With Christmas just weeks away, these refunds — some worth tens of thousands of pounds — are a lifeline for many cash-strapped families awaiting their PPI refunds.

Adam Phillips, chairman of the Financial Services Consumer Panel which represents consumers’ interests to the City watchdog, says: ‘With Christmas fast approaching, it is time banks gave their customers an early present by promptly paying the refunds they are owed.

It is very worrying that after so much criticism over PPI, banks and other financial institutions are still not refunding customers quickly. This is just the latest saga in one of the most shameful mis-selling scandals 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 in compensation and given until August 31 to work through the backlog.

Many financial institutions have apologies for any delays, with others saying they are meeting the 28 day deadline. HSBC claims to be sending out payments within two-three days of an offer being accepted.

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.