PPI claims expert wins £11,000 payout against ‘criminal’ banks

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(Free-Press-Release.com) April 21, 2010 -- An accountant from Surrey is celebrating a mammoth win of £11,286 after leading financial services expert Brunel Franklin won his cases against HSBC Bank for mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI).

A self employed accountant, Barry Daniels arranged two loans with HSBC over the phone as part of a refinance arrangement and while it was made clear the PPI was optional, he was advised to buy insurance to protect himself in the event of sickness or unemployment. But being self employed meant Barry would have been ineligible to claim against the policy. Subsequently he ended up paying expensive premiums for no reason, and is particularly unhappy that the full facts were not pointed out to him at the time.

“It’s fair to say I am still incensed with the Bank as I have been paying a lot of money for something I didn’t need,” explained Barry. “It’s criminal that they do not tell you if there is an issue. If you owe them anything they are onto you but if they make a mistake, you have to discover it all for yourself. They are completely ruthless and it’s one rule for them and another for the rest of us. The last 18 months has proved this to everyone, so the more awareness we can raise of this issue the better.”

Mr Daniels, 56, suffers from high blood pressure and as an accountant, Barry became aware of PPI mis-selling, and also knew he would need expert help so he called Brunel Franklin to see if he had the grounds to make a claim.

“I was attracted by the no-win no-fee approach and felt I had very little to lose by getting in touch with Brunel Franklin,” he said. “It seemed like a straight forward process once Brunel Franklin were involved and they took care of everything. My high blood pressure is controlled with medication, but it was still a massive help to know someone was pursuing the case on my behalf and I didn’t have to worry about it.” Brunel Franklin pursued the case all the way and ultimately secured the payout for Mr Daniels. This success led Barry to check some of his other past agreements and he now has a further three cases pending with Brunel Franklin, so Mr Daniels’ story is not over yet.

“Brunel Franklin is doing a great job for me and I hope they continue to hold the banks to account in these cases where they have treated their customers so badly. I just home my story will encourage other people to check their paperwork and agreements. A real shake up is needed and the more of us who pursue claims the better.” added Mr Daniels.

Sally Bowyer, managing director of Brunel Franklin, stressed that vendors had a responsibility to ensure their products were appropriate for individual customers before completing the transaction. “In Mr Daniels’ case, the policy would have done him little good, it was inappropriate for his personal circumstances. Unfortunately, this sort of case is by no means unusual. Mr Daniels is one more example where lenders are being increasingly held to account and ordered to pay up for their past conduct. Custo