7 in 10 people in North West want bankers charged for PPI mis-selling

SOME 69% of people in the North West believe that banking executives involved in the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI) should face criminal charges, a new survey has revealed.

The study, commissioned by leading PPI claims lawyers Forbes Douglas, also found that 61% of people in the North West want the Government to force banks to actively track down and compensate those who have been mis-sold PPI before any complaints have to be made. That is slightly lower than the national figure of 62%.

The survey also showed that 65% of those in the North West believe that the living relatives of deceased victims of PPI mis-selling should receive the money that banks made from the controversial practice. However, 18% of people in the region said that determining who is entitled to get money back in these cases is too difficult and instead any compensation should be given to charity.

Over £15billion has been set aside by the main UK lenders to settle claims over mis-sold PPI policies, which are intended to insure repayment of loans if circumstances prevent the policy holder from earning the income to service the debt. Barclays this week added £1.35billion to the £2.6billion it had already put aside to settle PPI claims.

PPI Policies often have exclusions and in 2011 the High Court ruled that companies should write to customers most at risk and invite them to claim.

The total value of unclaimed PPI policies mis-sold to people in the North West has been estimated at just under £1.8billion; with over £660million of that in the Greater Manchester area and £350million on Merseyside.

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) now receives around 2,000 complaints about PPI per day. Statistics from the FOS have revealed that PPI complaints accounted for a massive 74% of its workload in the past year, with the total number of new PPI complaints during the 3 months from April to June of 2013 hitting 132,000, a year on year increase of 307%.

The research from Forbes Douglas showed that less than 10% of people in the North West feel that the banking executives responsible for the mis-selling of PPI should not face criminal charges, exactly in line with national sentiment. The overwhelming majority, 69% of respondents in the North West and 70% across the UK, want to see charges brought against bank bosses.

Well over half of people in the UK (55%) also believe that claims previously rejected by banks should be reopened, with 57% of people in the North West sharing that opinion. Indeed, suspicions about complaints procedures grew further last month when call centre staff at Lloyds TSB were revealed to be delaying and rejecting PPI compensation requests in the hope that disgruntled policy holders would give up on their claims.

Some four million (58%) of the 6.85 million PPI complaints made between the start of 2010 and the end of 2012 were upheld by the banks. Complainants gave up on just under 2.4 million (84%) of the 2.86 million complaints rejected; a statistic made more worrying by the fact that 64% of complaints brought to the FOS after being rejected by the banks were actually upheld. These abandoned claims are worth a combined £4.2billion.

Once rejected by the banks, consumers have 6 months to submit a complaint to the FOS. The high uphold rate at the FOS indicates that a large proportion of the rejected claims given up on by complainants may have been valid and worthy of compensation.

Santander UK upheld 83% of PPI complaints in the three-year period in question, the most of any major bank, though 53% of claims rejected by Santander and brought to the FOS were then upheld.

Both nationally and in the North West, just 19% of people surveyed feel that banks should be allowed to negotiate a legally upheld deadline of 12 months for claims. Talks between lenders and consumer groups on similar proposals collapsed in June and negative consumer sentiment was also evident in the survey, as 66% of people in the North West and 63% of people across the UK completely dismissed the idea of banks putting a best before date on claims.

Gary Verschuur, Managing Partner at Forbes Douglas, said:- "The moral thing for Lloyds or any bank with a similar record to do is voluntarily to re-open all complaints they rejected in this period. If they don't, the Financial Conduct Authority should insist upon it. It's clear that people across the UK feel hoodwinked by banks over the PPI mis-selling scandal and literally thousands of individuals are coming forward with new complaints every week.  Our research shows that the majority of people want the responsible parties to face serious consequences over what has happened and criminal charges are the order of the day, but ensuring that people who have been wronged by banks are adequately compensated is just as important.  If your claim is rejected by the Financial Ombudsman, that's the end of the line. However, we can help people get the compensation they deserve.  Going through our professional and sympathetic PPI Refund Team at Forbes Douglas 1st could ensure a better result."

The study found that men have slightly less sympathy for banking executives involved in the PPI scandal. Some 75% of males surveyed feel that bankers should face charges, compared to 65% of women who feel the same.

The generational gap is similarly spaced. Some 64% of the youngest people surveyed, those aged:- 18 to 24, feel that the bankers responsible should face criminal charges, while 75% of people aged 55 or older registered the same sentiment.

People in London (63%) and Yorkshire and the Humber (63%) were found to be the least insistent on criminal charges being brought against bankers who mis-sold PPI, while those in Scotland (81%) and the North East (78%) are the most adamant that they should face charges.

Their are also other groups who do PPI work, like Fast Track Reclaim, so also shop around for the best deals when looking for help in claiming back your PPI!