PPI claims have turned people into ‘fraudsters’

The PPI scandal has turned “portions of Britain into fraudsters”, the chairman of Barclays has warned.

John Mcfarlane said an “enormous” proportion of claims for compensation over mis-sold payment protection insurance have been bogus.

The latest Financial Conduct Authority figures show £32.2 billion has been paid out to claimants since 2011, with £353 million paid in July alone.

Some consumer groups estimate the total of missold policies to be around £50bn and customers can continue making claims until August next year.

Banks have had to set aside billions of pounds in compensation. Barclays blamed PPI charges for taking chunk out of profits in the first half of this year.

“The percentage of fraudulent claims is enormous,” Mr Mcfarlane said.