Tesco Bank Expose PPI Customers To Fraud
Tesco Bank has lost the personal details of dozens of customers complaining about PPI.
39 customers who were in angry dispute with Tesco Bank over mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance (PPI), have had papers containing names, addresses and account details lost, leaving them exposed to a risk of fraud.
The customers’ details have been lost after the data was sent unprotected using the standard postal service.
It is understood the details of the 39 customers have been lost in the post between offices from Manchester to Glasgow.
Tesco have blamed a service provider for the data loss. A Tesco Bank spokesman said: ‘Tesco Bank and the service provider have robust rules and procedures for handling customer information.
‘There is no record of the correspondence being sent by courier or recorded delivery. That leaves the possibility that it was sent by standard mail, contrary to ours and our suppliers data handling procedures.
Prior to the data loss, the customers had been in the process of complaining to Tesco Bank about PPI on which they could not make a claim.
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PPI Complaints Set To Increase In 2010/11
PPI complaints look set to rise in 2010/11.
The Financial Ombudsman Service anticipates complaints about Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) will continue to rise for the period 2010/11, after there were 13,520 new complaints in the first quarter alone.
These figures were published today in Ombudsman News.
For the period 2009/10, the Financial Ombudsman Service received a total of 49,196 complaints about PPI. If PPI complaints continue at a steady pace, then total complaints will reach 54,080 for the period 2010/2011.
According to the figures published in Ombudsman News, 34 per cent of all complaints received by the Financial Ombudsman Service in April, May and June, were about PPI.
The Financial Ombudsman Service has said it will be using Ombudsman News to publish snapshots of its workload on a quarterly basis.
A statement released by the Service said “This should make it easier for everyone to see the numbers and trends as they emerge throughout the year rather than only seeing the figures annually, after the financial year has ended.”
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Competition Commission Discuss Changes To PPI
Competition Commission makes provisional decision on retail PPI remedies.
The independent public body, the Competition Commission has today (29/07/10) released a report consulting on changes to the way retail Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) is sold.
Retail PPI is one specific product in the overall PPI market. Retail PPI relates to protection policies taken out on repayments for goods bought from home catalogues.
The Competition Commission is looking to clamp down on the way retail PPI is sold. The document published today puts forward a number of proposals for retail PPI that aim to provide clearer information to customers on the cost of retail PPI cover and the rights they have.
Proposals for retail PPI published in the report include:
- an obligation to offer PPI separately from merchandise cover if both are offered as a bundled product
- an obligation to provide information about the cost of PPI and ‘key messages’ in marketing materials
- an obligation to remind all active customers of their cancellation rights and of key messages on an annual basis
- a prohibition on the sale of single-premium PPI policies and on charges which have a similar economic effect
- an obligation to provide customers who have spent more than £50 on retail PPI premiums in the preceding 12 months with a written annual review of PPI costs
The Competition Commission is now inviting comments on its proposals for retail PPI before publishing the final verdict for the entire PPI market in September.
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FOS Figures Show PPI Most Complained About
PPI has topped the list for complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)
The FOS has published quarterly data for the first time, which shows inquiries about Payment Protection Insurance are the biggest source of complaints.
Figures show there were 13,520 complaints about PPI in the first three months of the financial year, with 81% of these resolved in favour of the consumer.
The number of complaints about PPI were more than twice the amount of complaints about current accounts, which was next on the list with 5,420 complaints. Third on the list was credit card accounts, with 4,296 people making queries.
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PPI No Longer To Be Sold By Lloyds
Lloyds ends sale of PPI.
The Lloyds Banking Group has announced it will no longer sell Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) on all of its loans, credit cards and mortgage deals.
A spokeswoman for Lloyds said ending the sale of PPI is due to increased regulation on this type of insurance.
PPI has been the subject of long running criticism due to the way it has been sold. The sale of PPI policies are now being restricted by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and the Competition Commission.
Lloyds is the first bank in the UK to make the decision to stop selling PPI policies. The Lloyds group has said this decision will extend to all of its brands including Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Cheltenham & Gloucester.
Instead of selling PPI cover, if customers are interested in taking out an insurance policy, Lloyds will offer them a British Bankers Association (BBA) advisory leaflet.
Martin Lewis from consumer website moneysavingexpert.com was among those happy about the decision, he had to say:
“This insurance, which has been scandalously mis-sold for years leaving many consumers in misery, is estimated to be worth up to £5bn a year for the industry
It can provide useful protection to people if they are sick or lose their jobs as it covers their repayments, but people should go to competitive standalone insurers rather than banks.
That’s because they sell it at four or five times over the odds, often without checking suitability, meaning many have been duped into paying a hidden £1,000 extra on policies that are worthless for them.”
