Ombudsman gets 500,000th complaint on Tuesday
Up to 400 complaints an hour are being made to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) by consumers who claim to have been sold unwanted insurance products.
The FOS said it received more than 140,000 complaints about payment protection insurance (PPI) since the start of the financial year in April.
That compared to 157,716 complaints for the whole of the previous year.
It received its 500,000th complaint on Tuesday.
“Despite these record numbers, this mis-selling scandal shows no sign of slowing,” said chief financial ombudsman Natalie Ceeney.
PPI policies are typically taken out alongside a personal loan or mortgage to cover repayments if customers fall ill or lose their jobs, but have often been sold to people who did not want or need them.
Barclays PLC increased the amount it had set aside to deal with claims by £700m to £2bn last week, and the banking industry could face an overall bill of up to £15bn.
The ombudsman said it was currently upholding seven in 10 cases in the consumer’s favour, with compensation averaging £2,750.
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