Banks have processed more than 97% of their huge backlog of complaints about Payment Protection Insurance (PPI). After losing a High Court test case in April they were told to deal with 200,000 complaints which they had put on hold pending the hearing’s outcome.
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) gave them until the end of August to either offer refunds, or reject the complaints. Fewer than 6,000 of the backlog are now outstanding.
While complaints are now being settled, a lot of the refunds owed to customers still remains unpaid.
Timescales for new complaints
A large number of fresh complaints have still been coming in to the banks, encouraged by the widespread publicity surrounding their legal defeat. The FSA has said that new complaints generated since April must have been processed by 1 September 2011. Fresh cases received after that date, but before 31 December, must be dealt with in 12 weeks. And from January 2012, the banks will have to go back to the normal eight-week timetable for responding to customers’ complaints.
What if a complaints turned down?
Not all PPI complaints from customers will lead to a bank offering a refund payment. Those who are turned down have the right to pursue their complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), which has often found in favour of complainants.
At the start of August, the FOS revealed that it had been receiving 900 fresh PPI complaints every day and that these now made up 65% of its total workload. It has found in favour of customers in 55% of cases.
Sally Bowyer, Managing Director of Brunel Franklin said, “BrunelFranklin.com has helped thousands of people who have been victims of PPI mis-selling. If you have grounds for a refund, it will be pursued by our dedicated staff, experienced in the complexities involved to give you the very best chance of securing the maximum payout.”
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.