The Lone Ranger without Tonto
MORTGAGE INTRODUCER - 15TH SEPTEMBER 2007
Dear editor,
The recent £182,000 Financial Services Authority (FSA) fine of Hadenglen Home Finance plc and its chief executive, Richard Hayes, for remortgage and payment protection insurance selling failures, is another example of the extent of customer exploitation is in this sector.
Despite on-going investigations by the Competition Commission, a number of payment protection insurance providers continue to over inflate premiums, use jargon to confuse purchases and adopt ‘bully-boy’ tactics to achieve sales. Although the Office of Fair Trading referred this sector to the Competition Commission in February 2007, the deadline for implementation for any ‘remedial measures’ isn’t until February 2009.
I applaud the efforts of the FSA in helping to weed out unscrupulous providers, but I wonder if it feels like the Lone Ranger without Tonto. We need intervention from the Competition Commission now – not in 18 month’s time, when even more vulnerable consumers will fall victim to dubious sales practices.
Simon Burgess
Managing director
British Insurance
