Frank Feighan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 100: To ask the Minister for Finance if his Department will investigate the operation of payment protection by a company (details supplied) where loan agreement was taken out with it and its insurer and it is ringing customers on a weekly basis for moneys despite having put an insurer in place to cover the loan. [10777/09]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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My function, as Minister for Finance, is to provide an appropriate legislative framework for regulation of the financial services sector.

Within that framework the Financial Regulator is responsible for the regulation of the financial institution referred to in the Deputy's question and for protecting the interests of consumers in line with its statutory consumer protection mandate.

Regulated financial service providers must comply with the Financial Regulator's Consumer Protection Code. Under this Code the financial service provider must have in place a complaints handling procedure. The Deputy may wish to note that where consumers have complaints about their treatment by a financial service provider, they must first complain directly to the provider. If a consumer is unhappy with the outcome of the firm's investigation he/she has the right to refer the matter to the Financial Services Ombudsman.

General Principle 9 of the Code states that a provider must not exert undue pressure on a customer. Regulated financial service providers that are found to have breached the Code may be subject to financial or other sanctions imposed by the Financial Regulator.