Woman wins PPI claim

A Sale woman has won a full refund of £9,500 on a mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) policy, despite her claim being originally rejected by the Financial Ombudsman. Jackie Dennis' victory comes amid widespread concern from consumer groups about companies wrongly selling customers PPI policies. The 41 year old mother of two believed that she had to take out the personal protection insurance policy as part of a remortgage she applied for. She comments: "My mortgage provider Nemo Personal Finance was unclear about what cover the PPI included and did not make it obvious that cover was optional. They didn't answer my questions with straight answers." After being faced with excessive monthly repayments, Ms Dennis tried to cancel the policy, but was unsuccessful. Following this, she sought legal advice. Her claim was initially rejected by all involved parties including Nemo Personal Finance, insurance Broker Central Trust Plc which recommend Nemo, policy underwriter Norwich Union and the Financial Ombudsman. Turon Miah, a solicitor at national law firm Lewis Hymanson Small, acted for Mrs Dennis. He said: "The sale of the vast majority of PPI policies do not comply with Financial Services Authority rules on lending. Borrowers are often mis-guided about terms and conditions and many people are sold policies which offer them no real protection. "Ms Dennis' was one of these people and her claim should not have been rejected in the first instance. Her mortgage agreement was for 25 years and yet the PPI only offered cover for five years. She was not provided with clear guidance on what she was agreeing to and was wrongly convinced that she needed the insurance. "The industry needs to do more to regulate the selling of PPI and protect consumer interests." Ms Dennis adds: "I am relieved that my case has been settled and I am no longer tied into the insurance policy. I advise anybody taking out mortgages or loans to be firm with salespeople offering payment protection insurance and to make sure they know exactly what cover policies provide and how much they cost. "People should not be made to feel stupid or put under pressure by finance providers that are more interested in sales commission than their customer's best interests." Payment protection insurance is taken out alongside credit card or loan agreements and is supposed to provide borrowers with the financial security to cover repayments if they become ill or lose their job. Around 40%* of PPI cases are settled by the Financial Ombudsman Service. It is estimated that around 30 million people may have been mis-sold PPI.