Banks "not able to cope" with PPI complaints

PPI reclaiming hits record highs over past year

by Luke Whitmore, 18th May 2011

The banks are being overwhelmed with the number of PPI complaints they are receiving, with some industry observers fearing that they are unprepared to deal with all of them.

In the aftermath of a highly-publicised court case against the Financial Services Authority, which ended with the banks accepting responsibility for widespread mis-selling of PPI (Payment Protection Insurance), consumers are expected to flood the banks with PPI complaints.

Complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) about mis-sold PPI reached 104,597 in the past financial year - the greatest volume of complaints they have ever seen regarding a single product. With this making up 51% of the total number of cases the FOS handled in the last year, consumers have been warned not to expect a quick payout when filing a PPI claim.

"We are worried about consumers expecting a cheque in the post tomorrow because it could take months, if not years, for every single complaint to be looked at," commented Natalie Ceeney, head of the FOS. "Every bank and call centre is swamped and this isn't likely to change anytime soon because many PPI policyholders have yet to complain.

"We are able to deal with the level of work because we can expand our staff, but banks are not presently able to cope, they just do not have the knowledge."

A spokesman for Lloyds said "We are aiming to reduce the total number of non-PPI complaints by 20% by the end of June 2011 and also reduce the number of complaints that escalate to the ombudsman by a fifth." It was explained that the bank would be hiring on more staff as well, as a new director of complaints to deal with the influx, but that they did not have any estimate for how long it would take to finish dealing with their PPI claims.

If you have been mis-sold PPI, we could help you make a PPI reclaim today.

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