Is this the next PPI mis selling scandal?

Published: 27/03/2015

The Information Commissioner has sounded a warning that pension scams could be the ‘next PPI’, anticipating that rogue firms will be looking to cash in on the changes to pension rules coming into effect in April.

The changes mean that people over the age of 55 can take the money from their pension pots rather than having to purchase an annuity. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) fears that could open the floodgates and savers could be bombarded with spam texts and calls from fraudsters offering them a free pension review. As part of these reviews fraudsters are persuading savers to invest their funds in a variety of scams.

Solicitor Paul Cahill comments:

“Commentators are already drawing comparisons between this possible mis selling scandal and mis sold Payment Protection Insurance. The sheer scale of the PPI mis selling scandal is breath-taking and the financial impact has been widespread touching the lives of so many people. Yet it seems that no one has learned the lessons of mis sold PPI and the public are once again at risk of this new mis selling scandal.

“Experience of handling cases has shown us that PPI mis selling not only involved the sale of the actual PPI but that the way the Polices were sold meant that some Clients weren’t even aware they’d ever held a policy. Our investigations for other clients have revealed that they’d incurred additional charges because of the sale of PPI – which we’ve also been able to reclaim on their behalf.

“Even now, years after this scandal originally broke we’re taking up new cases on behalf of a significant number of clients. My hope is that by sounding this early warning the Information Commissioner has drawn sufficient attention to this so that any mis selling scandal is averted.”

To find out more about how to reclaim for mis sold PPI click here

Content correct at time of publication