Barclays have recently apologised to 10,000 of its customers for
not sending them their annual PPI statement showing the costs of
their policies. But what does this mean? And how is it linked to
claiming PPI compensation?
Catalyst for change
As a result of the mis-selling of Payment Protection Insurance
(PPI), there have been many changes to how banks should communicate
with customers, when and about what.
In 2011, the Competition Commission ordered lenders and bank to
provide an annual statement to customers about their PPI policies,
and how much they were paying etc.
Barclays has since said that it was contacted by a customer who
had not received their PPI annual statement. This one phone call
triggered an investigation that found a total of just over 9,000
Barclaycard customers were affected, along with some 700 mortgage
PPI customers. This, say Barclays, represents around 3% of its PPI
policy holders.
Many people cancelled their PPI policy and will now receive a
refund of any premiums paid, along with 8% interest.
What does this show?
In many ways, it shows that the attitude of banks and lenders is
slowly beginning to change.
At one time, the initial complaint would have been met with
derision, and there would have been no need to apologise to
customers, nor to make it public. But Barclays, along with all the
other major banks are realising that to restore trust in them, they
need to be open and honest with their customers.
PPI may still be a useful product for some
The PPI scandal has led to some people believing that PPI is a
defunct product, with little or no use.
But it was the way the product was sold to people that was the
problem and not so much the product itself. It may be possible that
PPI is the right insurance product for people but as a customer,
you should ensure that any financial or insurance product you buy
is;
- Your decision and that you are confident it is the right policy
for you- any insurance product needs to suit your financial needs,
as well as other factors that are individual to you
- Value for money- PPPI was expensive for the very little cover
that it offered. Thus, when buying any financial product, ensure
that what you are paying for it worth every penny
- The best on the market- and you will only find the best product
for you if you are able to compare and contrast insurance products
of this ilk; in other words, shop around the get the best deal on
the right product
Claim PPI compensation
Start the process of getting your money back today by calling
leading PPI experts, Payment Protection Scotland.