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Barclays given ticking off by regulator over PPI breach

Paloma Kubiak
Written By:
Paloma Kubiak
Posted:
Updated:
06/08/2018

The competition regulator has taken action against Barclays for failing to send obligatory annual reminders to PPI customers for the second time.

PPI providers are required to send annual reminders to customers setting out how much they’ve paid in and their right to cancel a policy.

But in March 2018, Barclays reported to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) that 2,265 customers who held a PPI policy on their Littlewoods credit cards didn’t receive an annual statement between October 2016 and October 2017.

It attributed the breach to a ‘technical problem’ in transferring customers to its computer system. Since then it has refunded £336,000 to affected customers.

Following the breach, the CMA has issued ‘directions’ to Barclays which means it must notify the regulator within 14 days of non-compliance, bring in enhanced compliance training and an automated system to tally up PPI customers against annual statements sent.

This isn’t the first time Barclays has flouted PPI regulations. In April 2015, Barclays reported 52 customers hadn’t received their annual credit card PPI statement. But its internal investigation revealed that actually 9,404 Barclays’ customers hadn’t been sent their statements. Further, in November 2015, Barclays reported that 740 mortgage PPI customers hadn’t received their expected review.

Adam Land, the CMA’s senior director of remedies, business and financial analysis, said: “The annual reminder is an important measure so customers know they still have a PPI policy and how much it is costing them each year, as well as their right to cancel or switch.

“This is Barclays’ second breach of the PPI order. As a result, we are issuing legal directions which can be enforced by a Court, to ensure they comply with the order.

“We now require assurances from Barclays they have now put adequate systems in place to prevent a similar breach from occurring again.”

A Barclays spokesperson, said: “Between October 2016 and October 2017 a small number of PPI customers were not sent the Annual Review statements which they were entitled to receive. This issue has now been resolved and all customers have received their missing statements. We have written to all affected customers to apologise unreservedly and to outline how we will recompense them where they would have otherwise cancelled their policy.

 “We take this matter extremely seriously and have conducted an internal investigation to ensure all stringent controls and policies continue to be upheld.”

Related: See The YourMoney guide to claiming PPI for more information.