PPI, we’ve probably all heard about the biggest scandal to hit UK consumers, but did you know how the compensation payouts compare to what entire countries generate in a year?
To date over £25bn has been claimed back from the banking industry in Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) refunds and compensation, according to the Financial Conduct Authority.
This exceeds the GDP of 93 countries from around the world, including Cameroon, Latvia, and El Salvador. See the full list here.
£2.4bn has already been claimed back this year with much more to come. The total figure is expected to reach far higher levels over the coming years.
PPI compensation payouts are thought to have boosted the UK economy to such an extent that it has recovered much quicker from the financial crisis that begun in 2008 than its European neighbours.
As you can imagine, having to pay out this ever increasing amount of compensation has not been welcome news for the banks, who have incorrectly claimed on numerous occasions to be nearing the end of the crisis.
The banking industry has continued to come under fire for its consistent failures in handling claims fairly, leading to further fines and action being taken by the regulator.
With a PPI claim deadline being proposed to extend into 2019, it’s likely this number will grow significantly, which will likely see even more countries on the map above turning green.
What is Payment Protection Insurance Exactly?
The product was initially designed to meet credit repayments in the event the customer was unable to work due to sickness, accident or redundancy.
Whilst the idea of protecting your payments or income can be a good idea, the banking industry sold useless policies in many instances purely because of the profits generated via the sales.
This saw millions of people up and down the country being unwittingly sold a product they could never actually use.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, the greed of the banks saw staff sell PPI without the knowledge of customers, leaving a huge number of UK consumers being completely unaware they’ve been caught up in the scandal.
01254 822880
