Loans.co.uk has been fined £455,000 by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) over its sales of Payment Protection Insurance (PPI).
The company, which sold PPI on an advisory basis over the telephone, was issued the fine as it failed to treat its customers fairly, according to the FSA.
It was found that customers of Loans.co.uk were not being issued with sufficient information regarding PPI policies being offered to them and could not consequently be expected to make an informed decision.
Some 14,400 customers were sold unsuitable PPI, the FSA stated, adding that the breach was “particularly serious”.
According to Margaret Cole, director of enforcement at the FSA, Loans.co.uk had “failed to make sure adequate processes were in place to ensure the suitability of its PPI recommendations and treat its customers fairly”.
It was also found that the company did not have a system in place to monitor and identify problems in PPI selling procedures.
The FSA advises all customers to “ask straightforward questions of sales staff when PPI is mentioned to help them to identify whether the product is right for them”.
PPI aims to pay the outstanding balance of a debt should the borrower experience certain illnesses or death.
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