PPI claim: Deadline to reclaim Payment Protection Insurance is in less than 12 weeks
PPI, which stands for Payment Protection Insurance, has been mis-sold to millions of people, but it is possible to reclaim it. How to claim PPI compensation ahead of the impending deadline.
Martin Lewis gives money saving advice on reclaiming PPI tax
Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) is something which many people were sold in the past. It was commonly sold alongside financial products such as credit cards, store cards, mortgages, and some types of loans. PPI is designed to cover the payments in the event of illness, accident, redundant, or death. Some people may have been mis-sold PPI when buying products. The Money Advice Service website states that “sales staff often didn’t explain policies properly and they were often sold to people who weren’t eligible for cover.
“For example, to people who were self-employed or with pre-existing medical conditions.
“As a result, many policies didn’t pay out when people needed them to.”
Another guideline relates to commission that lenders may have received on PPIs.
“If more than 50 per cent of the commission of your PPI went to the lender and you weren’t told about it, you also might be owed compensation,” the Money Advice Service explain.
The deadline for claiming for mis-sold PPI is approaching.
The exact date is August 29, 2019.
A claims management company will typically take a quarter of your compensation or more
There are companies who will offer to reclaim PPI on behalf of an individual.
However, the Money Advice Service clearly advises against using these claims management companies.
“A claims management company will typically take a quarter of your compensation or more,” it states.
“They might also try to charge you an upfront fee, and some companies have gone bust, without doing any work to reclaim customers’ money.”
Instead, the Money Advice Service advices that those looking to claim PPI insurance finds the relevant documents and makes copies.
“Write a letter to the mortgage, loan or credit card provider who sold you the PPI,” they advise - pointing out that the Money Advice Service has a PPI complaints template letter, or banks may have a questionnaire on the matter online.
The service also advises sending all relevant documents.
“If you don’t get a response or decision within eight weeks, send a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS),” they state in the final step.
Money Saving Expert founder Martin Lewis has addressed the topic of PPI a number of times in the past.
The chairperson of MoneySavingExpert.com also advised that some people may be owed tax on their PPI reclaims.
There is a form online at HMRC which will allow claimants to reclaim this, Mr Lewis explained.