
Back in 1987 when the National Australia Bank (NAB), bought Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks, they couldn’t possibly have known of the scandals that would follow.
Seen as a sound investment, and a way into the lucrative UK market, the Australians must have believed that purchasing the two banks was a shrewd piece of business.
With two long established, and well respected banks, all seemed well until the financial crisis that kicked in from 2008.
During the crisis it became apparent that UK banks, including Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks, had been using their customers to generate huge profits by offering poor advice, or selling unwanted, and sometimes hidden, policies.
In September 2013 Clydesdale Bank were fined £8.9 MILLION for failing to treat it’s mortgage customers fairly.
It appears that profits came before customers, which unfortunately is often the case these days with banks and lenders.
Clydesdale & Yorkshire Banks have played a huge part in the mis-selling of PPI, which is the biggest financial scandal ever to hit the UK.
With a recent additions to their PPI compensation bill of £500 MILLION, taking their overall bill to £1.2 BILLION, the numbers are simply staggering, when you consider the two banks are not seen as anywhere near the scale of Lloyds, HSBC, Barclays or RBS.
Given the scandals as outlined above, and the almost guarantee that the PPI bill will increase further, it perhaps comes as little surprise that National Australia Bank (NAB) want to wash their hands of Clydesdale & Yorkshire Banks.
The damage to the reputation of NAB, and the spiralling cost of PPI compensation claims appears to have become too much.
A recent statement made it perfectly clear that NAB want to ditch the two UK banks and soon as possible, and we can fully understand why.
If you have had a loan or mortgage with Clydesdale Bank or Yorkshire Bank within the last 25 years there’s every chance you’ll have been paying for PPI.
We’ve made claiming easy, taking the stress out of you having to deal with the paperwork, the stress, and the tactics employed by the bank to try and wriggle out of paying.
So….how do you start your claim?
#1: The first option for you is to fill in the form which can be seen on every page. By doing so, we will send you out a form in the post for you to complete. Once we’ve received the form back in the freepost envelope we send you with your form, we can make a start on your Clydesdale or Yorkshire PPI claim.
#2: The second option for you is to download our form, which again can be found on every page by clicking the ‘download pack’ button. Simply print it out, complete it and send it back to us, our address can be found here. Once we receive is back we’ll let you know and make a start.
Our team of experts are on hand to answer any questions you have via telephone, email or our live chat facility.
So….why wait, let’s get started!
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HFC stands for Household Finance Corp, a finance company founded in the United States during 1878.
HFC claimed to be the first finance company to offer consumers the chance to repay their loan in instalments rather than a lump sum on the due date.
In the early 1980s, HFC was restructured and renamed Household International Inc. before it was bought by HSBC in 2002 for US$15.3 billion.
As reported by Bloomberg, the acquisition of HFC was a poor investment by HSBC, “It’s an acquisition we wish we hadn’t done with the benefit of hindsight, and there are lessons to be learned,” explained HSBC’s chairman Stephen Green back in 2009.
HSBC’s venture into sub-prime lending through its purchase of HFC was abandoned after a little more than 6 years.
In 2008, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) fined HFC a record (at the time) £1.09 million for mis-selling PPI. As reported in The Telegraph newspaper, HFC failed to gather sufficient information on their customers before recommending PPI to them.
Margaret Cole, FSA director of enforcement explained that HFC’s actions had “put its customers at risk of buying unsuitable protection insurance and the financial impact on them of unsuitable advice was likely to be significant.”
If you have had a loan or credit card with HFC in the past there’s every chance you’ll have been paying for PPI.
We’ve made claiming easy, taking the stress out of you having to deal with the paperwork, the stress, and the tactics employed by the bank to try and wriggle out of paying.
So….how do you start your claim?
#1: The first option for you is to fill in the form which can be seen on every page. By doing so, we will send you out a form in the post for you to complete. Once we’ve received the form back in the freepost envelope we send you with your form, we can make a start on your HFC PPI claim.
#2: The second option for you is to download our form, which again can be found on every page by clicking the ‘download pack’ button. Simply print it out, complete it and send it back to us, our address can be found here. Once we receive is back we’ll let you know and make a start.
Our team of experts are on hand to answer any questions you have via telephone, email or our live chat facility.
