PPI Refunds of €4 Million Paid Out

Allied Irish Bank and Bank of Ireland have  refunded  over €4 million  this year to customers that were mis-sold payment protection insurance .(PPI)

Bank Of Ireland has announced  this week that it has refunded €1 million to more than 1,500 customers after an internal review discovered they had taken out credit card insurance on which they could not make a claim.

Last month AIB said it was going to  refund over €3.1 million  in payment protection insurance premiums to 11,500 customers.

Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) is supposed to covers repayments on loans, mortgages and credit cards if people fall ill or lose their jobs.  Many people were sold the insurance even though they had no job or  had an existing illness – and they could not make a claim.

PPI may also have been sold as …

• Accident, Sickness and Unemployment Insurance (ASU)

• Loan Protection

• Card protection

• Loan Care

These 2  banks have probably been pushed into looking at PPI refunds by the Central Bank – but how many other people have been missold this insurance by  banks or  other institutions?

In the UK there have been hundreds of thousands of refund claims – with about  £1.9 billion refunded so far.

The results of an Irish Central Bank review of 276,000 PPI policies sold in 2008 and 2009 is due out at the end of this year.

PPI refund claims here in Ireland may not be straight forward. The Central Bank cannot legally apply its enforcement powers prior to 2007 (when it first introduced a detailed Code of Conduct ) . That means any  compensation claims will fall to the Financial Services Ombudsman  . But – the Ombudsman has a six year rule – meaning it can’t do anything about policies or products sold over 6 years ago !!

This  six year rule could  be changed by simple Ministerial order or by a High Court ruling –  I wonder if it will  happen?

More here about How to Claim PPI Refunds in Ireland