Claiming Back PPI: A Step by Step Guide

With the well-publicised PPI scandal continuing to grow with the help of the UK media, now is a perfect time to jump on the bandwagon and claim back any mis-sold PPI that you have been landed with over the past several years. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t even need to have the relevant paperwork to hand – with bank records, you can find PPI solutions with ease.

But where do you start? The FSA have instructed banks to send letters to their victims of mis-sold PPI in an effort to right their wrongs, with an expected 4 to 12million being sent in total . The director of the FSA purports that only one in ten will respond to these letters though, urging people to consider their eligibility to claim back PPI.

If you are one of those consumers that the banks know about, you may have already received one of these letters – if not, you can expect one soon. However, many individuals that believe they have a case won’t have any correspondence, because the banks aren’t aware of everyone affected, making it all the more important to take the initiative to begin a claim yourself.

First and foremost, make sure that you have a valid claim, rather than taking a punt on something you know won’t end in compensation. You are only entitled to claim back PPI if it was mis-sold to you. If it was added to your financial agreement without it being made aware to you, added as an extra monthly payment that you didn’t agree to, or it was claimed to be a mandatory condition of the loan approval (even though it wasn’t), you have the grounds to complain.

Rummage through your previous loan agreements in your archived files. If you have disposed of any paperwork, don’t worry – you are still entitled to claim. Check your credit report to see what loans or credit cards you have taken out over the past few years.

Once you have established that you have a claim, you can either apply directly to the bank if you feel you are capable to do so, or you can take the hassle out of the process by using the expertise of a specialist claim management company. These professionals do all the legwork for you and ensure that your claim is handled efficiently.

Last year, £1.9bn was paid out to successful claimants , but this figure is expected to skyrocket over the coming months and years. Some industry insiders suggest the figure will fly up to £25bn , with banks putting more and more money aside for their compensation payments. The FOS has also hired another 1000 caseworkers to work specifically on PPI claims , emphasising the amount of claims expected in due course.

Are you a victim of mis-sold PPI? If you are, bite the bit and go for it. If you don’t try, you won’t get and with a compliant claims management company, the process couldn’t be easier.