The Unexpected Benefits of PPI
It is hard to find someone who has not heard the term ‘PPI’ anymore. From television reports, to newspaper articles, to radio debates, it is everywhere. There does still seem to be something of an air of confusion surrounding it however; especially regarding what exactly it is and why so many people are still talking about it.
What is it?
PPI stands for Payment Protection Insurance. It is sold by banks as an added layer of insurance when borrowing money for loans, mortgages or credit cards. The purpose of PPI is to help people make payments if they become unable to work through illness, injury or redundancy.
Why the Outcry?
When it emerged that banks had been mis-selling PPI, people were furious. Many customers had not been aware that they were paying for PPI in the first place, while others had been sold useless policies that did not provide the correct cover for their circumstances. The issue was less with the idea of PPI itself and more the fact that banks had been so misleading in their selling of it.
Why the on-going Attention?
There are many reasons why the PPI story has continued to flood our media outlets. Firstly, the sheer scale of the issue become apparent; banks now owed millions to their consumers. With so many people in need of compensation but unsure of how to go about it, businesses began to emerge who specialised in claiming back mis-sold PPI. With many of them having already existed for years, they had a wealth of experience behind them and they soon began to win back large sums of money to reimburse what had been taken. Banks have already set aside what is owed due to government intervention insisting they return the wrongfully taken cash. With much of it still sitting untouched, business is better than ever for the claims companies, who continue to represent the consumers.
The Future
As of late, attention has increasingly begun to turn to the unexpected economic benefits of the PPI scandal. It was recently reported that over 20,000 jobs had been created in UK banks alone to deal with PPI claims. This did not even account for the jobs available in specialist claiming companies or in banks around the world who are also dealing with the fallout of the scandal.
This welcome influx of jobs actually contributed to the highest rate of employment since the world was gripped by the credit crunch back in 2008. This surprising advantage of what at first seemed like an entirely negative situation has been a much welcomed boost to the previously struggling jobs market.
There still remains some way to go however, in order to repair the damage of the recession. This is mirrored by the work ahead for the banks. Not only do they still owe thousands of consumers millions in mis-sold PPI but even more so, both time and effort will be required to heal the damage to their faltering reputation. Having lost the trust of many once loyal customers; they certainly have their work cut out for them.
In the meantime, we can at least enjoy a small victory for the people: Not only are the banks being forced to return our money but their blunder has led to greater employment opportunities for thousands of people. It is a small victory perhaps but a welcome one nonetheless.
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Category: Consumer Complaints
