2 Million new PPI Claimants Anticipated, as Banks Forced to Contact all Victims

MANCHESTER, England, March 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Banks have been told that they must now contact all customers who were mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI), even those who have yet to make a complaint.

According to a report by the BBC this will amount to 12 million letters, resulting in 2 million new claimants being awarded a potential £3billion in compensation.

The financial ombudsman, which is one of many services that exists to help PPI victims claim compensation, has taken on 1,000 new staff in anticipation of this huge number of fresh claims.

However, many people will turn to claims management companies for help claiming the money they are owed, despite government sources claiming such services are "not very good value for money".

Speaking to the BBC, a spokesman for the financial ombudsman said: "It really isn't necessary for claims management companies to become involved."

In response to the criticism, Simon Thompson, Managing Director of PPI, personal injury and work accident claims specialists Precision Claims, said:

"We exist to make the claims process as easy as possible for people who have been wrongly sold PPI.

"We don't deny that it is possible to do it yourself […] we offer our clients convenience. If you want to make a claim yourself, you have to check your policy, correspond with your lender and the ombudsman, and even then there's no guarantee your claim will be successful.

"We manage everything for you, so you don't have to worry about it. We only charge you a fee if your claim is successful and we are very up front about what this fee is on our website.

"It's a time-saving service for people who don't want to have the hassle of orchestrating the claim themselves, just like paying someone to wash your car instead of doing it yourself."

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has specified that the letters must be written in jargon-free language, and has called this a "key moment" in the PPI saga.

Precision Claims specialises in mis-sold PPI compensation claims, as well as personal injury claims. For more information about PPI and a range of other legal services, visit: http://www.precisionclaims.co.uk/

Contact: Simon Thompson - 0844-704-1945

SOURCE Precision Claims