Share Dealing
Lloyds 'disappointed' by High Court PPI decision
Rob Langston, 20 April 2011
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) has revealed its 'disappointment' ot the High Court's dismissal of a judicial review of controversial payment protection insurance (PPI) complaints handling measures.
The review had been sought by bank trade body the British Bankers' Association (BBA) and Principality Building Society subsidiary Nemo Personal Finance.
The bank trade body and Nemo may now seek to appeal the court’s judgment.
In a market statement, a Lloyds spokesperson said, 'We are disappointed with the outcome of today's judgement and are considering its detail very carefully.
'The BBA, in conjunction with its members, is now giving consideration to next steps including whether it would be appropriate to apply for permission to appeal.'
According to the bank, the financial impact will only be able to be assessed once all legal proceedings have been finally determined.
The bank warned the impact of complaints handling policy and the Financial Ombudsman Service's (FOS) approach to complaints 'could be material to the group's financial position'.
The trade body had sought orders quashing the FSA's policy statement and the Financial Ombudsman Service's (FOS) decision to determine PPI sales in accordance with the guidance published on its website.
In a statement from the Financial Services Authority, a spokesperson said its primary aim had been to secure 'proper redress' for consumers with genuine complaints.
'We believe this decision signals the end of years of poor complaint handling and will trigger a dramatic improvement in the way customers are treated when complaining,' the spokesperson added.
According to the regulator, there have been more than 1.5 million PPI complaints since it took over regulation of the industry in 2005.
The regulator's spokesperson said firms had, on average, rejected 60 per cent of complaints, with the vast majority of those referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service upheld.
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Comments
Comment by Anthony Brennan
We have dealt with clients in wheelchairs that have been sold sickness insurance that could never been claimed on due to obvious health issues. We have dealt with policies sold to pensioners, housewives and students who could never claim on loss of employment as they were never employed. We have dealt with Russian Builders, Indian Cooks and African Taxi Drivers who could hardly speak English and could never claim as they were self employed. We have dealt with Nurses working for the NHS, civil servants, policeman, firemen and armed forces personnel who could never claim on policies due to the fact that they were fully covered from their work sickness insurance.
The banks who sold these policies had a massive incentive to sell them due to the enormous commissions involved (usually 60% of the total cost of the policy). In addition on single premium loans they not only gained the loan commission they also lent the money to purchase the policy in the first place. So that on lending £5,000 to purchase a policy at say interest of 20% pa with 60% of the cost of the policy refunded as commission they bank effectively earned 50% interest on the net cost of the loan.
The banks have ignored their own regulators guidelines to refund this money. They have challenged the regulators instructions on best practice and lost in court and now there is no doubt they will appeal this judgement in the cynical knowledge that by delaying the verdict another 18 months they will save hundreds of millions of pounds in people giving up on their claim and the fact that they are able to destroy their financial records older than 6 years old thus preventing claims on their older policies
http://www.blog.bank-charges-recovery.co.uk/
Please note: This is an independent comment and What Investment and Vitesse Media plc do not endorse this site in any way.