Myvesta UK Articles

The supposed clampdown on the selling of payment protection insurance (PPI) is having little effect so far, with frequent mis-selling and a low rate of successful claims, according to Citizens Advice Scotland.

The Office of Fair Trading in February referred the selling of PPI to the Competition Commission, while the Financial Services Authority has been probing the market since last year and in January levied a hefty fine on major provider Capital One Bank.

Earlier this month consumer group Which? reported that consumers are being tricked into buying expensive PPI when taking out a personal loan over the phone or internet, as a result of some providers adding PPI as a matter of course during the sales process.

Complaints about controversial loan protection insurance have grown 39% in the last year. The Financial Services Ombudsman said there were 1,832 complaints about Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) in the 2006/07 financial year compared with 1,315 in the previous year.

PPI covers loans, mortgages and credit cards when individuals cannot make payments because of accident, sickness or some unemployment.

PPI has come under fire from angry customers who say that the insurance is overpriced, mis-sold and unfair in terms of the refunds available if they cancel. This is Money has been campaigning strongly against the mis-selling of PPI for the past year.

Half of the cases that come before the Ombudsman are still related to endowments, but the number of endowment complaints was down by 23,000, from 61% of all disputes in 2006 to 49% in 2007.

Payment protection insurance policies have come under attack as being grossly mis-sold and forced on consumers without giving people an opportunity to shop for better prices. Lenders may be required to refund large amounts of money but they are fighting it as hard as they can. Learn how you can get your PPI money back.