PPI mis-selling results in compensation of millions for consumers

Consumers in the UK have won back millions of pounds from banks and insurance companies as a result of being mis-sold insurance or becoming victims of administrative errors. According to figures the total amount won back by consumers who were mis-sold insurance or experienced errors in the last six months of last year was £284 million.

The reports show that the majority of these cases related to consumers that had been sold payment protection insurance, also known as PPI. This was a type of insurance sold alongside credit such as loans and credit cards, but came under fire several years ago after investigations found that it was being widely mis-sold by many providers of financial products and services.

The Financial Services Authority, the UK’s financial regulator, made these figures public recently, and also revealed that banks had received over 1.1 million complaints relating to unauthorised overdraft charges. Banks are now dealing with a huge backlog of these complaints following the removal of a ban on addressing the complaints, which were frozen as the bank charge case went through the High Court and then the Supreme Court.

Banks and insurance firms were said to have received 2.7 million complaints between July and December of last year, which compared to 1.6 million in the six months previous. The figures also showed that of these 45 percent were upheld in favour of the consumer.

The Financial Services Authority has, in the meantime, said that it will be coming down hard on banks that are found to be failing to deal with customer complaints effectively, and has warned that there are some banks that are trying to force customers to buy financial products that they do not want or need to shore up their own finances.

Tags: Financial institutions, finance, Insurance, bank, financial products

Tesco wants 10 percent share of financial market

It has been reported that the supermarket giant Tesco is looking to take a 10 percent share of the financial market as it continues its launch into retail banking. Over the years Tesco, like a number of other leading supermarkets, has broken into a range of different fields, and retail banking is something that Tesco has been looking into breaking into for some time.

In 2008 Tesco revealed its plans to break into retail banking, and this decision was welcomed by many given the problems that had arisen with traditional High Street banking giants. Last year saw the supermarket rebrand its Tesco Personal Finance brand to Tesco Bank in preparation for the move.

Already Tesco is now enjoying a reputation as the UK’s largest supermarket bank, and has around six million customers using a range of around twenty eight financial products ranging from loans and credit cards to insurance services. The supermarket wants to extend these services and build upon a customer base in current accounts, mortgages, and other financial products.

If Tesco does manage to reach its goal of taking a 10 percent share of the financial market it will be on level pegging with Abbey, which was recently renamed Santander after being taken over by the Spanish banking giant.

Officials have said that the fact that Tesco is a household name puts it in an excellent position to enter into the banking sector, as consumer confidence in its services may already be high. The move for a greater number of entrants into the banking sector is also something that is being encouraged by the government.

Many people have lost confidence in the traditional banking system over the past couple of years, and this could spell good news for new entrants to the market such as Tesco.

Tags: tesco, financial products, supermarket bank, retail banking, Tesco Bank

Retail giant may move into banking

Over recent years a number of well known retailers and supermarket giants have started offering various financial services, such as insurance services, credit cards, and even loans. Marks and Spencer, for example, has its own M&S Money sector and supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s and Tesco have been offering financial products for some time. One supermarket giant, Tesco, has recently announced that it is moving into the banking sector through offering full banking services, which will be rolled out over the course of this year. Read more

Tags: insurance services, supermarket giants, Sainsbury, tesco, Financial services

Benefiting from credit cards as a student

As a student in the UK it can be very difficult to maintain a healthy cash flow, and often students need a little flexibility and assistance when it comes to finances, whether it is for books, entertainment, or just general purchases such as travel costs or groceries. This is particularly true for students that are living away from home, who often aren’t able to get financial support as readily as those living at home with parents and who also have the added cost of bills and rent to deal with.

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Tags: financial products, uk, financial need, added cost, finance, student credit cards, balance, debt