We have recently experienced reluctance on the part of some firms to correspond with us, preferring to cut out the intermediary altogether and correspond directly with the customer.

For instance, in a recent case, Barclays responded to our detailed Letter of Complaint by simply copying us in on a letter to the customer, which enclosed a copy of the standard Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) questionnaire for him to complete - http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/ppi/guide-to-PPI-forms.html. This was not withstanding the fact that Barclays had been served with a copy of our client’s Form of Authority, in which he expressly requested that Barclays liaise directly with us and release all information to us.