Hamish Ogston – who owns a multi-million-pound home next to Harrods and has been honoured by the Palace for ‘services to business’ – is at the centre of a scandal expected to lead to a flood of compensation claims, the Daily Mail reports.
With the help of Britain’s disgraced banking giants, his company misled customers into buying worthless insurance for their credit, debit or store cards.
But last night, Ogston, who was awarded a CBE by Princess Anne in 2011, was unrepentant.
Asked about the estimated £1.3b compensation payout, he described it as ‘b*******’ and a ‘ridiculous figure’ – and accused the Financial Conduct Authority of ‘sensationalism’.
The regulator said unwitting customers paid up to £84 a year for credit card insurance – even though they would never need it because they were receiving free cover from their bank.
It condemned Ogston’s company CPP – which he started with just £1,000 capital in 1980 – for its central role in the huge mis-selling scandal which will lead to compensation payouts of £1.3bn.
Ogston remarked that the furore had made him look ‘a bit of a chump’.
Following the near collapse of CPP, the banks – including the publicly owned Royal Bank of Scotland and Bank of Scotland, now part of Lloyds Banking Group – have been left to pick up the vast majority of the compensation bill.
The embattled business founded by Ogston, a former member of the Norwegian Merchant Navy, will contribute a paltry sum of £29m to the pot.
But Ogston – who enjoys a luxurious lifestyle and owns several multi-million pound properties – will face no action over the scandal from which he has amassed his £100m fortune.
Experts last night condemned the ‘scandalous’ behaviour of the banks, who heartlessly ‘introduced’ their customers to CPP – and got paid vast sums in commission from CPP for the referrals.
