PPI Incident: Increased Financial Rights Awareness

Many people are speaking about issues like PPI and are following steps to stay safe.

10:08 30 May 2013

The ombudsman has reported an increase in financial complaints after the attention the PPI issue received. The greater number of reports appears to be a result of increased awareness of consumer rights and more willingness to report possible discrepancies. 

 

One of the ways that the PPI incident has helped the public is by making them aware of their financial rights in general. Here are a few things to watch out for when it comes to your finances.

 

• Unauthorized charges-these could be just a small amount, or larger amounts. You’re more susceptible to passing over these charges if you don’t review your statements each month, or if you have many recurring charges which make one easier to overlook. People paid for years, in some cases, on PPI without realizing even though it most likely was printed right on the statement. 

• Unclear explanations-if the explanations for charges don’t seem to make sense and you don’t recall asking for a particular service, but you see a corresponding charge, then it’s a situation worth reporting. The sooner you know about the issue the sooner you can rectify it, rather than ignoring it for years like what happened to customers with PPI. 

• Lack of official documentation-if anyone attempts to sell you something, but there isn’t a form of written paperwork to reference, or a legitimate website that allows you to fully read through the disclosures, decline the offer. This tactic can save people, not necessarily from PPI-type issues, but from other entities trying to make money by avoiding full disclosures.

• Urgency-if a company or telemarketer seems to have a sense of urgency and won’t take “no” for an answer, but refuses to allow you time to review the supposed product or service, make sure the answer you give is an emphatic “no” which can’t possibly be misconstrued. If you are not sure, or don’t fully understand the product, like those who paid for PPI which they could not use, simply decline the offer. If it’s legitimate, chances are you can investigate and sign up at a later time.