6,000 Bogus PPI Claims a Year Giving Ombudsman a Headache, Says Leading PPI Reclaims Company

CHESHIRE, ENGLAND, September 18, 2012 (Press-News.org) The FO has revealed that there has been a 28% increase in its PPI-related cases in the last 12 months, which is over 50% higher than in 2010/2011. Although 'unjustified' complaints make up less than 4%, there has been a fourfold increase in them compared to the same time in the previous year.

Belfast, Birmingham and Sheffield have the highest number of bogus applications, with the problems stemming in part to unscrupulous debt and claims management companies.

Chief Financial Ombudsman, Natalie Ceeney: "I think it is perfectly understandable for people to ask their bank - did I have PPI? At the same time we are seeing consumers being very badly misled by claims management companies. Some of them, at their worst, are taking upfront fees and the consumer is losing out. They never had a policy and they are worse off than if they had done nothing."

Claims management companies make some 69% of all PPI claims, and The Claims Standards Council believes genuine claims companies provide a valuable service in helping identify customers who have been victims of Payment Protection Insurance mis-selling.

A spokesperson at missoldppiclaims.info said: "It's shocking how many bogus claims have been filed, which is adding significantly to the FO's workload and the costs incurred by the lenders having to deal with refuting each bogus case.

"There are a number of unscrupulous companies out there who are happy to 'give it a go' and Mis-sold PPI would encourage anyone wanting a claims company to help them to make sure they do some basic checks on them. No company should encourage you to make a PPI claim without first knowing you have taken out a policy and with who - it costs the claims firm nothing to make a bogus claim, but you will be charged for the service regardless. You may even be required to pay an upfront fee. You could end up losing a lot of money for very little in return."

In July the Lloyds Banking Group chief executive, Antonio Horta-Osorio, claimed that a quarter of PPI-related claims received by the group were from people who had never had a policy with it. In response to the sudden increase in bogus claims, Lloyds increased its PPI compensation fund by GBP700m to cover the costs of investigation and administration involved.

Shockingly, even when a claim fails because there was never a policy to start with, rogue companies will still attempt an appeal to the FO.

"The Financial Ombudsman has had to take on around 500 extra staff to deal with the increase in complaints," says the Mis sold PPI Claims spokesperson. "All those cases that have legitimate grounds for complaints are being held up as a result and in some cases compensation payments delayed for many months."

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Website: http://www.missoldppiclaims.info