2011 has been a busy year for claims management companies
(CMCs), solicitor firms and the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS),
all of whom have helped customers reclaim from the banks which had
mis-sold them PPI (Payment Protection Insurance) over the last ten
years.
For angry customers who have been affected by the PPI scandal,
probably the most important event of the year related to the High
Court ruling back in April 2011, which dealt a heavy blow to the
banks and was seen as a great triumph for justice.
The ruling changed the ways in which banks are allowed to handle
PPI complaints, and this meant that the banks have had to pretty
much accept that their highly questionable PPI mis-selling practice
was devious and unwarranted in a large number of consumer
problems.
As a result of losing the High Court challenge, banks have also
had to set aside a multi-billion pound compensation bill to cover
the costs of paying back their customers.
Not only did the banks have to take out these multi-billion
pound compensation bills to ready themselves for millions of
mis-sold payment protection claims, but the ruling also
dictated that customers affected by the PPI scandal must be treated
fairly, especially when they complain about mis-sold PPI (banks had
previously fought against most claims brought against them
vehemently).
For the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), by May 2011 they already
had paid £100 million in compensation to PPI customers, and had to
set aside another £100 million for the next wave of complaints.
Elsewhere, Lloyds appear to be one of the worst affected, having
set aside £3.2 billion to deal with the high level of PPI
complaints although every major bank has been affected to differing
degrees.
So, for people wishing to reclaim mis-sold
PPI payments, 2011 has been a good year (or at least certainly
better than the years that preceded the ruling).
As for the banks, being held liable and having to take
responsibility for their actions by setting aside huge compensation
bills means that, while bad for them financially in the short term,
it will go some way to garnering back customers' trust and loyalty
in the long run.
2012 is set to be another good year for mis-sold PPI claimants,
so if you think you've been mis-sold
PPI, it's worth looking into making your claim now.
Comments (1)