Welcome PPI Complaints
Welcome Finance is estimated to have sold in the region of 500,000 payment protection insurance policies attached to its loans. For Welcome, as with many other lenders, payment protection was for many years something of a cash cow. The reason for this is twofold: firstly PPI is traditionally quite an expensive form of insurance. As an example, PPI can cost anywhere from 13%-56% of the base loan value. On a £10,000 loan this could add between £1,300 and £5,600 plus interest. Secondly, the payout rate for the insurance can be quite low. A 2008 investigation by the Competition Commission found that just 15% of people who tried to use their PPI cover received a payout. This means that lenders, such as Welcome, could potentially make 85p profit for every £1 spent on the insurance.
The Payment protection bubble burst in 2006; however, when the Financial Services Authority began to look carefully at the sales techniques used by lenders. Mis sold PPI became a huge issue and there was a surge in Welcome PPI complaints and complaints against other lenders in the industry.
The PPI scandal was a double blow for many lenders such as Welcome, as bad publicity led to a fall in PPI sales and profits while the increase in complaints meant a steady rise in compensation payouts.
In 2008 Welcome announced pre-tax of losses of £745 million and by 2009 this number had grown considerably with debts outstripping assets by £1.1 billion. In March 2011 it was declared to be in default. ‘Default’ is a term used when a business authorised by the Financial Services Authority is no longer in a financial position to settle claims made against it. In these instances cases are handled by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme who will evaluate cases and pay compensation as necessary. This is now the situation with Welcome PPI complaints.
If you require assistance with making your Welcome PPI claim, call our team on 0207 471 2000.
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