Reclaiming mis-sold PPI (Payment Protection Insurance) For You.
Wednesday 28 July 2010
Tuesday 27 July 2010
Lloyds TSB scraps PPI sales
Years of payment protection insurance (PPI) mis-selling could be nearing an end after Lloyds Banking Group threw in the towel in the fight to keep the controversial product
Lloyds today confirmed that it has withdrawn PPI policies from sale across all its brands, which include Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Cheltenham & Gloucester.
PPI insurance is designed to cover loan repayments in the event of unemployment or loss of income. It can also come under the title of income protection insurance. It has been criticised for being useless for many policyholders who would never be able to claim, as well as for being costly and a huge money-spinner for the banks.
Experts hope it will mark a turning point in battle to rid the High Street of PPI, with more banks expected to follow suit.
Lloyds' – like many other banks - offered PPI to its mortgage, credit card, and loan customers.
Now the taxpayer-owned bank will only offer interested customers a generic PPI leaflet produced by the British Bankers' Association.
Existing customers who have taken out PPI policies, or are in the process of doing so, will not be unaffected.
Monday 26 July 2010
Mortgage firm to pay £500,000 for unfair fees
A sub-prime mortgage company has been hit with a whopping £630,000 fine by the City watchdog for treating customers in arrears unfairly.
Redstone Mortgages Limited overcharged customers a combined £500,000 in arrears fees between January 2007 and August 2009 and must pay that sum in addition to the fine.
The Financial Services Authority (FSA), which issued the punishment, says borrowers hit with excessive arrears charges will be contacted by the firm to offer compensation.
Redstone also demanded cash to cut customers' arrears without considering their financial state and wrote "repetitive, excessive and confusing" letters.
Redstone, which is not a lender, bought large swathes of mortgages from specialist lenders that mainly sold loans to those with poor credit histories or homeowners who could not prove their income.
Those whose loans were bought, now owe Redstone the money, not their original lender.
Redstone compensation
The regulator has identified four types of excessive charges. Redstone is currently sifting through customer records to determine who has been overcharged. When that process is complete, it will write to customers offering redress, though the FSA warns that could take months.
The unfair fees were:
- Charging for failed direct debits each time it attempted to take payment, even when this happened multiple times within a short time.
- Including arrears charges in the balance on which an early repayment charge (ERC, which is a percentage of the outstanding balance) was calculated.
- Charging for debt counsellor visits when the customer was not given an appointment time or was not told of their right to cancel.
- A solicitor's fee, applied when Redstone unnecessarily instructed lawyers.
The FSA, which does not have a breakdown of the average amount charged to individual borrowers, says homeowners will know if they're a Redstone customer if the name appears on their mortgage statement.
More on this story http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/mortgages/2010/07/mortgage-firm-to-pay-500000-redress-in-unfair-arrears-charges
You could be able to claim compensation for a mis-sold mortgage click here for more details.
Mortgage lending by UK banks fell in June
Mortgage lending by the major UK banks dipped in June compared with the previous month, figures show.
The number of mortgages approved for house purchases in the month fell to 34,813, the British Bankers' Association (BBA) said.
However, net mortgage lending was still 4.1% higher than a year earlier.
Meanwhile, people continued to pay off more of their unsecured debts than they spent on credit cards, personal loans and overdrafts, the BBA said.
Read more http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-10737826
Thursday 22 July 2010
Is it possible to make a claim for compensation on my Mortgage or Secured Loans?
All mortgage and secured loans must adhere to all relevant laws, rules and regulations regarding the agreements and or its terms and conditions. (Contact an advisor) You could be entitled to make a claim if you have had, or still have, a Mortgage or Secured Loan agreement which is incorrectly written. For information on how to claim for a mis-sold endowment mortgage please see here.
The agreements on these mortgage and secured loans may be fundamentally flawed, invalid or unenforceable. At Claims Review we use specialist team of solicitors to search for the irregularities of these contracts not of they have been mis-sold allowing us to identify your rights and help you make a claim.
In the vast majority of cases, the person who took out the mortgage was not given any alternative to the agreement supplied by the lender. The contract you agreed may have put you in an unfair relationship with your lender as it could contain fundamental flaws that may invalidate this agreement giving you grounds to claim for financial recompense.
For more information click here.
Tuesday 20 July 2010
What is Mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance?
If you have taken out a loan with any high street bank, taken out a hire purchase agreement or even opened a credit card, then it is likely that you also took out Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) with it. If this is the case then you may be entitled to compensation.
The reason why this can be reclaimed is because in the majority of cases the insurance was mis-sold. Many people were not aware that this insurance was optional and often thought that they wouldn't get the loan if they didn't take the insurance out.
Sometimes the PPI was added without the knowledge or permission of the borrower. The purpose of Payment Protection Insurance is to cover the payments you have to make on a loan or credit card when you are unable to keep them up due to sickness, unemployment etc.
There are many situations when this insurance doesn't actually provide the cover you need. For example, if you were unemployed, retired or even self-employed at the time of taking out the policy you are ineligible to make a claim on this policy which makes it a total waste of time and money for you.
Did the sales person go through the process fully with you? Did they follow the procedures below?
They should have:
- Explained the full process to you
- Told you the Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) was optional and NOT compulsory
- Explained the terms and conditions in full
- Explained the total cost of the PPI to you
- Asked you comprehensive questions on your employment and health situation
Monday 19 July 2010
Banks Continue to rip off customers
Mr Cable said forcing banks to change their practices would be a key test of the coalition government.
His comments come as research for Panorama reveals that high street banks surveyed are charging as much as 167% interest on unauthorised overdrafts.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10664533
Friday 16 July 2010
Ombudsman is flooded with rejected insurance complaints
Growing dissatisfaction with payment-protection providers.
First Published: 12/07/2010
More than 1,000 people a week are pursuing mis-selling claims about payment protection insurance after having their complaints rejected by the banks, it has been revealed.
The Financial Ombudsman Service said it was receiving more than 1,000 cases each week relating to the insurance cover from people who were unhappy with the way their provider had dealt with their complaint.
Read more: http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1817059?UserKey=#ixzz0tTeN4oKw
PPI Claims Review YouTube Video
Was Your PPI policy Mis-Sold?
When you took the Loan or Credit Card out with the PPI do any of the statements below apply to you? If so it could have been mis-sold and you could be able to claim back the money you have paid - plus interest.
You were told the PPI was compulsory to get the loan. | |
You felt under pressure to purchase the PPI. | |
You didn't have the Terms and Conditions explained in full. | |
You weren't told the total cost of the PPI. | |
You were you self-employed or retired. | |
You weren't told the PPI was optional. |
If any of these apply to you there may be a claim!
Visit www.ppiclaimsreview.co.uk for more information.
Why can you reclaim mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance – PPI?
The Financial Services Authority has recently fined many banks and companies hundreds of thousands of pounds for mis-selling PPI to consumers. Recent estimates also say that up to £4 Billion could be paid out in compensation and refunds over the next few years. The FSA has also issued new guidance to make sure that compensation claims are handled effectively and efficiently.
The list of lenders that have mis-sold payment protection includes; Barclays, Lloyds TSB, Abbey, Santander, First Plus, Halifax, Nationwide, Marks & Spencer, Alliance & Leicester and many more.