Thousands of borrowers mis-sold PPI on loans and credit cards are being forced to endure further agonising delays for their refunds.
With Christmas just weeks away, these payouts — some worth thousands of pounds — are a lifeline for many cash-strapped families who bought Payment Protection Insurance (PPI).
But instead of electronically transferring the money or sending a cheque there have been delays on the processing of some refunds.
With Christmas fast approaching, it is time customers waiting for a PPI refund received an early present in the form of the refunds they are owed. Industry insiders have remarked that it is very worrying that after so much criticism over PPI, financial institutions are still not refunding customers quickly.
This is just the latest saga in the mis-selling scandal to hit theUK. Millions of policies for PPI — meant to cover people who lost their jobs or became too sick to work — were sold to people who didn’t want it, need it or who would never have been able to claim on their policy.
Banks are struggling to clear a huge backlog of complaints which were put on hold while they fought a High Court case. But after they lost their case in April they were forced to set aside billions of pounds for refunds and were given until August 31 to work through the backlog.
A spokesperson apologised for any delays and said financial institutions are processing PPI refunds as fast as they can: ‘We are processing all PPI refund payments within a reasonable turnaround time.’
Other institutions are still claiming they are sending out payments within two to three days of the offer being accepted.
Sally Bowyer, Managing Director of regulated financial claims specialist BrunelFranklin.com says that many people were mis-sold policies unknowingly. “Many people finally realise they have PPI only when it is pointed out by a friend, colleague, family member or financial adviser. The good news is that once you are aware you have been sold PPI, you may have grounds for a refund against a mis-sale, if you were unaware of the terms and conditions or the true cost, at the time of sale. There are many other circumstances that may constitute a mis-sale, which is why it is advisable to consult the experts.”
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.