So….why wait, let’s get started!
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Sainsbury’s was the first of the major British supermarkets to provide financial services.
Sainsbury’s Bank began trading on 19th February 1997 and was launched as a joint venture between Sainsbury’s and the Bank of Scotland, which later became part of the Lloyds Banking Group.
Sainsbury’s Bank has over one million active customers who are provided with a range of financial products including credit cards, savings, insurance and loans.
In mid-2013 Sainsbury’s declared its intention to buy the 50% share owned by Lloyds Banking Group and become a wholly owned subsidiary of J Sainsbury’s plc.
This deal was completed on 31st January 2014.
A 2004 study conducted by the consumer group Which? found that banks were acting dishonestly when selling PPI.
Little consideration was shown to the actual needs and circumstances of the customer.
In the specific case of Sainsbury’s Bank, Which? researchers were told “We strongly recommended that you take the cover”. Such comments constitute mis-selling because undue influence is placed by the bank onto the customer.
The evidence of PPI mis-selling compiled over a number of years by Which? was documented and is now published on the UK Parliament’s website.
Until very recently, Sainsbury’s Bank was half-owned by Lloyds Banking Group, which also owns Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Blackhorse to name a few.
Lloyds Banking Group is by far the biggest offender of any bank in the UK when it comes to mis-selling PPI, with their bill alone standing at an eye watering £11.3 BILLION at the time of writing this.
If you have had a loan or credit card with Sainsburys there’s every chance you’ll have been paying for PPI.
We’ve made claiming easy, taking the stress out of you having to deal with the paperwork, the stress, and the tactics employed by the bank to try and wriggle out of paying.
So….how do you start your claim?
#1: The first option for you is to fill in the form which can be seen on every page. By doing so, we will send you out a form in the post for you to complete. Once we’ve received the form back in the freepost envelope we send you with your form, we can make a start on your Sainsburys PPI claim.
#2: The second option for you is to download our form, which again can be found on every page by clicking the ‘download pack’ button. Simply print it out, complete it and send it back to us, our address can be found here. Once we receive is back we’ll let you know and make a start.
Our team of experts are on hand to answer any questions you have via telephone, email or our live chat facility.
So….why wait, let’s get started!
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It may be long overdue but it appears the dominance and monopoly of the big four banks is to be investigated.
For far too long now, Lloyds Banking Group (including Halifax and Bank of Scotland), RBS / Natwest, Barclays and HSBC have dominated the high streets when it comes to putting your money.
Years ago this didn’t seem to be a problem as we trusted our banks.
With nowhere else to turn, UK consumers have been left with few alternatives other to place our money with these banks and getting very little back in return.
It’s abundantly clear with the main banks that profits come first.
Customer service, and competitive products aren’t on the agenda when it comes to these giants of finance.
The fact of the matter is, there have been no alternatives and these banks are all equally as poor as each other when it comes to dealing with customers and our needs, so it didn’t really matter how we were treated.
We seem to hear about a new scandal or a new fine on a daily basis these days, from rigging LIBOR and foreign exchange rates, to money laundering and Mexican drug cartels.
Whilst the above do impact what we all pay on a daily basis, it is perhaps the mis-selling of Payment Protection Insurance (PPI), and the recent investigations into the potentially millions of mis-sold Packaged Bank Accounts, that really make us sit up and take notice.
Selling worthless insurance policies to us, their own customers, only serves as further proof that banks believe they can get away with treating us how they wish.
However, the UK consumer appears to be fighting back with the number of PPI claims, and the ever increasing number of Packaged Bank Account claims.
This has forced the government to take notice, and to look deeper into the banks and the apparent monopoly they have on the market.
With 77% of current accounts currently being serviced by ‘the big four’, there is a long way to go before there is enough competition in the market.
Only when the grip of these out of control banks is loosened will we see real competition and a proper focus on customer needs and service.
Until then, we’ll continue to see scandals and financial claims.
PPI was sold on all forms of credit, and with an estimated 34 million policies sold worth a colossal £50 BILLION we believe you may be in a minority if you haven’t been sold a policy.
Not sure whether you’ve been sold PPI? Our fast and comprehensive checking systems that have been set up with almost all banks allows you to find out whether you’ve been one of the millions who have had PPI.
