“Before we conclude this agreement for credit, have you considered having an insurance policy in place to help you with your credit repayments if you suddenly got sick for a long time, had an accident, or get unemployed?”

This and other sales pitches would have been the most overused tirades in the financial services industry when PPI was introduced. It could have been the same question you were asked when you applied for or followed up on an application for a credit card, loan, and/or mortgage. What’s amusing is that the sales staffs was just so charming and enticing when the product was being described as helpful and secure. However, the irony pushed in when years of mis-selling was discovered. It became the protection policy that never protected you.

Now, you might be wondering, how could the trick of mis-selling PPI have happened? Address that doubt by answering the questions below:

Were you asked questions that determine the suitability of the policy to your current situation and living status?

Was the need for the insurance established during the sale?

Were you not made aware that PPI is an optional product and that it does not matter when it comes to the approval of your finance agreement?

Were you not informed of the eligibility requirements such as age, residence and employment status, pre-existing medical condition, etc?

Were the policy terms and conditions, extent of cover, exclusions, and limitations not discussed in the sale process?

Were you not given a cooling-off period to let you cancel the policy without any cost?

Were you not made aware of the total premium costs and how it would incur interest, and that the policy may expire even earlier than your credit card or loan repayment?

If you answered YES to any or all the above, it is very clear that you were deceived into buying Payment Protection Insurance, Having learnt that, you now stand the chance of making a claim for your payments to be refunded, plus some interest it accrued from the start.

BEGIN WITH CHECKING YOUR ACCOUNT PAPERWORK

Look through your documents for any references to the payments you made to PPI. Your statements, receipts, agreement forms, and policy certificate will indicate the insurance policy cost and its duration of activity alongside your account. If you’ve got missing documents, request for copies from your bank. [Read more…]