Ceeney signals levy hike following PPI explosion

The Financial Ombudsman Service has signalled that it may have to hike its levy on companies in order to deal with a fresh explosion of payment protection insurance claims.

In her foreword to the latest FOS newsletter, chief ombudsman Natalie Ceeney writes that the number of new PPI cases being referred to the organisation has “climbed steeply, from fewer than 1,000 a week to over 3,000.”

“This means we’ll soon be getting our 300,000th PPI complaint. These numbers are pretty unsettling for us.”

Noting that the issue of PPI complaints cropped up at FOS’ most recent industry forum meeting, Ceeney adds:  “If all this means we’ll need significantly more resource and capacity to handle ever-higher numbers of PPI complaints, then we need – now – to build this into the plan and budget we’ll be consulting on in the new year.”

The FOS is due to consult on its next annual budget at the beginning of next year.  

In an interview with outgoing FOS chairman Sir Christopher Kelly, in the same newletter,he identifies the operational uncertainties around PPI as one of the biggest ongoing challenges facing the organisation over the next few years.