The Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) has written publicly to Barclays outlining details of the company’s breach of the Payment Protection Insurance Market Investigation Order 2011 for failing to remind customers about payment protection insurance (PPI) agreements.
The total remediation package, consisting of refunds and goodwill payments, may total up to £1 million.
PPI providers are required to send annual reminders to customers that clearly outline the cost of their policy, the type of coverage they have, and remind them of their right to cancel under the CMA’s PPI Order.
Barclays has breached the order by failing to deliver reminders to as many as 1,306 of its former Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance policy customers between 2014 and 2017.
The affected customers had moved home and informed Barclays of their new address. They had a mortgage and a related PPI policy with Barclays. Barclays failed to respond to this new information correctly, meaning customers did not receive the required reminders.
The issue was not discovered by Barclays until late 2021. Barclays then notified the CMA of the infringement in October 2021 as required by the PPI Order.
As a result of these reminders not being sent, customers may have retained their insurance longer than necessary or would have stopped looking for cheaper or better options, which might have lost them money.
The CMA does not currently have the power to impose financial penalties for breaches of this kind. The CMA has called for such powers in order to increase incentives for businesses to comply with market and merger remedies. The Government is set to consult on whether the CMA will be given such powers.
Author
Gill Laing is a qualified Legal Researcher & Analyst with niche specialisms in Law, Tax, Human Resources, Immigration & Employment Law.
Gill is a Multiple Business Owner and the Managing Director of Prof Services - a Marketing Agency for the Professional Services Sector.
