Free Guide on Claiming for PPI

The deadline to claim PPI has now passed (29 August 2019)

Therefore the majority of claimants can no longer submit a PPI claim to their provider. However for a small minority of people there are some exceptional circumstances which may mean there is still the potential to reclaim. The below link to a MoneySavingExpert guide has further details of these rare scenarios as well as explaining how to reclaim the tax from any previous PPI payouts.
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PPI: Can I still reclaim?

How to claim back PPI yourself.

What is PPI (Payment Protection Insurance)?

PPI stands for Payment Protection Insurance which is insurance sold alongside credit cards, loans and other finance agreements to insure that payments are made if the borrower is unable to make them due to sickness or unemployment.

Some consumers want to insure against the risk of not being able to repay a loan as a result of sickness or being out of work so payment protection insurance is not necessarily a bad purchase.
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What is the issue with PPI?

Historically sales staff were hugely incentivised to sell PPI and this has resulted in the insurance been widely mis-sold. So it is possible that you had or have PPI without even knowing.

It is also possible you were sold a PPI product even though your circumstances at the time meant you would have no chance of claiming on it if you needed to.

If you were mis-sold a PPI policy then you can claim a refund of the premiums paid plus interest. While often referred to as PPI compensation, the claim is in effect for the money that you have already paid out for a product that was mis-sold to you.
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Do you need a solicitor or claims management company to make a PPI claim?

The simple answer is no, while you can choose to instruct a solicitor or claims management company to deal with the claim, you can also submit the claim yourself.

If you instruct a claims management company they are likely to take a percentage of the amount recovered (often 20-30%). Therefore your refund will be significantly less than dealing with the claim on your own.

A PPI claim usually only involves completing a simple form so we recommend that you claim back PPI yourself to maximise the money you are refunded.

However if your claim is rejected by the bank and then the financial ombudsmen the only option that may be open to you  is to commence court proceedings. At this point it may be worth contacting a PPI claims solicitor for further advice.​

Mortgages, loans, overdrafts and credit cards could all have PPI attached.

Eligibility to make a refund claim.

The following scenarios may mean that you are eligible to make a claim:

• You were sold PPI without realising it or without being told that it was optional
• You were unemployed, self-employed or retired when the PPI policy included unemployment cover
• You already had a medical condition at the time of taking out the policy that could have prevented you from working at some point in the future
• You were older than the upper age limit for the policy
• The length of time covered by PPI was less than the length of time that you would be making loan repayments and you were not advised that you would not be protected towards the end of your loan term
• You were not told about any exclusions or circumstances in which you could not claim. For example the policy may not have paid out if you were off work with stress or back problems
• The total cost of adding PPI to the loan was not clearly explained to you
• The quote you were given for the cost of the loan automatically had PPI added
• You were told that PPI was compulsory
• You were told that you had to get your PPI cover from the same provider as the loan or credit card
• You were pressured into taking cover and unable to say no
• You were not told how to cancel the policy
• You already had cover in place that could have protected your repayments but you were not asked about this or you were told that you would need additional/separate cover.

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Is there a time limit on making a PPI claim yourself?

Yes, the deadline for submitting PPI claims is 29 August 2019.

As a do it yourself PPI claim may take you a little time for to collect your insurance details, download/complete the form and send in the paperwork. It is advisable to start the claim process as soon as possible.

Making a PPI claim yourself.

To claim mis-sold PPI yourself, firstly you need to check that you have or had PPI attached to a mortgage, loan, overdraft or credit card.

• If you have the contract or original paperwork check this for 'loan protection', 'payment protection',  'payment cover', or 'protection plan', 
• If you no longer have the paperwork contact the company that sold you the loan and ask whether you have/had PPI. You can ask for a copy of the terms and conditions although the company can charge a fee for providing a copy.
• If you can't recall what loans or credit providers you've used, you can get a free credit report from providers such as Credit Karma that should show your credit history.

Once you have confirmed that you have purchased PPI check the above eligibility to claim list to make sure you have a valid complaint.

If you believe you are eligible to complain then complete the Financial Ombudsman Service's Questionnaire and send this to the bank, building society or company that sold you the policy.  The website Money Saving Expert has an excellent PPI guide on how to complete the form should you have any questions.

If your claim is rejected or you disagree with their response, you can then refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman. Further information on the process is available from the Financial Ombudsman's website.