing later on, so the inconvenience of the whole matter actually lasted over 3 months! Therefore, the quicker the loss or theft can be reported the better.
Whilst it is called the "Card Protection Plan", cover can go much further than that, with drivers' licenses, passports, mobiles (No, not Babies toys … phones), and keys all covered under the policy.
Keys? Ok, this one is a bit of a flimsy one, because you are simply provided with a key ring, informing the "finder" of the keys where to return them to, but this is very dependent upon an honest and decent person finding them! If the keys are returned to CPP, then they cover the cost then returning them back to you. They may even make you a cup of tea they're that nice … sent in a thermos to ensure it stays hot! Obviously I jest but wouldn't that be service!
If you are abroad when your wallet is stolen or lost, then advances and cash advances are provided for you to pay hotel bills, replace travel tickets, spare cash, lost luggage, and for replacing passports or driving licenses.
~~~~ Cost ~~~~
I have a plan that covers 3 years, which is the minimum period of cover, and cost me £45, which at £15 a year didn't seem a bad deal to me.
The longer the period of cover chosen, then the premium will decrease in cost.
I have the single classic cover, but the "Plus Protection" offers higher monetary values for both fraud cover and emergency cash advances.
Additional cards can be added at any time, up to a specified maximum.
~~~~~~~~ Summary ~~~~~~~~In summary the service provides;
Card protection
Travel assistance
Financial support
Cover for up to 5 people (additional tariff)
Lost key retrieval ~ key coded fob
Excellent security and privacy
I would highly recommend this, and whilst I have not had to use it for it's purpose as yet, my dealings so far have resulted in excellent adn friendly customer service.A full list of terms & conditions are supplied upon application, providing you with a whole list of definitions, and vital detail on what you can expect to claim for what, what you can expect to receive for what, and a run down on the service and emergency numbers.
Applications can be made via the website www.cpp.co.uk
Thanks for reading!
Newty :-D
PS Some of the ratings below don;t really mean too much, as there is no APR or reward scheme.
Advantages: Indemnity cover, One stop card stopping, Cover other personal possessions Disadvantages: None whatsoever
CPP - Card Protection Plan
www.cpp.co.uk
CPP, as the name suggests, are a credit card theft / loss insurer. If you have a credit or debit card, you will have seen their or Sentinels Card services advertised through whichever bank / lender you have a card.
Please take my advice, sign up for CPP or Sentinel at the earliest opportunity, I'll explain why.
For £12 a year, or £30 for 3 years, they cover your financial backside.
You have to register ... ...up on some of the card companies) all the cards had been stopped.
Within a week, I had all my cards again (this though was the responsibility of the card companies and not CPP.)
What was also good to know is that apparently, some card companies will charge you for the first £50 of fraud that occurs, I don't know which, but CPP cover you for up to 20 cards, i.e. £1000 in total. After that, the card companies are reponsible for collecting fraud debt.
...
sjl02 25.02.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Card Protection Plan
Advantages: All your cards, wallet, bags, passport, drivers license, NIC protected Disadvantages: No website to add cards
...driver's license, your National Insurance card and add a few store cards and some cash and you have an average persons wallet or purse.
What is CPP?
Let's say your out doing your Christmas shopping and someone decides to steal your wallet. You have a bunch of bank and credit cards plus some cash in it. If you live say ten minutes drive away it's going to take you ten minutes to get home. You then have to find a number of bank statements to call ... ...Card Protection Plan or CPP is like insurance for your bank, store, credit and other cards you might have in your purse or wallet. It also insures any money in your wallet/purse and the wallet/pulse and/or bag.
Instead of calling all them banks up you simply fill in a simple form with CPP and pay them £12. On the form you just write down the name on the card, the card or account number and the bank or company who it's issued by. You can also add ...
computerxpert 01.10.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Card Protection Plan
Advantages: Piece of mind, ease of use Disadvantages: None
The Card Protection Plan (CPP) is a credit card theft insurer. Therefore, if you have a credit card, their service could be invaluable.
COST
£12 for a year or £30 for 3 years.
INSURING
You have to register the cards you want to insure, either via the phone or via the net. I've used the phone to register all 6 of my cards. On initially registering, they'll send a handy set of stickers and a keyring to put on things (eg on the keys, mobile, briefcase). ... ...forward these on.
Some card companies do not cover for fraud, but CPP will cover up to 20 cards.
You can also register important documents (passport, driving licence etc) and they can provide cash when no in the UK, up to £1,500, which will need to be repaid as a loan.
CUSTOMER SERVICES
Each time I've phoned them, they've answered really quickly and always seem professional. Their phones are manned constantly, so it's a one stop shop to cancel ...
hthomas018 05.12.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Card Protection Plan
Advantages: Honestly? None that I can see. Disadvantages: A renewal policy that will take your breath away.
CPP are a card protection insurers, and they do most of the things in the other reviews. At the moment, one other review on this site touches on their renewal policy - I had the single worst experience ever with this company about their insurance renewal policy, which is what this review is about. BEWARE CPP's RENEWAL PRACTICE.
In 2002, I took out a high street store card. I was buying a new suit and a few holiday bits, and wanted to take avantage ... ...took out a card protection insurance policy at the same time - four years on, I can't remember if I ticked a box and took a sales call from CPP or what happened, but I do remember signing up at the same time as getting my store card.
A year later I cancelled the store card and moved house. The store card is administered by GE Capital / GE Money. I phoned their automated change of address service TWICE to ensure they had my new details. Then I rang ...
Shopathon 31.05.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Card Protection Plan
Advantages: Can reduce hassle at a stressful time Disadvantages: Unauthorised direct debit set up
I had a card protection policy with CPP and, to be fair, they were great when I had a burglary and reported my cards stolen.
Their 'moving house' service (they all card issuers know your new address in one go) let me down, however, as they failed to notify at least one loyalty card - and my bank!
My last straw came later when I rang them to report the loss of some loyalty (points) cards. They asked if I was interested in Identity Theft insurance. ... ...details (on file from the card protection policy) to generate a new policy and arrange a monthly direct debit without my permission! I rang to complain and was told they must be generic bank account details as the had to set up a dummy policy in order to send out the information. But they were MY bank account details on the letter! They kept trying to fob me off with 'wait a few days, the information will arrive, when it does you can always cancel ...
suemoore 29.09.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Card Protection Plan
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Barclays CardProtection department called me a year ago to promote their plans to me. I made it clear that I wasn't interested and thought that would be the last I'd hear from them.
A few months later my bank statement showed that 70 pounds had been taken from my account by the CardProtection Department. I promptly phoned them, expecting their mistake to be cleared up and to be refunded immediately . I was told that the sale's department may have 'misunderstood' my my disinterest in their product and that I'd have to appeal in writing to get a refund. This suggests to me that the cardprotection department frequently charge customers without their full consent.
This is fraud. These cowboy antics have lost my trust in Barclays and I shall be closing my account with them very shortly. ...
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around.
Egg realise that sometime the unexpected might happen and that’s why they have got several things set up to help you.
CARD REPAYMENT PROTECTION-
What would happen if you were unable to work due to sickness, unemployment or accident? The last thing you would want to think about is how you are going to pay your credit card bill. But Egg has got it covered. For as little as 74p per £100 of your outstanding balance, Egg would pay one tenth of the balance monthly until you return to work, for up to 1 yr. They will also pay the full balance in the event of death or diagnosis of a serious illness.
CARDPROTECTIONPLAN-
In addition to that Egg realise that thousands of cards go missing each day. That’s why for £15 per person per year CardProtectionPlan will cover all your cards against fraud if they are lost ...
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