Derby Man Shocked By Cost Of Ppi
Shock at £10,000 for less than one years PPI cover.
When Matthew Green of Stenson Fields, Derby, took out a secured loan last year he thought some element of payment protection insurance might be useful. What he didn’t realise, however, was that he would end up paying more than £10,000 for less than one year of cover. It was only when he attempted to re-mortgage his property that the full costs of the policy, sold by Picture, became apparent and Matthew received a nasty shock.
“My mortgage advisor went over my paperwork for the £47,000 loan and wanted to know why I was paying almost £12,000 for PPI,” he explained. “Even worse, the loan was over a 25-year period but the insurance policy only covered the first five years. We asked for a settlement figure from Picture who offered about £1,500 which meant it had cost me almost £10,500 for eight months’ cover.
“My loan application was dealt with over the phone and the payment protection part just got swallowed up with all the other details. It wasn’t clear that I didn’t have to take the insurance out or that the loan wasn’t dependent on having it. I definitely didn’t realise that if I settled early, the PPI payments would still be taken for the whole term,” said Matthew, 41, who works as a CNC programme operator. His mortgage advisor told him about financial experts conkersclaims.co.uk, a division of claims handling specialist Brunel Franklin, and the company is now pursuing his case for compensation.
“I just want to be in a position where I can pay off Picture and draw a line under the whole experience but re-mortgaging will probably be a lot harder now,” commented Matthew. “I am annoyed about what’s happened and much more wary about financial products which seem to be sold at massive commissions to customers who don’t always realise what’s involved. There must be thousands of other people in a similar position to me who don’t understand the seriousness of their situation or just how much the cover might cost them,” he added.
Ian Allison, corporate relations director for BrunelFranklin.com and conkersclaims, said it was scandalous that PPI policies were so often mis-sold. “Firms who used unscrupulous sales tactics to sell PPI are finally having to pay for the shoddy way in which they mistreated customers. The fines being levied are relatively small when you consider that up to 35 million people may have PPI and many of them don’t even know they’ve got it. Those who do have it didn’t necessarily ask for it, or want it.
“We have dealt with no end of cases where the cost has been added automatically to the loan or people have been led to believe it’s a compulsory requirement when it is in fact optional,” he said. ”In Mr Green’s case the interest on the PPI was calculated over the 25 year term of the loan even though he was only insured for the first five years which is clearly unfair.
Borrowers who do want payment protection may already be covered under some existing insurance or an employer’s sickness scheme and, if not, they have every right to shop around for the best product for them. People should be made well aware of these facts at the point of sale but once again financial institutions are happily ripping off customers and should be brought to book,” he added. “We would urge anyone who thinks their policy was mis-sold to seek specialist advice without delay.”
To find out if you might be entitled to compensation for a mis-sold PPI policy, just logon to www.conkersclaims.co.uk and take the quick and easy 60-second test. If you have grounds for a claim, it will be pursued on a no win, no fee basis by a team of experienced staff dedicated to achieving the maximum payout possible. You can also telephone conkersclaims free of charge on 0800 051 54 51 or email info@conkersclaims.com.