Insurers slow in investigations
- 9TH JUNE 2007
Following the recent investigation into the payment protection insurance sector the Office of Fair Trading have now referred the investigation onto the Competition Commission, with the hope it will lead to changes in the sector and the product being more consumer friendly.
During the various pre-referral investigations it came to light that a huge number of policies had been mis-sold, with no hope of the policyholders being able to claim on them should they need to. For example, policies were sold to people who were retired or were part-time workers and who were therefore not eligible to take out this type of cover due to their occupation.
Following this, many compensation claims have been made to the Financial Services Ombudsman and already many have been settled in favour of the consumers.
However it seems the banks along with other firms are dragging their feet when it comes to making things right for the consumers who were nothing short of “ripped-off”. They have been trying delaying tactics to slow down the claims; some of the tactics used have included forgetting to send vital information along with requested documentation, leaving out recordings of calls made on the phone and not sending the appropriate application forms.
It is thought that over the coming years the amount of people making a claim will run into tens of thousands and if the providers continue to drag their heels, this is going to cause a huge backlog.
Payment protection is without a doubt a good thing to have in your corner if anything unexpected should happen such as involuntary redundancy or long term sickness which keeps you away from work. So protect yourself and your interests by going to an independent provider such as the ethical British Insurance, a standalone company who can provide you with a quality product while saving you hundreds of pounds’ in premiums.
