The Competition Commission has effectively banned Banks and Lenders from selling controversial payment protection insurance (PPI) at the same time as loans, mortgages or credit cards.

St. Peter Port, Guernsey -- (ReleaseWire) -- 05/17/2010 -- Banks will now have to wait at least seven days before they can even contact the client to discuss the sale of PPI as the commission has upheld an earlier ruling banning the point of sale promotion of PPI.

The Commission is also banning the sale of single-premium PPI policies. This is where the Lender charges an upfront fee for the entire term of the policy, which is normally added to the loan, thus incurring interest charges.

Payment Protection Insurance covers repayments on loans, mortgages and other credit products if the borrower becomes unable to meet the repayments due to accident, sickness or unemployment. However, PPI has been at the centre of a mis-selling scandal when it transpired that many policy holders were actually unable to claim on the policies.

Many consumers are unaware that they can purchase PPI from other providers, and rarely did consumers compare price and terms of conditions of PPI. Therefore, the commission said it was also looking to introduce means of boost competition in the market, including personal PPI quotes for consumers, annual statements on the cover and better information to make it easier for people to shop around and switch provider if they felt that they could get a better deal.

Peter Vicary-Smith, chief executive of Which? said PPI often puts consumers in a position where they have to choose between shoddy protection or no protection at all.

"It's important that PPI is sold separately from other financial products to help consumers make an informed choice and find the protection product that best suits their needs," he added.

Anyone who feels they have been mis-sold PPI may be able to reclaim the money they have spent. They should start by writing to the seller of the policy and then complaining to the Financial Ombudsman Service if they feel the claim has been rejected out of hand.

Loan-Arrangers, a UK website offering personal and secured loans (http://www.loan-arrangers.co.uk) have long recognized the problems with PPI and for that reason have partnered with brokers who no longer even offer PPI as an option to their clients when offering loan agreements.

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Will lenders be inspired by the rise in property prices to introduce more loans products and really start to lend to customers again?

St. Peter Port, Guernsey -- (ReleaseWire) -- 04/28/2010 -- New figures to be released this week will show that house prices have risen by nearly 10 per cent in the last year.

Prices have been boosted by the seasonal spring rush, low interest rates, affordable property prices and the strong evidence that the banks are, once again, actually lending.

Figures will show that house prices rose 0.5 per cent month-on-month in April, moving the year-on-year increase up to 9.8 per cent, according to think-tank Global Insight. This is almost a full percentage point up on March.

"Spring is finally here, bringing with it a much needed boost to the housing market." commented Stuart Pike of online finance broker Loan Arrangers (http://www.loan-arrangers.co.uk). If there is now confidence amongst sellers, and a growing confidence in the marketplace in general, more lenders will feed off that confidence, making a wider range products available to borrowers, which in turn will underpin the much needed recovery. Hopefully, these figures show that this recovery is well underway."

The British Bankers Association expects to report today that mortgage approvals rose to 39,000 in March from 35,276 in February. 64 percent of London surveyors reporting rises over the last three months.

Concerns over the forthcoming General Election may be holding back some sellers in anticipation of what the election result may bring. The public seems to be getting more and more nervous of the outcome as a weak hung parliament could spell disaster for the economic recovery. It will be interesting to see if the buoyant mood remains once the election result is known.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm