Commission points to ‘PPI rip off’

A report from the Competition Commission (CC) has suggested that British borrowers are being overcharged to the tune of almost £1.4 billion for payment protection insurance (PPI).

The insurance is designed to help people who find themselves unable to cope with their debt management problems as a result of illness or job loss but the CC report has indicated that the market needs to be more fairly operated.

According to the CC, the problem is that borrowers tend to buy the PPI offered by their lenders and miss out on a potential more competitive deal in doing so.

“We’ve found serious problems with the PPI market and customers are paying for the lack of competition,” said inquiry chairman and CC deputy chairman Peter Davis.

Meanwhile, figures compiled on behalf of MoneyExpert recently showed that more than 13 million consumers around the UK are concerned about their own ability to become debt free.

Written by Giles Stevenson