The Week Unzipped: Bank customers urged to contact Ombudsman over PPI sales

CONSUMERS with an outstanding complaint against a bank for selling them payment protection insurance they neither asked for nor indeed would be able to claim against are being urged to take their complaint to the Financial Ombudsman, after it emerged the watchdog was ordering compensation in eight out of ten cases.

Many customers were automatically charged for insurance against unemployment, sickness or accident when taking out a range of credit from mortgages to credit cards.

Most did not realise they were paying over the odds for the cover, which in many cases was worthless to them. It would not, for example, have protected the self-employed, pensioners or other non-workers from losing an income.

Banks are supposed to be investigating complaints. However, many were dragging their feet. Last week the Financial Services Authority published new guidelines ordering companies to implement better practice by 1 December 2010.

It has also taken action against 24 firms and individuals for PPI failings, with fines totalling approximately 13 million.

This follows the Ombudsman being bombarded with 100,000 complaints, eight out of ten of which were decided in the consumers' favour.

Britons saving more

BRITONS are putting away more of their monthly income than they have for two years, according to the latest savings survey from National Savings & Investments.

The data showed the first increase in the monthly amount saved for a year. On average, consumers are saving 85 each month.

Tim Mack at NS&I said: "It is encouraging news that many of us are managing to put a few more pounds away each month."

Repossession rethink

THE number of properties repossessed by first-charge mortgage lenders continued to fall in the second quarter of 2010 but national debt charity Consumer Credit Counselling Service warns that a rise in repossessions is likely over the next year.

Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders showed there were 9,400 properties taken into possession between April and June, down from 9,800 in the first three months of the year and 11,800 over the same period in 2009. The number of mortgages behind with payments also fell by 5 per cent to 2.5 per cent at the end of June. This figure is 17 per cent lower than a year earlier.

As a result of these positive figures, the CML has revised its forecast for arrears and repossessions in 2010 to 39,000, down from 53,000.