Credit Card Claims
Have you ever been sold a payment protection insurance policy on your credit card or paid over the limit or late payment fees? If so, did you know that following two formal investigations you may now be able to make a claim that could be worth thousands of pounds?
After many complaints from unhappy customers, in 2006 The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) investigated the charges applied by banks for late payment and over the limit fees on credit cards. They concluded that many of the charges levied were legally unfair. As a result of the investigation many people have now been able to make credit card claims.
During their investigation The OFT discovered that some credit card companies were charging as much as £35 for late payment and over the limit fees. These charges were often applied each time a customer made a late payment or exceeded their limit even if the payment was only a day late or they went over their limit by a very small amount. For some people this meant reoccurring charges of hundreds and sometimes thousands of pounds. Thankfully, many of these people have now been able to make credit card claims.
Initially credit card companies tried to defend these large charges saying they were to cover costs incurred; however, the OFT dismissed this and imposed a maximum charge of £12 for fees across the industry. When it is considered that, previously, credit card companies were making more than £300 million a year in fees it is easy to see why the OFT rejected their claims and why so many people are now entitled to make credit card claims.
In 2006 another important investigation took place, this one into the sale of payment protection insurance. Again headed up by The OFT alongside The Financial Services Authority, this investigation looked at the way payment protection insurance was sold. The results were astonishing and, as a result, many more people are now entitled to make credit card claims.
Payment protection insurance (often referred to simply as PPI) is a type of cover attached to credit cards and other financial products such as loans. The cover is meant to step in and take over debt repayments if the policyholder is unable to work due to sickness, accident or redundancy. It has become increasingly controversial, though, as it is very expensive, has a high number of exemptions and has frequently been mis-sold. A large percentage of the total number of credit card claims each year relate to PPI cover.
There are many different ways in which credit card PPI may be mis-sold.
- The customer was wrongly told they had to have the cover.
- The full cost of the cover was not explained to the customer.
- The terms and conditions were not made clear.
- The customer was wrongly told taking out the cover would improve their chances of being approved for the credit card.
- The customer was sold the cover even though their circumstances made them unsuitable. For example, the customer was not in employment or had a pre-existing medical condition that would not be covered.
- The cover was added without the customer's knowledge.
- The customer felt pressured into taking out the policy by a pushy salesperson.
If you were mis-sold a PPI policy in one of these ways you could make credit card claims. Still have questions? Then call our customer care team on 0207 471 2000.
So, remember, if you have ever been mis-sold payment protection insurance, paid an over the limit or late payment fee then you are entitled to make a claim. We work on a No Win No Fee* basis and we could recover your money in just 8 weeks!
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