PPI market faces scrutiny
February 8, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Insurance
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has decided to refer the UK payment protection insurance (PPI) market to the Competition Commission (CC).
A public consultation was held following an original proposition by the OFT for the referral back in October.
Businesses, consumer organisations and trade associations were asked to give their views on the market and the responses confirmed the OFT’s prior concerns.
“Our examination of the evidence presented to date gives us reasonable grounds to suspect that there are features of this market which restrict competition to the detriment of consumers,” said John Fingleton, chief executive of the OFT.
“Despite some evidence of a degree of consumer satisfaction with aspects of the product, the evidence as a whole suggests consumers get a poor deal.”
The organisation says that the CC can now carry out a thorough investigation of the market, offering the chance for a solution to be reached.
The Financial Services Authority is currently working to remedy some of the problems present in the market in terms of selling practices. However, the OFT feels that this alone will not fix the current problems.
Those of you considering a loan may find that you are better off getting PPI, but should shop around for the best deal.
