Welcome PPI claim
Welcome Finance was a big name in the lending UK lending industry for many years. It predominantly made its reputation loaning money to customers with poor credit history. The lender was criticised by some debt charities for the APR applied to its loans which could be as high as 85%. It has been accused of leading customers in financial difficulty further into debt and of showing a lack of transparency with regard to its charging.
In addition to its loans, Welcome made a great deal of additional revenue from selling loan protection insurance. This kind of insurance covers a borrower if they cannot keep up with debt repayments as a result of involuntary unemployment. Critics of the cover have accused lenders who sell this type of insurance of viewing it as an additional revenue stream rather than a financial safety net for their customers. This is largely due to the fact the cover can be very expensive, but also because the rates of payout for the insurance can be very low. One survey placed the payout rate for loan PPI at just 15%. This means for every £1 spent on loan PPI a loan could, potentially, be making £0.85 in profit. The cover has also become extremely unpopular because of the frequency with which it has been mis-sold.
Mis sold PPI has become a major media story in recent years as the number of customer complaints has risen to unprecedented levels. In 2010 Welcome was the fourth most complained about company with regard to the sale of PPI. Of the Welcome PPI claims submitted to the Financial Ombudsman Service 93% were upheld in favour of the customers. This hints at real problems in the way the company was selling the insurance. The news was a further blow to Welcome who, in 2009, announced it had debts exceeding its assets by £1.1 billion and the situation finally came to a head in March 2011 when the company was forced to admit it did not have the available funds to settle Welcome PPI claims made against it. The news means that the company is now officially in default and claims against it will be handled by The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
The FSCS is a compensation fund set up to help customers who need to make a compensation claim against a Financial Services Authority business who has ceased trading or is in default. In future, the FSCS will handle all Welcome PPI claims and, where mis-selling is established, will pay the necessary compensation.
If you were sold a Welcome PPI policy that you do not believe was suitable or you think Welcome failed in their obligations to make you fully aware of the terms, conditions or costs of the policy you can make a claim for compensation. The amount of compensation you receive will depend on the size and age of your PPI policy, but you can make a claim even where you have already paid off your loan.
For more information regarding making a Welcome PPI claim call the Belmont Thornton claims team on 0207 471 2000.
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