JUDICIAL REVIEW ON PPI REFORM
Yesterday, the British Banking Association (BBA ) announced:
"The BBA's members will continue to handle all PPI-related complaints in accordance with FSA rules. Where the assessment of the complaint would not be affected by the judicial review, these complaints will be handled in the normal way. If your complaint will be impacted by the judicial review, and cannot be resolved at this point, then your bank will write to inform you.
"Customers should be assured that all complaints will be reviewed - even those delayed by this judicial review process. There is no deadline for receipt of complaints. If customers have a problem regarding PPI they should contact their bank and, if necessary, complain in the normal way."
This has resulted in some of the larger banks taking it upon themselves to freeze certain PPI claims until the Judicial Review is heard. So far RBS, HSBC and BARCLAYS have announced that they have joined the Lloyds Banking Group bandwagon. We believe however that where clients have been made an offer with actual figures then the Banks will honour that offer and make a redress payment. Failure to do so, in any event, would constitute a breach of contract. The announcement from the BBA seems to have created confusion amongst the banks, as they are all dealing with the cases in differing manners. Therefore the current uncertainty across the industry can be attributed to ambiguity as to what complaints the Judicial Review will and will not impact upon.
Furthermore, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) announced that consumers can still complain about their Payment Protection Insurance policy. Additionally, they have confirmed if any consumer is unhappy with how a bank has handled the complaint, they can refer their case to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). We fully intend to continue our use of this service to ensure that our clients are protected and that their claims are still ongoing.
It is likely that further press releases from the BBA and the banks will be released throughout the week and we will keep you up to date with any developments.
How are you affected?
- This differs from the Bank Charges court case. The banks are not denying liability or wrongdoing. They are concerned that the FSA's new guidelines could fundamentally change the way that complaints are handled by the Banks and are asking for confirmation from the Courts as to whether the FSA have the authority to do this.
- The FSA have insisted that banks continue to investigate Payment Protection Claims whilst the Judicial Review is ongoing. They have confirmed that if the banks do use this Judicial Review as a means to freeze investigations then the complaint can be forwarded to the FOS.
PPI Compensation Specialists
Have you had a loan or credit card within the past ten years? Did it include Payment Protection Insurance? If the answer is yes, the chances are that the agreement was mis-sold and you could be entitled to thousands of pounds of compensation.
We, at Nelson, Gibb & Landa are one of Scotland's leading firms of solicitors in PPI claims. Our No Win No Fee service could help put your money back where it belongs in your pocket.
We are now claiming against unfair credit card charges and the form on the right can also be used to contact us regarding credit card charges claims. Please click here to find claim forms and additional mandates.
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