Store Card Payment Protection
By now most people are aware of the issues surrounding mis-sold payment protection insurance, but many people are not aware that this cover has also been mis-sold alongside store cards.
Store cards became extremely popular in the 1990s with most of the big High Street chains offering one. Unlike store loyalty cards, a regular store card is essentially a credit card that is specific, and usually can only be used in, one particular group of stores. Many people were offered store cards as part of a promotion to receive money off purchases and many did not realise that if they did not pay off the balance immediately in full they may have to pay a high rate of APR. In addition to this, many people also did not realise that store card payment protection was included in the agreement.
Store card payment protection insurance works in the same way as any other kind of PPI in that it insures the borrower’s monthly repayments if they are made involuntarily unemployment. Like other forms of PPI, store card payment protection cover has also been widely mis-sold.
The main issue with store card PPI is that it was sold in stores by assistants who often had very little training. PPI is a financial product and, as such, it should never be sold without correct training. The high number of exemptions means that many people are not even eligible for coverage and therefore any salesperson needs to be able to evaluate the circumstances of the specific customer before going ahead with the sale. Sadly, the lack of training, and the sales commission incentives often offered to staff, meant that cover was added to many people’s store cards without their knowledge or they were wrongly told they had to have this cover.
If you think you were mis-sold store card payment protection you have the right to make a complaint.