Shoppers beware of PPI scams in the January sales
Despite increasing levels of household debt, consumers in the UK will spend around one billion pounds this year to satisfy our Christmas shopping addiction. Then, while we’re recovering from the financial hangover, along come the New Year sales.
“Shoppers wanting to make the most of the January sales should be aware of the various ways in which they could be mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance (PPI),” says consumer finance expert and director of Claim 2 Gain, Matthew Whiting.
January sales are renowned for their ‘today only’ offers which pressure customers into making a quick decision so as not to miss the short-term ‘bargain’. People may ‘save 25%’ on the sale day, but end up paying more in the long-run if they’ve hastily agreed to a bad PPI policy. Busy shop assistants and long queues tend to discourage shoppers from asking the important questions about a PPI policy before signing up. Even if customers are motivated enough to read the fine print and ask questions, most sales assistants are not trained well enough to give customers all the information they need to make a good decision.
Payment protection insurance (or PPI) is often taken out alongside a loan or purchase on credit. It is meant to cover a borrower’s loan repayments if they’re unable to due to an accident, sickness, or unemployment. However, many PPI policies are being mis-sold to customers who aren’t actually eligible to make a claim under the insurance, and many are simply a rip off.
Matthew goes on to say: "Housewives and stay-at-home-mothers who don’t work are particularly susceptible to being mis-sold PPI. If they purchase something on credit and take out PPI, they won’t actually be covered or eligible to make a claim because they’re officially unemployed."
The Christmas shopping market is full of catalogues aimed at stay-at-home mothers and these are often designed to encourage people to simply tick the PPI box on the form. However, they often don’t explain the terms and conditions in sufficient detail which may make it completely worthless.
The right PPI policy can be helpful in the right circumstance, but it’s not compulsory. To avoid being ripped off this January, customers must make the effort to read the fine print, ask questions of the salesperson, and even look elsewhere before agreeing to a PPI policy,
Take time to find the correct right information on payment protection insurance from the FSA website.
If you‘re worried that you may have been mis-sold a PPI policy, you can find out how to reclaim your money by clicking here .