PPI News
News on PPI
Act NOW before millions of others………
The FSA estimated in 2010 that its new rules would boost the expected number of complaints to 550,000 a year for the next five years, in other words, 2.75 million.
But that was based on just a 20% response rate from potential complainants.
Clearly there is scope for many more people to complain.
How much compensation are individuals likely to receive?
No-one knows for sure, but the FSA has estimated that someone who had been mis-sold a single-premium policy, where all the cost was paid upfront, might be repaid an average of £1,800.
Someone who had bought a policy requiring regular premiums might receive on average £900.
So, what should I do if I think I was mis-sold PPI?
You may now be contacted by your bank. But if you want to pursue the issue yourself, you can take the following steps. If you still have the paperwork, look back at all your loans and see if there is any evidence you bought a PPI policy.
Check the details of the PPI policy itself, if you have it. Ask yourself some questions:
- Did you realise at the time you were buying this insurance?
- Were you told (falsely) you had to buy it?
- Did it really cover you in the first place? (Self-employed people, for example, are not covered by PPI)
- Did you even need it?
If you think you have grounds for complaint, write to the firm that sold the policy and lodge your complaint.
Lloyds customers, for instance, can use some dedicated hotline numbers:
• Lloyds TSB customers: 08453 005599
• Halifax: 08457 253519
• Bank of Scotland: 08457 253519.
If it is rejected, or nothing happens within eight weeks – or within a new temporary time scale agreed by the FSA – you can complain to theFinancial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
What will the FOS do?
It can look at your case again.
It received 100,000 such complaints in the last financial year and upheld about 75% in favour of the customers.
It is currently receiving about 5,000 PPI complaints a week, so a backlog is building up very quickly.