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April 13, 2017 
Daniel Lee Is the PPI deadline scandal as big as the PPI scandal itself?
After much anticipation the Financial Conduct Authority have caved in to the pressure by the banks and set a PPI deadline for 29th August 2019.
Whilst this has come as little surprise to most it does highlight yet again that the banking regulator protects the banks and not consumers.
The PPI deadline could see millions of consumers miss out on compensation they deserve, purely to protect the greed of the banking sector.
Your Money Claim have compiled and submitted a list of questions to put to the FCA, and we await their response…
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), deals with complaints made against financial providers governed by the FCA.
FOS has clear rules on when a complaint may be considered, which is widely regarded as the six / three rule.
Basically, a complaint can be made either six years from the date of the alleged offence, or three years from the date when the consumer reasonably became aware they had reason to complain.
It is widely accepted that the majority of consumers who have not yet stepped forward to make their PPI claim are unaware they were sold the product.
Therefore, by FOS rules, the three year period cannot commence until such time as these consumers are made aware they were sold PPI.
The PPI deadline is therefore in clear conflict with the rules set by the FCA and FOS.
This should have been done as soon as the PPI scandal was uncovered.
If every financial provider was forced to contact all current and previous customers who they sold a PPI policy to, the FCA could impose a three year deadline to claim.
There is a clear reason why the FCA have not imposed this and it is simply because they are weak.
Surely a deadline should only ever be considered once the handling of such complaints are done in a fair and reasonable manner?
FOS handle complaints escalated to them if a consumer is unhappy with how the provider has handled the initial complaint.
FOS release data regarding these complaints which have consistently shown that providers have handled PPI complaints unfairly.
FOS continue to overturn the majority of rejected PPI complaints made by providers.
PPI and customer service related fines have continued to be handed out years into the whole scandal, further proof that providers simply haven’t got their houses in order.
This should be a simple question to answer, had the FCA not shown their consistent weakness and poor leadership.
The role of the regulator is to protect consumers.
The role of the regulator is NOT to protect the liquidity of the banking sector.
Sounds simple, should be simple, but this is the FCA we’re talking about.
It didn’t take long for a legal challenge to be launched against the PPI deadline.
The reasoning behind the challenge is relatively clear, it is unlawful and unfair to consumers.
The result of the legal challenge will, in our opinion, highlight whether the rights of consumers is more important than the greed of the banking sector.
It could be an interesting fight.
PPI deadline scandal
February 28, 2017 Daniel Lee
When you think of banks, your first thought is probably of household names. However, there is a growing number of challenger banks. The red tape for setting up banks was loosened in 2013 which has allowed many new establishments to enter the market. If you’re thinking of switching banks, you may want to look into these new players.
Challenger banks bring about a new mind-set to the market. They desire a different approach to banking.
Their existence alone means the big boys no longer have the monopoly. Introducing competition into the market should force change across the financial sector. If customers abandon the big banks in favour of startups, the giants will have to reassess their services.
Although some challenger banks may operate more conventionally than others, they are all disrupting a market that can seem untouchable. Ffrees, for example, describe themselves as part of the ‘unbanking revolution’.
Every challenger bank is different and you should consider each one individually, as you would with any other bank. Just because they are the alternative does not mean they are necessarily the best option for you. Choosing a bank is a big decision and it’s all about working out which one will suit your personal needs the best.
A few of the things that challenger banks may offer include:
Collaboration with their customers:
An ethos of some challenger banks is to be made ‘by the people, for the people’. This collaborative approach should lead to the banks better understanding their customers’ needs. Another reason why some challenger banks have closer relationships with their account holders is due to how new they are. Feedback is often encouraged as the banks have not yet perfected their methods. Although there may be teething problems along the way, a good bank will be keen to rectify these.
Being part of a bank’s inception can be rewarding. Tandem are currently building a community of co-founders to help them achieve their goal of building “the feel-good bank”. A common goal for many challenger banks is to break down the ‘us and them’ rhetoric. Being involved with early decisions helps challenge this before the bank even launches.
