You have just one year left to claim money back from mis-sold PPI payments.
Millions of consumers were mis-sold payment protection insurance by the banks and a staggering £31.9billion has already been paid out in compensation since January 2011, making it the most expensive scandal the Financial Ombudsman Service has ever seen.
The average PPI payout is £2,750 and banks and other finance groups have so far set aside more than £46 billion to cover claims.
What is PPI?
PPI was meant to help people cover repayments in case they were unable to due to a sudden change in their financial circumstances, like losing their job, having an accident or being ill.
It was often added to financial agreements such as loans, credit cards, store cards, mortgages and car finance, particularly from the 1990s to around 2010.
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It later emerged it had been widely mis-sold – it was unsuitable for some people, people did not realise it was optional or, in some cases, they did not even know they had a policy.
As many as 64 million PPI policies have been sold in the UK, some stretching as far back as the 1970s.
How long do I have to claim?
The deadline for PPI complaints is August 29 2019.
This means people need to refer their complaint to their bank or to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), which resolves disputes between consumers and financial firms, on or before 11.59pm on that date – or lose their right to have their complaint assessed.
MoneySavingExpert.com deputy editor Guy Anker urges people to make a claim as soon as possible.
He told Metro.co.uk: The message is very simple; do it as soon as possible.
There is already a backlog, some claims can take weeks or even months to get a judgement. And the closer we get to the deadline, the more claims are likely to be made.
This is also money that was taken from you wrongly, scandalously, and it is money you are owed. Make a claim as soon as possible.
Why do I need to claim?
If you had any kind of credit product, such as a consumer loan, store card, credit card or mortgage up until 2006, when the regulator began imposing fines for PPI mis-selling, you may have been mis-sold PPI.
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Some mis-selling may even have taken place after this date.
You can make a claim quickly and for free online and if youre successful youll keep all of the money youre owed.
How to get your money back
Dont use a claims management firm
Claims management companies (CMC), likely to be the people giving you endless cold calls on your mobile, usually take a chunk of your final PPI payout for helping you make a complaint – even though you can do it yourself for free.
If your claim is successful you could hand over as much as 40% of your compensation to the claims company.
The average successful payout from the Which? free PPI tool on its website is £2,600 – but making the same claim via a CMC would see you hand over more than £1000 of that.
Go online
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has a page on its website that helps people track down the details of firms that provided PPI.
But there are a number of other free tools and sources of help online.
As well as the Which? PPI claim tool on its website, MoneySavingExpert.com, Resolver.co.uk, Citizens Advice, the Money Advice Service, the FCA and the FOS all offer free advice and help for claiming.
If you are unsure whether or not you were sold PPI, Guy advises looking through old bank statements. Anything that sounds like it could be Payment Protection Insurance – that you werent aware about – could mean you are due some money, he said.
A recent MoneySavingExpert.com customer had no idea he had PPI and checked an old bank statement to find he was owed £5,000.
Can I claim for other people?
Which? recently highlighted an area largely missed by those making PPI claims, that people can seek compensation for loved ones who have died.
People can legally make a PPI refund claim on behalf of a relatives estate if there is a will and they are named as a personal representative.
If there is no will, a grant of letters of administration is required and administrators of the grant can file a PPI compensation complaint.
When will I get my money back?
PPI was sold by banks as well as insurers, credit card firms, mortgage lenders and store card groups and you should contact whoever sold it to you directly.
The amount of compensation successful claimants receive depends on how much they paid in both premiums and interest.
Claims should be processed within eight weeks.
Get commission back too
New rules mean that, even if you do not think you were mis-sold PPI, you may be eligible for compensation on the commission your bank or provider made on selling you it.
Some banks took 67% commission on PPI sales on loans, so even if you wanted PPI and signed up for it willingly – you could still get money back.
Simply having had PPI can mean you are due some money, Guy said.
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