Which? chief executive, Peter Vicary-Smith echoed his views. “Lloyds decision to stop selling PPI is a huge victory for consumers. Hopefully other banks will follow suit and we’ll finally see the back of this poor protection product” he said.
Experts predict Lloyds decision to stop selling PPI will cause many more High Street banks to follow suit.
Lloyds has said existing customers who have taken out policies or those in the process of doing so, will not be affected.
Have you been mis-sold PPI? We can think smarter and claim back your mis-sold PPI payments. Apply online to find out more, you could be owed thousands of pounds.
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FSA Fines PPI Broker
Payment Protection Insurance broker fined by FSA.
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has today (09/07/10) fined David Head, director of Essex based mortgage and insurance broker network, FT Compliance Services Limited for Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) failings.
The FSA fined David Head, £10,500 for failing to properly supervise insurance brokers who had close links with a firm previously disciplined by the FSA the mis-sale of PPI.
David Head was responsible for insuring FT Compliance Services and its appointed representatives complied with FSA regulation. Head however failed to put in place systems and controls to ensure the appointed representatives made suitable recommendations, exposing customers to the risk of purchasing unsuitable PPI.
Investigation by the FSA found that in cases where single premium PPI was sold:
- Appointed representatives were not properly considering customers eligibility for PPI before making a recommendation
- Customers were not asked about medical conditions or any existing insurance cover that could make PPI unsuitable for them
- Customers weren’t being told they could buy PPI from other providers which would be more suitable for their needs
Margaret Cole, the FSA’s director of enforcement and financial crime said: “As a director of a network, Head was personally responsible for ensuring that the appointed representatives were properly supervised and he failed to do so. His failure is particularly disappointing given that he was on notice that two of the appointed representatives had links with a person previously disciplined by the FSA for PPI failings. There is a serious responsibility attached to being an FSA approved person and Head’s fine demonstrates that we will not tolerate failure to deliver on that responsibility.”
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Banks Still Need To Improve Handling Of PPI Complaints
Banks have been warned they still need to improve the way they handle Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) complaints.
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has complained too many people are being forced to take their mis-sold PPI cases to the independent Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
The FOS, which acts as a mediator between customers and their banks, still receives up to 1,000 complaints a week about PPI and upholds 90% of these cases in favour of the customer.
Emma Parker from the FOS said “Banks still need to improve the way they handle PPI complaints. We will continue to work with the regulator where we see banks treating customers unfairly.”
The Competition Commission announced earlier this year customers would have a 7 day cooling-off period, allowing them to shop around for PPI and not feel pressured by banks and building societies to take out a policy at the point of obtaining finance.
Vera Cottrell of Which? said “Banks have been warned countless times by the FSA and the Ombudsman about PPI complaints and it is incredibly disappointing that they are refusing to implement the FSA’s guidelines. Banks are wasting everyone’s time by automatically rejecting so many complaints — the vast majority of cases should not have to go to the Ombudsman.
The FSA is currently in the process of putting together tougher new rules regarding the way PPI is sold and how mis-sold PPI complaints should be dealt with by banks.
A spokesman for the FSA said “We remain firmly of the view that the PPI market is broken and needs to be fixed. We are committed to bringing about genuine, lasting change, and the package of measures we hope to finalise this summer will go a long way to address this.”
Have you been mis-sold PPI? We can think smarter and claim back your mis-sold PPI payments. Apply online to find out more, you could be owed thousands of pounds.
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UK Based Call Centre, Human Voices, No Bugbears
“Bank customers hung up about foreign call centres” reported an article in the Daily Express last week (Thursday July 1st 2010).
The Daily Express article reports on a poll conducted by consumer analysts, Mintel. Overseas call centres, automated switchboards and not being able to speak to the same member of staff twice, Mintel found were customers biggest bugbears when dealing with financial institutions.
At iSmart we are different; we have a dedicated team of telephone support staff dealing with mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance (PPI). Our telephone support network is based at our headquarters in Wellingborough, in the UK, not outsourced to a foreign country.
According to the article in the Daily Express, customers are not just frustrated with foreign call centres because of the language problems they may encounter but because staff based overseas don’t have a good enough grasp of the financial system in the UK and often struggle with unconventional requests.
Call iSmart and you won’t be expected to converse with an automated voice or have to press numerous buttons before you hear a human voice, you will find yourself talking to a trained specialist as soon as the telephone is answered. As well as being UK based, our telephone advisors are constantly receiving up-to-date training, have an excellent knowledge of the UK financial system and PPI.
According to Mintel, 29% of people are infuriated by staff trying to sell additional products during a call; this is something we can promise our staff will never do. Our staff are dedicated to reclaiming your mis-sold PPI payments.
Have you been mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance? If yes, iSmart is a financial institution with a difference, we can think smarter and offer you the best possible solution.
Find out more here or talk to one of our dedicated specialist telephone advisors on 0800 0433 025
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