HSBC PPI reclaim
In 2006 The Office of Fair Trading and The Financial Services Authority (FSA) investigated the sale of payment protection insurance. The investigations came after concern was expressed by the Citizens Advice Bureau regarding the way the cover was being sold, the costs of the policy and the value for money they provided customers with.
The investigations revealed many failings across the industry and some of the worst offenders faced significant fines. One of HSBC’s subsidiaries, HFC (also trading as Benefical Finance and Household Bank) was fined £1,085,000. It was found that the lender had failed to sufficiently protect customers from being mis-sold an unsuitable policy during in-branch sales between January 2005 and May 2007.
As a result of the media interest generated by The FSA’s investigation, there was a significant increase in payment protection claims including HSBC PPI reclaims.
In December 2010, HSBC made the decision to place PPI complaints on hold pending the judicial review into new FSA guidelines. A similar stance was taken by the majority of the UK’s leading banks who supported the British Banking Association’s (BBA) challenge of the new guidelines. The High Court announced its decision in April 2011 finding in favour of the FSA.
After the decision was revealed, the Financial Ombudsman Services announced it would allow banks additional time to work through their claim backlogs. It has temporarily extended the amount of time banks have to review some claims from eight weeks to up to sixteen weeks.
Many people review the court’s decision as a victory as much for the consumer as for the FSA and it is hoped all banks will now work hard to clear backlogs and deal with complaints. In what is reviewed as a pledge of commitment, HSBC has announced it has allocated £269 million to deal with the payment protection issue.
If you feel you were mis-sold a policy and would like to make a HSBC PPI reclaim call our claims team on 0207 471 2000.
blog comments powered by