PPI solicitors, firstly, provide legal advice in the currently relevant area of financial irregularities regarding mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI).They assess potential claimants' situations, and advise them whether they have a case. Since 'the protection racket', as it has become known in the media, has been a widespread problem in the financial sector for some time, it's very likely that people who suspect that they may have been 'mis-sold' PPI in one way or another actually have, and have a valid case.
If so, PPI solicitors take on the case for them, assess the maximum settlement they will be able to receive, and then aim to secure this settlement for the claimant. Usually the claimant just needs to provide some details over the phone or by submitting relevant document(s). Differences between various PPI solicitors can be, firstly, whether they are actual lawyers, as opposed to 'claims management companies'. Although claims management companies also take on PPI mis-selling claims, their abilities are limited, and PPI solicitors can more reliably secure higher settlements.
The Financial Services Authority says it has been working on a long term solution to the PPI scandal. The long term solution is thought to detail how customers should be treated when complaining about a PPI policy they have taken, the action also ensures how that recent PPI complainants are not disadvantaged. In the latest annual report the Financial Ombudsman Service ( FOS) revealed that PPI related complaints amounted to around 30% of all new financial related complaint cases in the year to the end of March 2010.
Part of PPI solicitors' roles is actually to make some customers aware that they are even entitled to claim, as many are not aware or not entitled to claim. Ways in which you may qualify as having been mis-sold PPI range from if the sale itself was pressurised, or lacking in full information, right through to if you've actually ended up paying a lot of money for a policy that automatically excludes you from claiming on it due to some aspect of your personal circumstances at the time of arranging the PPI.
Mike O'Connor, chief executive of Consumer Focus said "Consumers want companies to take complaints seriously and put problems right first time. These results suggest that too many companies are not taking complaints seriously and are content to leave to pursue problems with the Ombudsman instead".
by Paul Myers
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