New rules on complaints challenged

The British Bankers' Association is launching a judicial review against the Financial Services Authority and the Financial Ombudsman Service over new regulations that came into force in December.

The rules aim to ensure consumers are treated fairly, both when they buy payment protection insurance (PPI) and when they complain about being mis-sold the cover.

To ensure people understand what they are buying, providers will have to talk potential customers through the key features of a policy, rather than just provide them with a document giving the information, as was previously the case.

They will also have to provide evidence to show that it was made clear to the customer that the cover was optional if it was taken out alongside credit.

But the banks are unhappy that the rules will apply to complaints relating to PPI policies which were sold before the new regime was brought in.

The BBA said: "We believe the FSA is effectively creating a precedent which permits it to apply new rules to previous sales."

It said the policy was like having a road with a speed limit of 30mph, which was later changed to 20mph, and deciding to hand out speeding tickets to people who drove at 30mph before the limit was reduced.