Consumers Urged To Look At Possible Missold PPI
The missold Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) scandal has been well documented in the press, but many people may not realise that they too are affected by it. In addition to many consumers being told that buying PPI was vital for credit agreements to go through, a large number of individuals did not even realise that they were buying an insurance product when they took out a loan. In addition, for this group of customers, checking statements and agreements could unveil thousands of possible compensation.
With the number of claims still increasing as people look to reclaim premium payments and compensation on their missold PPI, the problems for the financial industry are not going away. It is unfortunate that many people do not even realise they have been missold PPI.
In many cases, credit agreements were sold with PPI, with consumers told that the insurance was mandatory for agreements to go through. In some cases, insurance was simply added onto loan fees, with people not told they had bought another product. If PPI has been charged then it will be evident on the account statement, therefore it is vital that consumers check their statements for any evidence of being sold PPI.
PPI has been widely missold at the point of sale on credit cards, loans, mortgages and car finance agreements. PPI was sold with products such as credit cards and unsecured loans and at the start of last year banks were told they must pay back consumers who they had missold. The judgment led to the banks being deluged with claims from customers who had taken out PPI cover.
Last month regulators warned providers that they are keeping a close eye on the future selling of payment protection insurance products to avoid a repeat of this financial misselling scandal. PPI can fall within either the FSA or the Office of Fair Trading’s remit and the two bodies are currently consulting on proposed guidance to firms about future protection products, in an effort to prevent the problems associated with PPI.
Consumers who have taken out a credit agreement may have been missold PPI. They are strongly advised to check their agreements as they could be owed a significant sum of money. Even if the agreement has been completed they could still be eligible to claim back PPI.
If consumers find such a case, it is vital that a missold PPI compensation claim is made, as people will have been unknowingly sold a product that they knew nothing about. This could mean thousands of pounds in compensation are due, offering a welcome gift at the start of 2012.