Not sure whether you qualify? Check here to see whether you may.
Want to know how much you may be owed? Why not try our PPI calculator.
Have you ever paid a monthly fee for your bank account? With over 10 million active Packaged Bank Accounts, and millions more that have closed, banks are thought to have profited by £BILLIONS through mis-selling them.
#1: The first option for you is to fill in the form which can be seen on every page. By doing so, we will send you out a form in the post for you to complete. Once we’ve received the form back in the freepost envelope we send you with your form, we can make a start on your PPI claim.
#2: The second option for you is to download our form, which again can be found on every page by clicking the ‘download pack’ button. Simply print it out, complete it and send it back to us, our address can be found here. Once we receive is back we’ll let you know and make a start.
Our team of experts are on hand to answer any questions you have via telephone, email or our live chat facility.
So….why wait, let’s get started!
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You may have been mis-sold PPI many, many years ago by your bank or lender. You may have only just realised you’ve been sold PPI, or you may just be wondering whether or not you were all those years ago.
But, you’ve got an issue, a question that you don’t know the answer to… “How far back can I claim PPI?”
It’s one of the most common questions we get asked on a daily basis, so you are not alone.
All lenders are legally obliged to retain documentation regarding any credit agreement for a minimum period of six years once it’s been settled.
However, we find that most lenders, especially the mainstream banks, keep hold of paperwork for much longer periods.
Our free fast-track checking system, set up with almost all lenders, will allow us to see whether your lender has retained information on your account, and secondly, whether or not you were sold PPI.
We’ve had a number of claims launched with us that date back as far as the early 90s, and a very small number even go as far back as the 1980s so don’t be put off by the date of your loan, mortgage, credit card or other form of finance.
There is still a huge amount of compensation yet to be claimed, and an estimated 7 million people who haven’t yet staked their claim.
Could you be one of them?
The answer to the question how far back can you claim PPI, in short, is that you can claim PPI as far back as your lender has retained your paperwork for.
There is no deadline, but lenders will try to put up more of a fight, the older the claim is so we advise to get your claim in as soon as you can.
Remember, we don’t need account numbers and we don’t need paperwork.
So, if you’ve got a credit card from 1990, a loan from 2005 or a mortgage from 1987, don’t let the date put you off making a claim with us today.
So, if you fill out our online claim form which can be found on every page, or even download a pack.
Our experts are on hand to answer any questions you may have via telephone, email or our online chat facility.
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Scandal, scandal and more scandal involving UK banks.
Following on from my previous posts last week, which brought news that Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland have been caught rigging the £3 TRILLION a day foreign exchange rates, it comes as little surprise that HSBC have also been involved.
In a long line of scandals, it appears there are very few parts of the financial industry that have not been rigged, cheated or manipulated in some way in order to make a few people very very rich.
Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) has been around for an eternity now so it may come as a surprise to learn that we estimate there are still approximately 7 MILLION people who have yet to stake their claim.
Banks and lenders, including HSBC, initially put their estimation of a final bill in the region of £25 BILLION. An astronomical figure, but well short of the £50 BILLION worth of policies that were sold.
Their numbers rely on a huge number of people not coming forward, and people accepting a rejection from the bank when, in fact, they have a valid claim.
You may recall in the last round of figures released to the city, some three months ago, an additional £75 MILLION was added to the HSBC PPI bill.
In it’s latest release today, HSBC have added almost £370 MILLION, taking the total HSBC PPI compensation bill beyond £2.5 BILLION.
If we add this to the figures released last week by Lloyds (including Halifax and Bank of Scotland), RBS (including Natwest), Barclays and Tesco, the total bill has risen by over £1.5 BILLION in a matter of a week.
Our estimations show a final bill closer to £42.5 BILLION, but again this is dependent on the millions of people who have yet to come forward, many of whom won’t be aware they’ve been sold PPI as it was often added without the knowledge of the customer.
Your Money Claim are the industry experts, beating the banks every day.
No account numbers are needed, no paperwork is needed. Fast-track systems have been set up with almost all lenders so checking to see whether you’ve had PPI is easy.
Simply complete your details on our online form which can be found on every page of the site or feel free to download a pack. Our experts are on hand to answer any questions you may have via telephone, email or our live chat facility.
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