Mortgage experts drafted to deal with PPI complaints

Banks redistribute staff to deal with mis-sold PPI cases

The banks may have to draft in staff from other departments to deal with the vast number of inbound PPI complaints, a complaints handling expert has stated.

Mark Chambers, who is the head of solutions consulting at CDC Software, has explained that, as well as looking for 6,000 new employees to help out with PPI complaints, the banks will also be using their current staff to cover the gap. It is likely that some of these people will be experienced workers who have knowledge in other areas.

Explaining his case, Chambers said that "Banks face a huge challenge and may be overwhelmed by the number of cases they receive. They face huge administration costs and need staff who understand the processes and products involved. This means some front line mortgage staff may have to be redeployed to deal with PPI redress."

The banks have been legally obliged to deal with PPI mis-selling claims after losing a court case in which they sought to challenge new rules from the Financial Services Authority. These rules would require them to take responsibility for assessing any PPI claims they may have mis-sold, as well as retrospectively applying new regulations to establish the exact definition of mis-selling.

The banks initially looked set to contest the decision, but the appeal collapsed after the high street banks pulled out and admitted defeat. After adding up the likely cost for compensating customers who were mis-sold PPI, the banks have been left facing a bill of billions - and are expected to have to sort through millions of customer complaints.

The expertise of the relocated staff in this situation will be of great benefit to the banks, who will need knowledgeable employees who are able to properly assess whether or not the PPI in each case was mis-sold or not.

If you're wondering if your PPI was mis-sold, take a look at our guide to PPI reclaiming.

Claims Financial