The High Court recently ruled that the Financial Services Authority (FSA) is entitled to impose tough retrospective rules concerning the sales and complaints in relation to the sale of Payment Protection Insurance (PPI). The British Banker’s Association has also declared that it does not intend appealing the decision. Many are considering this now to be open season in relation to complaints and litigation concerning the mis-selling of PPI.

There is little doubt that there has been a significant issue concerning the way in which many lenders have sold Payment Protection Insurance.

Given the recent ruling many of the top banks and lending institutions have put money aside to deal specifically with the complaints. Others have gone further and requested an extension of time to deal with the number of complaints received. A number of the banks were hedging their bets in relation to the ongoing litigation and in a time of financial crisis a large number of claims, complaints and investigations were placed on hold pending the High Court decision. This created a back log of complaints that the banks and lending institutions need to sort through.

Following the ruling the number of complaints concerning the mis-selling of PPI has increased, placing further pressure on the beleaguered lending system and it is clear that many lenders have become overwhelmed.

There is still a lot of uncertainty as to how people may have been mis-sold PPI, and how to go about making a claim. In broad terms PPI may have been mis-sold in the following circumstances:

• Where the PPI was optional, not being informed that the insurance was optional and what the insurance was designed to cover.
• Being advised and/or encouraged to take out the policy without a full explanation, including the provision of a demands and needs statement and confirmation as to why that particular policy was being recommended.
• Not being advised about significant exclusions to the policy, particularly where the information was already available to the lender, for example if the policy did not cover the self employed; or if the policy did not cover pre-existing issues.
• Where the policy related to a finance agreement lasting longer than terms of the agreement itself, and no confirmation was given that the policy would expire before the agreement.
• If it was not made clear that the cost of the policy was in a one lump payment that was being added to the cost of finance and therefore interest upon the lump sum would accrue alongside the main agreement; even if the policy expired before the agreement.

A policy may still have been mis-sold even if a claim has been made against the policy. Provided the lender or broker was regulated, the Financial Ombudsman will consider claims in respect of policies sold more than six years ago.

Whilst the procedure is straight forward and many people have successfully brought claims against lenders personally, there are some advantages to using expert advice from a company like Brunel Franklin. There is much anecdotal evidence to suggest that having a representative deal with your claim results in a higher, or at least more accurate, refund. An expert will be able to assess the merits of an offer and consider the rates of interest that are being offered. Often they will offer peace of mind and remove the potential hassle of arguing a point that the individual may not be sure about.

Sally Bowyer, Managing Director of leading financial claims company, Brunel Franklin, said that the amount of people who have currently lodged an application for a PPI refund is the tip of the iceberg. “We are seeing steady growth in PPI refunds and the trend is set to continue,” said Sally. What we know is that many millions of policies are in existence and it appears that a large proportion may have been mis-sold. Therefore it is imperative that people check the small print of their loan and other credit agreements, to see if they unknowingly have PPI.”

Learn more about PPI refunds and find out if you could apply for a refund today! Visit the website www.brunelfranklin.com or call Brunel Franklin, free, on 0800 051 54 51.