Sold a pig in a poke? It’s time to act

A deadline for claiming back mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI) has been set. explains how to make a claim if you think you may have been a victim

PPI has dominated headlines for years but a line is about to be drawn under the scandal after the City regulator announced a deadline for complaints.

People have until August 29, 2019, at the latest to make their move, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said.

More than £26billion has already been paid out since January 2011 as a result of the PPI scandal.

Major banks have collectively set aside more than £35billion to pay PPI compensation.

If you’ve been meaning to check whether you’re entitled to make a claim, what should you do?

Firstly, have a rummage through your drawers. Dust off any documents that may contain evidence which could back up your claim. A PPI policy can cover someone’s loan repayments if they cannot work due to illness or a job loss.

But PPI was sometimes mis-sold with various types of credit. It could have been tacked onto a credit card or a store card agreement you had, for example. In some cases, PPI was added without people realising it and in others it was unsuitable, or the customer felt pressured into taking it.

Even if you can’t find much information about your policy, you can still make a claim.

To speed up matters, try to provide as much detail as you can – such as your name, when and where you purchased the policy and what type of product it was that you took out, for example a credit card.

If you think you were mis-sold a policy, complain directly to the firm that sold you the PPI.

You can do this yourself, for free, and there is plenty of help available online for claiming.

If you use a claims

“If you use a claims firm, they can take a chunk, often around 25%”

management firm, they can take a chunk, often around 25%, of any compensation payout.

MoneySavingExpert. com has a free PPI reclaiming tool and consumer group Which? also has help online.

Remember to tell the firm why you think you were mis-sold the policy and give them a chance to put the situation right.

The company you have complained to should respond and you ought to be paid promptly if it agrees it owes you compensation.

If you are not happy with the response you get from the firm, you can take your complaint to the free Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

PPI is the most complained-about product the FOS has ever seen.

You’ll also need to give the FOS some details to help it understand what has happened.

Once the FOS has acknowledged receipt of your complaint, you don’t need to do anything else until you hear from it as it makes progress with your case.

But you should get in touch with it if your circumstances significantly change, for example if you become seriously ill or move address.

There is more information on taking your complaint to the service on the FOS website.

TAKE NOTE: When claiming back mis-sold PPI, it helps to have as much detail as possible, so it’s worth rummaging through paperwork