Banks have set aside a staggering six billion pounds to repay customers who they mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) to. Of course, they want to hold on to that money for as long as possible so they are continually finding new ways to slow down the repayment process.

Their new tactic is to shift the focus away from their mis-selling of PPI and turn the very companies trying to help people re-claim money owed into the villains.

Easy PPI, a specialist claim company, says that having potentially mis-sold insurance to 20 million people the banks are now trying to turn them off from reclaiming what is owed by "scaring" them away from the easiest and simplest channel of complaint – claims management companies.

The banks which have mis-sold PPI now claim they want to try to simplify the refund procedure, as well as explain to consumers why claims management companies are not worth using.

However, Easy PPI Marketing Consultant, Natalie Kay, believes this is just a case of the banks trying to deflect attention away from themselves and to further drag out the claims process, so they can hold on to the money they have set aside which will earn the banks considerable interest.

"In my opinion, banks are demonising claim management companies to delay paying back money to customers. The benefit of using a company such as Easy PPI is that we are tough in ensuring refunds are handled efficiently and promptly.

"It also suits the banks to try and portray someone else as the ‘bad guy’ and avert attention away from the fact that they took this money off unsuspecting customers in the first place."

A highly regarded PPI reclaim company, such as Easy PPI, can stand-up to big corporations and banks and ensure that a refund case isn’t ignored and delayed unduly. They also have the expertise of communicating directly with banks, which is something members of the public may hesitate doing on their own.

"The PPI scandal has been dragged out by the banks for seven years, so why should we trust that the banks want to suddenly pay-out now?" says Natalie. "It shouldn’t be forgotten that is was PPI claims companies, such as Easy PPI, which originally brought public awareness to this issue, and started to push for this money to be refunded to customers in the first place. The Banks were resistant back then, and they are still resisting now; trying to scare customers away from a quick and efficient refund by criticising claim’s companies is simply their latest tactic."