If you haven’t yet heard about the PPI deadline, where have you been? Arnold Schwarzenegger has graced our screens for nearly two years telling people to “do it now!”
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) set 29th August 2019 as the cut-off date for everyone to submit PPI claims to their bank for mis-sold policies. During the 1990s and 2000s, thousands of UK consumers were mis-sold PPI policies by the banks and lenders.
However, when the scandal came to light, the banks were fined, and thousands of people began to claim PPI to earn refunds. Individuals have been reclaiming PPI for nearly a decade, and the banks have paid millions of pounds to consumers.
As a result of so many mis-sold PPI policies, a handful of PPI claims companies emerged to help individuals to make a claim. When submitting a PPI claim, you have the choice of making a claim yourself or using the services of a reputable claims company.
Why a PPI Deadline?
The FCA decided to put a deadline on PPI claims to encourage people to make claims quickly rather than put them off. The banks have been repaying customers for over a decade, amounting to over £34 billion paid to date.
The deadline will hopefully put an end to the scandal, and the banks can stop setting aside money. The FCA organised a two-year advertising campaign to promote the deadline, in the hope that everyone eligible to make a claim will do so before it’s too late.
How to Claim PPI
With just four months to reclaim PPI, you should act soon. You might not be aware that you were mis-sold a PPI policy. Many were added automatically alongside mortgages, loans and credit cards. Other common ways that PPI was mis-sold was saying that it would improve your credit score or increase the likelihood of being accepted for the loan or credit card.
However, even if you willingly bought the policy, you may still be able to submit a claim. This is due to the “Plevin” rule. This rule means that if your PPI policy had over 50% commission, you can make a claim and receive a refund for anything over the 50%. At the time of the mis-selling, it was common for the banks to have 67% commission on claims.
You have the choice of submitting a PPI claim yourself or using a reputable PPI claims company. A claims company can identify old PPI policies and file an case with the bank on your behalf and will charge you a percentage of the successful claim. If you claim PPI yourself, you will need to organise the paperwork and contact the bank.
No matter how you choose to submit a claim, the first thing you will need to do is identify if you had any mis-sold PPI policies. The best way to find out if you had a policy is to check old financial paperwork. Although Payment Protection Insurance is the most common name, it could be listed as something else, such as Accident, Sickness and Unemployment (ASU), loan care or account cover. Once you have identified any PPI, you can contact the bank to make a claim — be sure to include how the policy was mis-sold to you.
Alternatively, if you can’t find the appropriate paperwork, you can contact the bank and ask if any PPI policies were attached to old products — or a claims company can investigate this for you. Using some personal details, it will research and aim to find old policies. Once it has done so, it will continue to contact the bank on your behalf.
The outcome from the bank can take up to eight weeks — or longer for complex and old claims. If the bank upholds your claim, you will receive the money shortly afterwards. If the claim is rejected, you can submit it to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) if you believe that you have a strong case.
The clock is ticking so act now to find out if you are due a refund — don’t miss this last chance.