VICTIMS of the PPI mis-selling scandal have just one month left to claim compensation – and they could be owed thousands of pounds.
Claims submitted after the deadline – 11:59pm on August 29 2019 – won’t be considered for compensation, even if it’s valid.
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PPI – or payment protection insurance – was added to credit products such as store cards, credit cards or mortgages.
The insurance policy would protect customers in case they couldn’t keep up with repayments due to illness or if they lost their job, for example.
But many customers were pressured by lenders into buying it even if it wasn’t right for them or they didn’t need it.
Customers can also claim compensation if 50 per cent of your PPI costs was commission and the lender didn’t tell you, thanks to a 2017 court ruling known as “Plevin”.
How to claim a refund for mis-sold PPI
FIRST you need to contact the business that sold you the product and they must respond to your complaint within eight weeks.
If they reject your claim you can then go to the Financial Ombudsman Service to have your case reviewed.
It doesn’t cost anything to complain. There are free template letters you can download from websites such as MoneySavingExpert and Which?.
There are plenty of claims handling companies who are trying to get people to complain through them because they can charge a fee, but there’s no need to do this.
Processing the claim yourself means you’ll get to keep all off your compensation.
If your claim is successful, the amount you get depends on your circumstances.
Ultimately you should get back all your premiums plus interest.
Between £300 million and £400million has been paid out per month in recent years and the average payout is around £2,000.
Victims are encouraged to submit a complaint again even if they have had a previous claim about mis-selling of PPI rejected.
An estimated 64 million PPI policies were sold in the UK between the 1990s and 2000s.
The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) website includes a list of providers that have sold PPI – you can check here if your lender was one.
This includes high street stores, catalogue firms, building societies and supermarkets.
It is also extending its PPI helpline opening hours from August 5 to 8pm on weeknights and 5pm on Saturdays to provide further support to consumers.
Nearly nine in 10 UK adults hit a significant milestone during the 1990s and 2000s such as buying a car, home or getting married, the FCA found.
Many will have taken out credit to cover the costs – with PPI potentially attached.
Have you been mis-sold PPI?
ACCORDING to the regulator, it is likely you were mis-sold PPI if you experienced any of the following:
- You were pressured into buying PPI or told you must have PPI
- You were promised a cheaper rate if you bought PPI
- You were told your loan or credit application was more likely to be accepted if you bought PPI
- PPI was added without telling you
- You were advised to buy PPI that did not suit your circumstances or needs
- You were self-employed, unemployed or retired but advised to buy PPI
- You had a pre-existing medical condition at the time of buying PPI, which may have affected your ability to make an insurance claim
- You were advised that a pre-existing medical condition was included in your PPI policy (or advised that it wasn’t included)
- It was not made clear that you would pay interest on the PPI if it was added to your loan
- It was not made clear that the PPI would end before the loan or credit was repaid
Emma Stranack, the FCA’s PPI deadline campaign lead, said: “The PPI deadline is closing in. With just over four weeks to go until August 29 2019, we’re asking people to cast their minds back to the nineties and noughties and what might have caused them to take out a loan, credit card or other finance agreement.
“Weddings, house moves, new cars and holidays are just some of the types of investments people commonly employ credit to help with.
“If this rings a bell and you think you might have been mis-sold PPI, the next step is to identify your provider.”
It’s free to submit a claim and many providers have an online tool to guide you through the process.
You don’t need any of the original paperwork but you will need to handover your date of birth and previous home addresses.
Those who’ve already received compensation are advised to claim back tax on the payout because you could be owed hundreds.
For more information about claiming PPI, see our guide to what is payment protection insurance and how do I make a claim?
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