Posts Tagged ‘ppi’

Banks To Refund 4bn To PPI Customers

March 15th, 2010

It has recently emerged that banks and insurance companies could be liable to pay over 4bn to customers who were fooled into paying for Payment Protection Insurance on a loan, mortgage or credit. A previous estimate of up to 1.2bn only covered customers who will attempt to reclaim the payments they have made but this new figure takes into consideration the extra amount of customers who the banks will be forced to give refunds to.

A huge number of overpriced policies were sold to customers who had no hope of claiming if they needed to. Policies were sold to pensioners, the self-employed and those with long term medical conditions who, by definition, were ineligible for cover.

An approximation by the FSA shows that insurance brokers may have to pay up to 450m with the rest being paid by a variety of PPI suppliers such as banks. The average amount repayable to those who purchased policies is 2000 which is a significant amount and has sparked large consumer interest.

The FSA has already begun to make examples of leading high street banks by fining them as well as forcing them to offer refunds to all of the eligible customers. Leading insurance broker ‘The Swinton Group’ were fined 770,000 for serious failings and agreed to offer a full refund to over 350,000 customers while Alliance & Leicester were fined 7m.

There are plans to regulate and control the future sale of policies, a move which is strongly opposed by financial giants. The FSA aims to prevent companies using hard-sell tactics to pressure customers into taking out useless policies. Chairman for the Financial Services Consumer Panel, Adam Phillips, says that “for too long banks have regarded PPI as an easy product to sell and make money without considering whether it is really right for the customer

If you want to make a PPI claim, then visit Dons LLP for the best PPI claims lawyers.

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The PPI Con

March 15th, 2010

Payment Protection Insurance is supposed to help consumers feel secure that if something unplanned happens they are covered for repaying their debts, but more and more people are feeling like it is one big con. It has been sold to people who are unaware, borrowers who cant afford it and even people who want it but don’t know they are ineligible.

Most banks cunningly tag on PPI to any loan or credit and bank employees are often forced to sell useless policies in order to keep their jobs. The theory of PPI is great for borrowers, particularly in the recent economic hard times, where people are losing their jobs left right and centre, it should mean that 3 months unemployed doesn’t mean going hungry because of mortgage repayments. But the reality is quite the opposite; there have been almost no cases where PPI has actually helped someone struggling to make repayments.

Fortunately justice can be served and banks and lenders who have mis-sold PPI can be held responsible by the everyday consumer. There is a variety of companies who are able to help with financial lawsuits and many companies who specialise in reclaiming PPI payments.

Most consumers have no idea of the conditions in which the sale of PPI can be considered illegal, if you were unemployed, self-employed or simply over 65, your PPI payments were void and you can reclaim all the money. If the terms of payment, interest and cancellation were not explained to you and if you were told you had to buy PPI from your lender, ask for it back!

Reclaiming PPI payments is your own responsibility but the Financial Services Authority and the Competition Commission have cracked down on the crooked tactics of the industry. They are even fining any organisation deemed to have broken laws on PPI selling.

In 2009 a watchdog ruled that companies are now required to accurately sell PPI to customers ensuring they are not overpriced, customers can chose to opt out at any time and they are completely covered.

If you feel you have been miss sold PPI, then see why Dons LLP can help you with your PPI claim.

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PPI Claims To Double Over The Next Year

February 23rd, 2010

Payment protection insurance compensation claims are expected to double over the next year say the FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme). PPI claims come from the mis selling of payment protection insurance over the past few years.

PPI insurance offered to cover your loan payments in the event that you either become unemployed, ill or have an accident, however many of the schemes fail to payout immediately on these occurrences, and have been mis sold as a result.

This mis selling of PPI has resulted in multiple claims to the FSCE for compensation from disappointed customers that amounted to over 20 million pounds last year, and this amount is predicted to rise to 40 million next year.

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme is the government agency responsible for making payments to customers of companies who are no longer trading, and it remains unclear whether it is the increase in claims is due to a general increase in PPI claims, or an increase in the amount of financial firms ceasing to trade in the current recession.

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme Chief Executive, Loretta Minghella said: “The FSCS will continue to play a major role in maintaining consumer confidence in 2010/11 by ensuring compensation when firms fail.

“Payment protection insurance claims will be an key driver of our business next year and will add to significant costs estimated at 50.5m”

“Though the situation is in flux, our current assumption is that approximately 8,000 PPI claims will come in during the next financial year. That’s almost double the current number.

She talks in a manner which shows her main priority is to protect the consumers rights and not the profitability of the industry in the current economic environment. “In such tough economic times, we recognise that the interim and annual levies will be unwelcome news for firms. We take great care in determining our indicative levies though our primary obligation is to deliver compensation to those entitled to our protection,

Want to find out more about PPI Claims, then visit Dons LLP site on how to choose the best Mis Sold Payment Protection Insurance for your needs.

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Banks Make A Killing On Hidden PPI Sales Each Year

February 23rd, 2010

When credit consumers take out a new financial service such as credit, a loan or new mortgage they are also offered Payment Protection Insurance which protects them if they experience difficulties in paying for the loan by means of unemployment, injury etc.

Banks aren’t obliged to offer this service but if they do they are required to ensure they understand the background of the customer and are certain the PPI would cover them in the unforeseen.

Banks can exploit PPI in a few ways and the most common is simply allowing the customer to select PPI, simply by ticking a box and this releases the bank from the responsibility to correctly sell a customer the right product. If that customer happens to be unlucky enough to need the PPI, the chances are they will not be eligible for the product they have paid for.

To sink even lower some banks can implicitly sell you PPI, in the small print of an agreement you will sign there will be a clause stating that unless you explicitly choose NOT to buy PPI, you will pay for it anyway. In this case the same applies as the above where they don’t even have to give you the right product and you will therefore be ineligible for the protection should you have to claim.

If that wasn’t sneaky enough the Banks can exploit loopholes allowing them to tag PPI on to a financial service without even telling the customer, they may not notice and will not likely need to claim. Even if the customer finds them self unable to pay their loan, the bank will not advise them to use their PPI unless prompted.

This kind of scamming has accounted for almost 1bn profit for the UK banks in the last year and with the number of unemployed remaining high this figure is likely to increase. It has reportedly affected over 8000 families in the UK in 2009. Many families are seeking compensation to claim back their PPI payments.

Want to find out more about PPI Claims, then visit Dons LLP site on how to choose the best Mis Sold Payment Protection Insurance for your needs.

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