The
Financial Services Authority (FSA) is taking steps to improve the controversial mis-selling of
payment protection insurance, (PPI) it has emerged.
As from 1 December, the organisation will implement measures to ensure consumers are given all of the necessary information surrounding PPI.
The Financial Ombudsman Service has received some 114,478 complaints about the product during the last five years, with 21,400 of those being lodged since April.
PPI is commonly sold to protect customers if they default on a loan,
mortgage or
credit card debt due to redundancy or sickness, but many consumers have been sold over-priced policies with very little claim potential.
Dan Waters, the FSA’s director of conduct risk, said his organisation has worked in conjunction with lenders to ensure PPI is sold in a fair manner.
“Since we took over the regulation of PPI we’ve carried out 24 investigations and three thematic reviews, issued warnings, halted the selling of single premium PPI with unsecured
personal loans, visited over 200 firms, and handed out some very significant fines,” he said.
Mr Waters added that the measures aim to “mend a market that has been broken for too long."
