Citizens Advice response to British Bankers Association announcement on PPI

Citizens Advice Chief Executive, Gillian Guy said:

“At long last the banks have decided to do the right thing in accepting that they must compensate the huge number of customers who were mis-sold PPI policies that were far too expensive and completely unsuitable for their needs.

“It’s now up to the banks to deal with claims quickly and thoroughly. The onus should be on them to contact all those affected rather than wait for customers to make a claim. It’s also vital that both banks and regulators learn the lessons of PPI to ensure a similar scandal on this scale cannot be allowed to happen again in the future.”

In September 2005 Citizens Advice made a ‘super complaint’ to the Office of Fair Trading, calling on them to launch an investigation into the payment protection insurance (PPI) business, which at that time had an estimated 20 million policies in force and produced annual revenue in excess of £5 billion. Protection racket – CAB evidence on the cost and effectiveness of payment protection insurance, the report on which the super complaint was based, is available on the Citizens Advice website: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/protection_racket

Notes to editors:

  1. The Citizens Advice service comprises a network of local bureaux, all of which are independent charities, the Citizens Advice consumer service and national charity Citizens Advice. Together we help people resolve their money, legal and other problems by providing information and advice and by influencing policymakers. For more see the Citizens Advice website .

  2. The advice provided by the Citizens Advice service is free, independent, confidential, and impartial, and available to everyone regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age or nationality.

  3. To find your local bureau in England and Wales, visit citizensadvice.org.uk . You can also get advice online at adviceguide.org.uk

  4. You can get consumer advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 03454 04 05 06 or 03454 04 05 05 for Welsh language speakers

  5. Citizens Advice Bureaux in England and Wales advised 2.3 million clients on 5.4 million problems from October 2013 to September 2014. For full 2013/2014  service statistics see our quarterly publication Advice trends

  6. Citizens Advice service staff are supported by more than 21,000 trained volunteers, working at over 3,000 service outlets across England and Wales.