More than £160 million in refunds was paid by banks to customers last year, according to new figures released this week.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) implemented a crackdown on poor practices by banks and building societies, resulting in a record amount being paid out. The £160 million was almost treble the £62 million paid in refunds in 2010, with much of this for mis sold Payment Protection Insurance (PPI)

Barclays was found to be the worst offender, having to pay £59 million to consumers. This included a £7.7 million fine for mis-selling funds, most of which were unsuitable, with staff at the bank not having been trained to explain the risks involved.

Meanwhile, HSBC also incurred a fine of £10.5 million for mis-selling bonds to elderly people.

Acting Financial Services Authority (FSA) enforcement director Tracey McDermott said: “We have had some significant retail fines against big firms that should know better. The big players have the potential to damage larger swathes of the community than the small firms.”

Last month, chief executive of Barclays Bob Diamond told a Treasury select committee of MPs that bankers’ bonuses may be cut to reflect and pay for the financial penalties it has picked up. He pointed out that while all the executives involved have now left, the fine is “expensive” and needs to feature in discussions about pay.

Sally Bowyer, Managing Director of financial claims specialist BrunelFranklin.com says that the public are slowly becoming wiser to the tactics of mis-selling, but that a lot of the damage is already done: “It is important to realise that we may all unwittingly have taken out PPI during the years when lenders were offering a seemingly endless line of credit in the form of loans and credit cards in particular. It costs nothing to check your paperwork for insurances that you may not even know you are paying for. PPI per se is not a bad product, however the onus is on the vendor to ensure the product is the best for your needs at the time of sale. If the best product for your needs was not offered, or if you were unaware of the true cost, for example, you may have grounds for a refund.”

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.