Payment Protection Insurance PPI Scam

haggle_2

What do you think of Payment Protection Insurance is it a scam or just a rip off?

Is it worth me getting Payment Protection Insurance?

What experiences have you had with Payment Protection Insurance?

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dunstonh

What do you think of Payment Protection Insurance is it a scam or just a rip off?

Depends on what you are protecting and the product you buy. Your two choices suggest you are not going to be open minded on this and have already made your mind up.

Is it worth me getting Payment Protection Insurance?

We dont know your circumstances so cannot answer that. It may be, it may be not. You also dont say what type of payment protection you are referring to.

What experiences have you had with Payment Protection Insurance?

Again, what type are you interested in? Does it really matter as you insure things that are important to you and will miss if gone. Your income may or may not need insuring and you may or may not consider it important.

haggle_2

dunstonh wrote: »

Depends on what you are protecting and the product you buy. Your two choices suggest you are not going to be open minded on this and have already made your mind up.

I'm not sure whats right. It sounds smart on important items but I read lots about it being a scam/over sold/not paid.

BBC having a dig:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/moneybox/7860244.stm

dunstonh

It was oversold. That doesnt make it a scam product. You dont blame the product, you blame the individual that sold it.

The problem has been that it was allowed to be sold without advice by people with little training and no individual authorisation. Also the quality of the products varies massively. Some are a complete waste of time and others valuable.

The PPI issue started before the recession. However, a good number of these people claiming back PPI premiums are going to find that in this recession they could have done with it and could end up a lot worse off.

Problem is people are too short sighted and a good many are jumping on a claims bandwaggon which is really allowing genuinely and correctly sold plans to be reclaimed because there is no evidence to counter a template letter which could be the truth or could be complete lies.

The FSA need to regulate payment protection to be an adviser product or a DIY product. They have chosen to make changes but I personally dont think the changes are that good.

~Brock~

dunstonh wrote: »

It was oversold. That doesnt make it a scam product. You dont blame the product, you blame the individual that sold it.

The problem has been that it was allowed to be sold without advice by people with little training and no individual authorisation. Also the quality of the products varies massively. Some are a complete waste of time and others valuable.

The PPI issue started before the recession. However, a good number of these people claiming back PPI premiums are going to find that in this recession they could have done with it and could end up a lot worse off.

Problem is people are too short sighted and a good many are jumping on a claims bandwaggon which is really allowing genuinely and correctly sold plans to be reclaimed because there is no evidence to counter a template letter which could be the truth or could be complete lies.

The FSA need to regulate payment protection to be an adviser product or a DIY product. They have chosen to make changes but I personally dont think the changes are that good.

Excellent post.

I note that this very thread is headed 'PPI scam'. That is the problem. The FSA, the media in general and also people like Martin himself have, by accident or design, managed to destroy what was in certain circumstances a perfectly valid product. The general perception is now that the product is useless and if a person has bought the product then it must have been mis-sold.

Yes there were problems with it which needed to be fixed (poor sales standards mainly), but the eventual banning of the product at the point of sale of all credit products will inevitably lead to dramatically reduced take up levels, with only those who fear redundancy on the short term actually actively seeking the product. This will result in either a completely unrealistic level of premium or at the very worst the withdrawal of the product altogether. There are already signs of this happening in the independant PPI market.

I'm sure that the FSA are proud of this 'sledgehammer to crack a nut' approach. I can't help but wonder what wider issues in the UK economy have gone unnoticed or ignored by the FSA during their unrelenting obsession with PPI.

dacouch

I agree with you both, the FSA is a greatish idea but they missed out they brought in massive regulations for the parts of the markets who actually new what they were doing eg brokers, insurers and ifas etc etc. But they allowed the sectors with the most polictical clout to avoid regulation or have minimal regulation. Examples are travel agents selling travel insurance. Shop assistants selling warranties, loan staff selling PPI.

The who idea of FSA was to ensure the customer was treated fairly, was sold a product appropriate to their needs and understood the product. In addition the staff dealing with the public should be fully trained and undertake CPU. In my opinion the sectors of the industry which most need regulation were over looked the classic example is PPI being sold with loans at an often inflated premium or was not suited to the customer.

PPI is in principal a good policy and when sold to the right customer who needs the product and understands it then its ok.

As dunstonh mentioned some of these poople who have reclaimed their premiums may possibly need to claim on them in the current ecnomic climate but they will have no cover.

haggle_2

I can say that know the recession is hitting hard I'm glad I took some payments insurance out