A Ministry of Justice (MoJ) investigation has found proof of what are termed “claims vultures”, who’ve been lying with regards to the payment protection insurance (PPI) mis-selling scandal that has affected UK banks.
Research found that some cold callers, attempting to benefit from a practice that can provide commission payments worth as much as 30% of a customers’ compensation payout, having been lying with some claiming that the only way to obtain a cash refund was through their particular service, another stated that his firm’s financial advisers already knew all of a person’s private information while another claimed they were able to quicken the refund process.
All of these claims are clearly untrue and the Ministry of Justice says that it is aware of malpractice in the industry and that it has investigators working to try and pinpoint where it is taking place. It says that firms caught telling lies or unduly affecting customers will be banned from trading.
A spokesman from the MoJ said that the ministry had a team team set up to take action against those companies who break the laws and that also it is to take a zero tolerance approach to the issue with claims management companies being left in no doubt that they would be closed down if they were shown to be breaching the rules. They are reacting to claims that some families were upset at companies calling home phones and mobiles at all hours of the day and night to promote their services.
The greedy firms have sprung up since banks lost out on a High Court ruling earlier this year and were forced to repay to customers all the PPI which had been mis-sold. About 5bn is due to be repaid with Lloyds and Barclays alone set to repay 3.2bn and 1bn respectively.
In the wake of the High Court ruling lots of claims management firms formed to jump on the bandwagon and try and make money out of the misfortune. Some used automated machines to cold-call indiscriminately with others advertising on TV, radio and internet. They have been trying to get clients to produce a claim using their services despite the fact that the client is able to visit the bank and claim at no cost.
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), which has previously resolved matters in almost 300,000 PPI claims disputes says that these firms are giving no benefit to customers and that any firm which is claiming to be able to gain bigger refunds for the customer than they would get from applying to their bank direct is lying.
A spokesman declared that it makes no difference at all who actually brings the complaint to the ombudsman and that it is often better to come from the customer themselves because they are in a position to tell them of the problem in their own words. He stressed the FOS was a free service so customers do not actually need to be represented.
The FOS also says that all a customer needs to do, once they believe they’ve been mis-sold PPI is to write to their bank explaining the situation, but they do not need any actual legal knowledge although, those who do wish to get full legal advice ought to do so from a reputable firm of lawyers which specialises in PPI claims.
For lots more advice about how to reclaim HBOS PPI you can visit PPI claims online for tips on what you have to do to claim back what’s really yours.
© for Uber Articles, 2012. |
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