Egg Fined £721,000 over PPI

LONDON - The UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined UK credit card firm Egg £721,000 for serious failings in the sale of credit card payment protection insurance (PPI).

The regulator found failings in around 40% of telephone sales of PPI by Egg between January 2005 and December 2007. Egg sold PPI to customers when receiving customer services calls or to new customers, telling staff to use techniques called 'objection handling' to persuade customers to take the insurance when they said they did not want to take out PPI. The regulator said these techniques over-estimated the positives of PPI and in some cases the insurance was applied to bills even when customers requested no such protection.

The company will be expected to write to customers, asking them to call a helpline with concerns and to compensate where appropriate - paying £1.67 million for every 10% of customers receiving a refund.