Competitive Offers:
As with any new product, emerging challenger banks can face difficulties from their established competitors. Although they may attract customers due to their dissatisfaction with what else is on offer, they will still need enticing offers to encourage new sign-ups. As some challenger banks are targeting a niche, they may offer perks that suit your own set of needs. Once again, this increase of competition should work in reverse and increase pressure on mainstream banks to improve their own services.
Although you should always choose your bank carefully and not be swayed by gimmicks, some of the challenger banks may offer better rates than conventional banks. Fidor bank’s Smart Account is currently offering 0.3% interest per annum which, although not a huge percent, is an easy to understand offer. It is simply the percent earned on your current account balance. Plus, their interest rises will raise to 0.5% once they achieve more Facebook likes.
Customer Convenience:
One way that challenger banks can disrupt the banking market is by having an increased focus on customer service. When Metro Bank were founded in 2010 before regulations loosened, they were the first new bank to open on the high street for more than 100 years. They broke the monotony of 9 – 5 by opening their branches 7 days a week, including 8am – 8pm on weekdays.
As well as extending traditional opening hours, Metro Bank offer free coin counting machines to help you turn your coppers into notes and also welcome dogs. All of this means you can pop into your bank to deposit some loose change while walking your pooch on a Sunday. Now that it’s becoming easier for more banks to open, you can expect the next high street challenger bank to follow in their footsteps.
As well as this approach in branches, Metro Bank offer 24/7 access to their London contact centre. An increase in telephone opening hours and help queries is also a feature some other challenger banks, such as mobile-only Atom Bank, adopt. This means you can contact at times that are convenient for you. Waiting on hold for the entirety of your lunch break could soon be a thing of the past.
Specialisms:
The UK’s largest banks are aiming at the largest markets. However, challenger banks can target smaller audiences and therefore offer a service specifically targeted to your own set of needs. Several appeal directly to the SME sector while others, such as Hampshire Community Bank, are localised. If you can’t find a specialised full service bank for you, look out for partial services.
Coconut is an upcoming bank account tailored for freelancers. This will allow you to track your business expenses and keep a running tax bill, among other tools. Although this may not be a fully-fledged bank, it is an example of how the financial sector is offering consumers more choices so that you can find the services that are right for you.
As with all banks, your money will be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS will protect your money up to £75,000 (or up to £150,000 if held in a joint account) in the event of a bank going bust.
With larger sums, you would need to split this over several banks to ensure you would not lose your capital if your bank was to run into financial difficulty.
With so many of the UK’s largest banks closing down their physical sites, it might seem logical for a challenger bank’s USP to be a more personal experience. However, some newer banks exist exclusively online.
While Metro Bank may be known for improving face-to-face banking, its co-founder Anthony Thomson also established Atom Bank once regulations loosened. Atom Bank is the UK’s first bank that is exclusively available on mobile.
Although going digital may at first seem against what challenger banks stand for, these can benefit consumers. Another mobile bank Monese was named ‘Best Challenger Bank’ at the European Fintech Awards 2016, illustrating that being a virtual bank does not always negatively impact customers’ experiences. Being part of a purely online bank means that everyone has the same experience.
This rectifies the imbalance that happens when some account holders have a local bank and others only have access to limited online services. Online banks could potentially pass their savings on to their customers as they do not have the overheads of physical branches.
It’s all about what will be the best for you. Now that you have an overview of what challenger banks offer, you can begin to consider whether this switch will be beneficial for you. Although joining a challenger bank may seem risky, remember that you are protected by the FSCS. Whether you join a challenger bank or not, make sure you are getting the service you deserve from your bank.
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February 28, 2017 Daniel Lee 
“Are you afraid of change? Leave it here!” You’ve probably seen tip jars using that pun to encourage you to leave your loose change. Aside from placing your money in service trays, there are other things you can do with your coppers and silvers, and many involve keeping them all to yourself.
Here are our tops tip for how to save your change and how to make the most of it.
Piggy Banks and Jars
Piggy banks and jars are a traditional way to save but there is a reason why the simple idea has endured so long. Regularly empty your spare pennies and 5ps into a container and you’ll soon see your collection grow. You’ll be surprised by how quickly this adds up as most shopping spends will not total an even number.
If you do decide to go with a piggy bank, make sure you buy one with a stopper. Although those without are designed to prevent temptation, their effectiveness for money saving is reduced if you have to buy a new pig every time you smash yours.
