WIREDGOV

We welcome the High Court’s dismissal of the British Bankers’ Association’s (BBA) and Nemo Personal Finance Limited’s (Nemo) legal challenge to our payment protection insurance (PPI) measures.

Our primary aim has always been to get proper redress, once and for all, for those with genuine complaints.

We believe this decision signals the end of years of poor complaint handling and will trigger a dramatic improvement in the way customers are treated when complaining.

There have been more than 1.5 million complaints made about PPI since the Financial Services Authority (FSA) took over regulation of it in 2005. On average, firms have rejected around 60% of the complaints made to them, but some rejected almost all of them. However, the vast majority of complaints referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service (the Ombudsman) are found in the consumer’s favour.

However this is not the end of the process: the BBA and Nemo may seek to appeal the court’s judgment.

The FSA has not put a waiver in place so firms must continue to deal with complaints where possible, including letting customers know they can refer their complaint to the Ombudsman if they are unable to progress it.

Failure to do so may result in Enforcement action.

Notes to editors

1. The FSA’s new complaint handling measures were published in policy statement 10/12 in August last year. They took effect on December 1 2010.
2. In January 2011 the FSA issued a reminder to firms that it expected them to carry out a full initial review of PPI complaints despite legal proceedings.
3. The FSA regulates the financial services industry and has four objectives under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000: maintaining market confidence; securing the appropriate degree of protection for consumers; fighting financial crime; and contributing to the protection and enhancement of the stability of the UK financial system.