CC ordered to revisit point-of-sale PPI ban
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The Competition Commission has been told by the Competition Appeal Tribunal to reconsider its decision to ban payment protection insurance being sold at the point-of-sale.
The CC first proposed a ban on point-of-sale PPI in January as part of a raft of measures to tackle the lack of competition in the PPI market, following an investigation into the sector.
Barclays then lodged an appeal with the CAT claiming that the commission had failed to provide enough evidence to warrant such a ban.
The bank also argued that the commission had not taken into account the negative impact the ban would have on consumers.
It also claimed that the CC had failed to consider whether the benefits of intervening in the PPI market actually outweighed the loss of relevant consumer benefits.
The CAT has issued its judgement statement today.
It reveals that the tribunal has found in favour of Barclays’ arguments, and that it agrees that the CC failed to take into account the loss of convenience stemming from a point-of-sale PPI ban.
The statement says: “In the tribunal’s view, this constituted a failure to take into account a relevant consideration.
“The Tribunal has therefore decided to quash that part of the report which imposes the point-of-sale prohibition as part of the proposed remedies package and remit the question whether the ban should be so included for the further consideration of the commission in accordance with the principles set out in the tribunal’s judgment.”
In turn the Competition Commission has issued its own response.
The statement says: “The judgment has not questioned our findings on the lack of competition in this market.
“The CC has proposed a package of remedies and the judgment affects one element of that package.
“The appeal was upheld on one ground which relates to our assessment of the remedy prohibiting the sale of PPI at the point-of-sale of credit.
“The CC has been asked to reconsider the loss of convenience for consumers of not being able to buy PPI at the same time as taking out credit.
“We will now study the judgment closely before deciding our next steps.”
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