Create Saving Rules
Putting your smallest coins in a pot is the most common rule but you can also follow other patterns to help you save. For example, you could squirrel away every £2 coin you receive or even put away every new £5 note that has a certain code. These are bigger amounts to save but if you can adapt to this, you can quickly see your savings grow while learning to budget with less cash in your pocket.
Apps
If you prefer card to cash, it can be harder to save change as you don’t have as much. Bank and card statements may allow you to track what you spent your money on but as you are always paying an exact amount, you do not see your ‘change’.
One solution for this is apps where you can put away small amounts of money you won’t miss. Moneybox encourages you to round up your card purchases and putting that extra in to a stocks and shares ISA. There can be a risk with this kind of ISA but if you decide that it’s right for you, you won’t notice the different in paying £3 for your coffee instead of £2.80. Although a true money saver would embrace the heated flask, we all deserve a treat sometimes and this is a good way to save without scrimping.
There is no point collecting ‘spare’ money if you’re not going to do something with it. With Moneybox, this part is already taken care of. For our other suggestions, here are some solutions:
The Coin Counter
Machines that count all your coins and transform them into more easily spendable amounts of money make cashing in savings easy. However, these machines often have a processing fee.
Coinstar, who have almost 20,000 units worldwide, charge a 9.9% coin processing fee for cash transactions (although fees may vary). Although this sounds like a lot, if this is the only way you’ll bother exchanging your loose change, it is still worth considering. 90.1% of something is better than 0% of nothing. If you find yourself always saying “Keep the change”, break that habit and when you’ve built up enough, visit a supermarket with one of these installed and see how much you save on your shopping.
Not all coin counters charge though as Metro Bank offers this service for free so visit one of their branches if you are near.
Be Your Own Coin Counter
If you want to keep every hard-saved penny to yourself, you can be your own coin counter and deposit it directly in your account. If you ask your bank for some free cash bags, you can count up your change and then cash it in at your local branch. The downside of this is that you’ll need a rounded up amount – 98p won’t do, you’ll need it to be £1! Instructions for how much each bag should contain will be printed on the bag.
Although counting coins and banking them is time consuming, it will make your savings go further. Plus, counting coins can be relaxing and potentially even fun. If you have children, why not get them involved and help them learn counting skills and the benefits of savings at the same time?
Donate to Charity
Coinstar offer charity donations, although they still charge a fee so your actual donation to the charity will be 7% lower than the real value of change you poured into the machine. You could, however, put your small change into charity pots on till counters to ensure the causes receive all the money but if you want to think about saving, you could take it home first.
Perhaps you want to donate to charity regularly but are not comfortable with setting up a direct debit. Why not keep those random pennies you may put in different pots, count them up and give them all to your chosen charity or charities? Knowing the exact sum of money you’ll donate will help you better appreciate the potential of your donations. It’s also a good way of donating but controlling exactly how much you can afford to give.
Spend It
Spending your change might seem counter-intuitive advice for money saving but just think of all those times your bill has come to an odd amount – you probably have the exact money on you yet you still break into a brand new note and get even more loose change. If you keep a coin purse, you can always find a handy 5p when you forget to bring your Bag for Life.
If you’re not a fan of carrying coins around every day, at least don’t forget to take them with you to any trips to the seaside. The 2p slot games can keep you entertained for hours but as a warning, you could potentially come away with more change than you began with if you’re lucky.
Many of us are guilty of leaving coins to fester at the bottom of our handbags, pockets of old coats or down the back of the sofa. If any of the change you’ve hoarded is £1 coins, you best find them soon and get spending as the £1 coin will no longer be legal tender by Autumn this year. Coinstar are already suggesting cashing in round pounds with them but there’s no need to be hasty. You still have plenty of time to spend them although their value is not guaranteed forever, unlike when notes leave circulation.
Some important dates to remember:
Bank of England notes always retain their face value and you can exchange them by post or in person in London – even if your own bank no longer accepts the notes.
If you want to avoid having to exchange your money this way, here are the dates that concern the ongoing transition to polymer notes:
More precise dates will be released near the time.
There are some foreign money exchange machines, similar to Coinstar, but these are harder to find.
As long as your foreign coins are still in circulation, you can sell back your holiday coins and convert them back to pounds. Use an online comparison site to find out who is offering the best conversion rate. You could even monitor currency conversions with an app or your own research to ensure you are trading it in on the best day.
If you’ve found an old stash of out-of-date coins, it will be more difficult to regain any value. However, many coins and notes maintain some value to collectors although this may be much smaller than the original worth. Leftover Currency specialise in exchanging obsolete money.
If you find sorting through foreign coins one saving step too far, you can donate them all to a charity. Cash4Coins accept all foreign, British and Irish coins and notes including those that are pre-Euro, damaged or even those that are pre-decimal. You just need to drop off your coins at a collection point. If, however, you do decide to cash in some coins for yourself after all, you’ll need at least 5kg worth for any non-charitable exchanges.
Now that you know all the things you can do with your unloved coins, you hopefully realise how loose change can help you save. Just remember, if you look after the pennies then the pounds will look after themselves.
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April 13, 2017 Daniel Lee The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today stated that it will no longer be publishing new rules regarding how providers should investigate PPI claims.
The banking regulator also confirmed it will delay announcing when the anticipated PPI deadline will be, instead aiming to make the announcement for both in early 2017.
The FCA, formerly the Financial Services Authority (FSA), has long been far too weak when it comes to dealing with the major banks.
Weak regulation allowed the PPI scandal to go undetected for years, and little has been done to change bank culture since with weak fines that act as little deterrent.
The banking sector have long been calling for a PPI deadline and their pressure unsurprisingly appeared to have the desired impact on the regulator, who suggested a deadline of 2019 could be imposed.
Let’s get one thing straight, the role of any regulator is to protect the rights of the consumer, NOT to protect and cover the wrongdoing of those it regulates.
Consumer champions and companies such as Your Money Claim continue to fight to protect the rights of the tens of millions of consumers affected by the PPI scandal.
Potentially millions of people remain unaware PPI was added to their credit agreements, such were the underhand tactics used by greed driven providers.
The FCA’s own rules clearly state that complaints can be made against financial providers up to three years from when a consumer first realises they had reason to complain.
A two year deadline is therefore, in our opinion, unenforceable as it clearly contradicts its own rules.
A Supreme Court ruling in November 2014 (yes, more than two years ago!) found that the non-disclosure of commission payments to be unfair and in breach of the rules that financial providers must abide by when selling products such as PPI.
The case uncovered that, of the £5,780 paid by a customer towards the PPI policy, 71.8% of it was commission.
The court correctly ruled that had the customer been made aware that only 28.2% of what she was paying was actually for the PPI policy, she may well have decided it was not value for money.
The court stated that the failure or refusal of the financial provider to disclose the commission saw the customer denied the information required to make an informed decision.
Whilst you may think that almost 72% commission to be an extreme example it is simply not, with an average commission taken to be around 69%.
Given it is over two years since the Supreme Court Ruling you would have expected a regulator to act fast to impose new guidelines for how providers should deal with such complaints.
However, this is the FCA who have consistently shown themselves to be bullied by the banks.
The FCA has gone so far as to suggest that 50% commission is fair, and only a partial refund should be paid.
This is quite simply scandalous, whichever way you look at it.
It is not for a weak regulator to state what level of commission a customer would have been happy to pay, it is for the customer to decide.
The fact that we have yet to see one example of a customer being told about the commissions involved leads us think that not one provider disclosed the information, for obvious reasons.
It appears that the FCA was looking to impose a 2019 PPI deadline and new rules stating that 50% commission is fair.
The announcement that they are delaying making an announcement on these matters is quite possibly because they know they will be challenged legally in the highest court.
One more time…..the role of any regulator is to protect the rights of the consumer, NOT to protect and cover the wrongdoing of those it regulates.
We will continue to fight for a fair outcome to the biggest financial scandal to hit these shores.
FCA delays PPI rules and deadline announcement
April 13, 2017 Daniel Lee Martin Lewis a financial journalist, consumer champion, television presenter, author and founder of the website moneysavingexpert.com.
The website is now the UK’s biggest money saving site, with more than 15 million monthly users.
Martin also has his own ITV show, The Martin Lewis Money Show, and regularly appears on other TV and radio shows focusing on cutting day-to-day costs and making the most of your savings.
In 2014, Martin was named in the Queens Honours List, receiving an OBE.
He has also featured in the UK’s 500 most influential people 2015, is a governor of the London School of Economics and he has an honorary doctorate from Chester University.
Perhaps one of Martin’s biggest achievements has been his work in raising awareness surrounding the huge PPI mis-selling scandal.
Martin has been campaigning for consumers to claim the compensation they may be owed as a result of financial providers wrongdoings for many years.
Now, he is encouraging those consumers who haven’t yet claimed to do so as soon as possible to avoid potentially missing out on compensation, given the regulator is considering imposing a deadline for claims to be submitted.
He also says that consumers shouldn’t be put off if they took out credit a long time ago.
With Your Money Claim don’t require paperwork or account numbers as we are able to check archived records thanks to our electronic systems we have in place with the vast majority of financial providers.
We operate on a No Win No Fee* service, with no upfront fees, no minimum fees and no hidden fees.
Your Money Claim build cases based partly on the recollection of the customer, coupled with a more technical argument surrounding consumer contract law and insurance sales regulation to ensure a comprehensive case is put forward.
Your Money Claim is regulated by the Claims Management Regulator in respect of regulated claims management activities.
Option #1: Fill in the ‘Start Your Claim’ form on this page. We’ll send you out a form in the post for you to complete. Once we’ve received the form back in the freepost envelope we provide, we’ll make a start on your PPI claim.
Option #2: Click the ‘Download Claim Pack’ button. Simply print out the form, complete it and send it back to us. Our address and email address can be found here.
Our experts are on hand to answer any questions you have via telephone, email or our live chat facility.
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December 30, 2016 Daniel Lee How many times have you heard that the PPI saga is coming to an end?
So called experts have been saying it and getting it wrong for years.
Today we hear that the Lloyds Banking Group have set aside a further £1bn to cover PPI compensation costs that have now soared to £17.7bn.
In July Barclays added a further £400m to their pot, thus increasing their overall cost to almost £8bn.
The much troubled RBS added £450m in August to take their bill beyond £5.5bn
The total bill for the disgraced industry now creeps closer to our estimated final bill of £42.5bn, it now standing at £38.95bn.
We would never suggest that the so called experts are pressured by banks to put out a message that the scandal is drawing to a close but it is difficult to understand how they continue to get it wrong.
Banks don’t wish to alarm shareholders and the markets by stating what they truly believe will be the final cost which is the reason why they drip feed additional money to the compensation fund.
It’s blatantly obvious this has happened for years yet the ‘experts’ fall for it every single time the banking industry suggests we’re close to the end.
We’ve said for some years now that we expect a final bill to reach around the £42.5bn mark.
It doesn’t take a mathematical genius to work out that the banks original claims of a final bill of £25bn was simply fanciful.
What does appear to be the case is that we may have even underestimated the final cost ourselves, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see the £42.5bn surpassed within twelve months.
Put simply, there are millions of people out there who are oblivious they may have a valid claim for compensation.
Financial providers used various disgraceful tactics in order to add PPI onto all sorts of credit agreements.
Perhaps one of the most common tactics was the add the product without the knowledge of the customer, hence why these people have not yet stepped forward.
PPI was sold on all forms of credit, such as mortgages, loans, car finance, hire purchase agreements, credit cards and store cards.
Not sure whether you’ve been sold PPI?
Our fast and comprehensive checking systems that have been set up with almost all banks allows us to find out whether you’ve been one of the millions who have had PPI.
Not sure whether you qualify? Check here to see whether you may.
Our average successful customer award is £3,332**!
Want to know how much you may be owed? Why not try our PPI calculator.
Option #1: Fill in the ‘Start Your Claim’ form on this page. We’ll send you out a form in the post for you to complete. Once we’ve received the form back in the freepost envelope we provide, we’ll make a start on your PPI claim.
Option #2: Click the ‘Download Claim Pack’ button. Simply print out the form, complete it and send it back to us. Our address and email address can be found here.
Our experts are on hand to answer any questions you have via telephone, email or our live chat facility.
Ever increasing PPI bill
