‘Biggest mis-selling scandal’ in history contributes to 80% spike in Londonderry cases

The Financial Ombudsman Service, which settles disputes between banks, insurers and loan companies on the one hand and consumers on the other, said it received over 4,000 enquiries and 1,119 new cases from people living in Londonderry in 2012/13.

This represented an increase of over 80 per cent on the previous year’s figure (609).

In 2012/13 the product provoking the majority of complaints here was Payment Protection Insurance (PPI).

Sold by loan providers and banks along with a variety of credit products such as loans and credit cards, consumers often don’t even know they’ve purchased PPI.

Many are also sold the product even though their credit rating would disqualify them from pay outs.

According to the Ombudsman’s office: “Unsurprisingly, the most commonly complained about financial product is PPI – with a total 823 new cases (compared to 369 the previous year) about the sale of a policy or a claim under their policy – up over double.

“Many people didn’t realise they had been sold PPI or that they would never have been able to claim under the policy given their circumstances.”

The top five most complained about financial products in Londonderry last year were: PPI (823); Current Accounts (42); Credit Card Accounts (35); House Mortgages (31); Overdrafts and Loans (23).

Natalie Ceeney, Chief Ombudsman said: “Despite this huge increase in complaints from the area, we’re aware that there are still many people who do not know their rights if they have a money problem, and that they don’t automatically have to accept the business’s decision if they disagree with it.”

A spokesperson for the Ombudsman said: “PPI remains the biggest financial mis-selling scandal of all time and makes up 8 in 10 of the Ombudsman’s total complaints.

“So far this year we have awarded compensation to consumers in 7 out of 10 (70 per cent) of cases we resolve.”

If you do have a PPI complaint there is no need to spend money employing a claims handler. You can avoid the, often high, upfront fees by going through the Ombudsman directly.