There is now just one year left to make your PPI claim. Are you sick of hearing Arnold Schwarzenegger’s robotic head yelling at you to ‘do it now?’ Thankfully, you don’t have to endure it for too much longer.
His face can be seen on TVs and billboards across the UK, encouraging consumers to make their claims before the cut-off date, set for 29th August 2019. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) reported that, so far, nearly £32 billion has been paid to consumers. The latter half of 2017 and early 2018 saw an increase in payments being made to customers, indicating that the advertising campaign caused people to take action.
But, with 64 million PPI policies sold, there is still potential for thousands more claims to be made before the deadline next year. If you haven’t yet made a claim or believe that PPI isn’t relevant to you, we explain why it’s worthwhile checking and how you can make a PPI claim.
Why Bother Checking for PPI?
So many people have made successful PPI claims, despite not knowing they had bought PPI in the first place. The scandal was so large because the extent of mis-selling was extreme. Often, PPI policies were automatically added onto financial products without the knowledge and consent of consumers. It was commonly sold alongside mortgages, credit cards and loans.
If you had one or more of these financial products between 1990 and 2010, it’s possible that you might have been mis-sold the insurance. The banks soon realised how much it could make from selling PPI and the tactics for mis-selling were vast. If any of the following applies to you, you were mis-sold PPI:
- You were told PPI was compulsory, so that you had to buy it with your financial product
- You were told it would improve your credit score or that you’d more likely be accepted for the loan or credit card
- The terms and conditions of the policy weren’t properly explained to you.
How Can I Make a PPI Claim?
Making a claim is relatively simple, but it can be a lengthy process. The process is easiest when you can find paperwork with evidence of mis-sold PPI. Once you have this, you can make a claim to the bank or lender and explain how the PPI was mis-sold to you.
If you can’t find the paperwork, you will need to either contact the relevant banks(s) and find out if you had PPI on any previous accounts or, alternatively, use a PPI claims company or creditor, which be able to investigate for you.
If you are curious as to how much you might be entitled to for your PPI claim, use a PPI claims calculator. If you know how much you paid on your PPI policy, this can offer an approximation as to how much the bank might pay you.
The average PPI claim amount is £1,700. Refunds from PPI claims have helped people to pay off debts, contribute to their savings or enjoy a holiday.
Using a PPI Claims Company
For those who don’t have time, can’t find the paperwork or simply can’t be bothered, using the services of a reputable, low-fee PPI claims company is the ideal solution.
New regulations mean that all claims companies must charge 20% + VAT or less and not charge any upfront fees. Despite this, it’s still beneficial to look around for the best PPI claims company, which means using one that charges a fee lower than 20% and has exceptional testimonials.
Whether you decide to make a claim yourself or use a PPI claims company, now is the time to make your claim. There’s just under one year left, so don’t delay. The banks are dealing with an exceedingly high number of PPI claims and the sooner you start your claim, the sooner you will receive your money.