Hi, I need some advice please! This is a bit of a long story so bear with me.

I've had an Egg Card for many years now, and had no balance on the card until last September, when I transferred approx £3k to my Egg Card. I had been getting the emails from Egg to say my statement was ready to view online, but the few times I logged on to Egg to view it, the first page I got to said there had been no new transactions each time. This tallyed with what I knew already because I only used the card for the balance transfer itself, and had not been using it for purchases or anything else to check against. So, on that basis (I know I should have checked the statement anyway regarless!) I did not continue to view the actual detailed statement online. In March 2009 I decided to see how much my balance had reduced by, and was surprised to see it wasn't a lot despite it being on 0%. I then had a look back at the statements back to October and there was £25 a month Card Repayment Protector being charged every month. I was horrified because, having worked in financial services for the last 10-12 years, I was fully aware what poor value these types of PPI/ASU policies represent, and it's something I would never apply for in a million years and never have applied for such products previously because I know how expensive they are for the amount of cover they provide and also the chances of it paying out is known to be slim.

I contacted Egg about this and they told me that this CRP (Card Repayment Protector) had been selected at the outset when I applied online for my card years ago. I asked for a copy of the application form and asked the question of was it a pre selected box that had been ticked to say you want the cover and then if not, then you need to tick the other box. If it was, then I could see how I had potentially overlooked this in error. Egg told me that I had specifically ticked the box to say I DID want the cover and interestingly enough, they said that the fields could not be amended their side to select the cover instead of opting out. I was amazed at this for the reasons I stated in the previosu paragraph. I had applied for the card in May 2002, and also, which was ever so strange, was that on the copy of my application form there were a number of anomolies on the application. For example, in May 2002, I had been employed for only 4 months, but on the printed application provided by Egg it said that I'd been employed for 7 years 5 months. This could not be correct as I was only 23 at the time of application and therefore would still have been in full time education 7 years and 5 months previously. Also what was strange was that my salary was down as over £20k, this was definitely not right because I was only earning about £12-14k.

I haven't queried these things with Egg yet but the outcome of my complaint to them (stating that I couldn't believe I had applied for this CRP cover and therefore asking for a refund of the CRP charges which amounts to about £150) was that they declined to refund the monies and said I could refer the matter to the Ombudsman if I was unhappy with the outcome, which of course I am.

I haven't referred the matter to the Ombudsman yet although there is still time as I have 6 months from the complaint outcome to do so. I really feel that I've been "done" here, but also, because of the anomolies on the application form, I am afraid to go to the Ombudsman in case then Egg turn around and say that I had applied for a credit fraundulently by lying about information which I most certainly did not. Obviously having worked in financial services I know that you mustn't lie on application forms, and besides, why would I say I was in my job prior to me actually leaving school (did not leave until 18 anyway). And also say I was on about double the salary I was actually on? I just wouldn't do that. I also had plenty of other credit cards at the time so it wasn't as if I was desperate for money and prepared to lie to try and get another card. In the June of that year I was actually starting a new job (the job I was doing from Jan to May was just to fill in between jobs) and my starting salary there was £16k, it didn't even rise to above £20k until June 2004!

I am wondering, could my card application have been referred (I can't remember if it was or not but might have been considering my short time in employment, low salary etc) at the time of application, and then someone has possibly altered the information on it to look more favourable including the addition of CRP so that the card application then passed and could be authorised? (i.e. to sell another card)? I can't think of any other way that this wrong information could be on my application form, yet Egg say that the information can't be altered on the application, including the application for CRP? It just doesn't make any sense at all.

Please could someone advise me whether it's best just to leave it (in case of my concern above about the odd information and them saying I had applied stating the wrong information on purpose) or if it's worth going through the Ombudsman? I feel so annoyed that I've been charged £150 for a load of rubbish.

:-(