Claims hit record high of 3,000 a week

The number of people making a payment protection insurance (PPI) claim in the UK has risen to its highest ever, it has been revealed.

According to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), in recent months the number of fresh complaints from customers has climbed from less than 1,000 a week to more than 3,000.

Writing in the latest industry newsletter, chief executive of the organisation Natalie Ceeney explained the statistics were "pretty unsettling", adding that it is crucial the body better understands the numbers and issues at the heart of the scandal going into 2012.

She stated: "If all this means we'll need significantly more resource and capacity to handle ever-higher numbers of PPI complaints, then we need - now - to build this into the plan and budget we'll be consulting on in the new year."

Commenting on the news, Simon Thompson, managing director at Precision Claims, said: "Having worked with many people making PPI claims over the last 18 months or so, it's not surprising for us to see that the number of complaints a week has reached this figure.

"We are still extremely busy helping people recover the money they deserve from their banks, and can't see demand for our services letting up anytime soon because of the magnitude of the scandal."

Banks have been forced to set aside billions of pounds as compensation for customers mis-sold PPI in recent months. It was uncovered that financial institutions had been adding the insurance, which is supposed to be optional and only available for certain customers, to loan and credit card agreements without customers knowing or by wrongly telling them that it was compulsory.