The deadline for claiming PPI is fast-approaching. This means customers need to act soon to identify any mis-sold PPI.
For nearly a decade, consumers have been contacting their bank regarding mis-sold PPI. But recent news says many banks were not forthcoming with information about PPI policies. Despite having multiple policies with one lender, some banks did not highlight this to consumers instead offering information about only one policy.
A money expert from Which? is encouraging people to check for additional policies in case more exist that were not highlighted previously. With just five months left to lodge a complaint with the bank, consumers need to act soon if they wish to identify more policies. The Financial Conduct Authority set 29th August 2019 as the deadline for individuals to make their PPI claims. While many people have already taken the opportunity to complain to the bank, there is potential for millions of more pounds to be refunded.
Claiming PPI can take a number of months, and can be difficult if you need to find the old paperwork. This means consumers need to act soon if they wish to receive a refund in time.
If you are in doubt about whether you have more PPI policies or would like to start a claim, follow these steps to check old accounts and discover if you were mis-sold PPI.
Identifying Mis-Sold PPI on Old Accounts
One of the best ways to check for PPI policies is to find your old paperwork. PPI was sold alongside the following financial products:
- Mortgages
- Loans
- Credit cards
- Store cards
- Overdrafts
- Car finance
If you had any of these prior to 2010, you could be eligible for a refund. If you successfully locate your paperwork for one of these products, you will then need to check if PPI is listed on the documents. Although PPI was a common name for the insurance, it also went by a number of other names. It could be listed as one of the following:
- Accident, Sickness and Unemployment cover (ASU)
- Loan care
- Card protector
- Account cover
- Loan protection
- Credit insurance
If you find one of these (or a variant), then you can start claiming PPI. If you contact the bank yourself, you must include evidence of your PPI and explain how the PPI was mis-sold.
If, however, you can’t find any old financial paperwork, you have to do some research to find information about your old accounts and financial products.
Finding Evidence of PPI without Paperwork
If you can’t find any evidence of PPI, there are numerous steps you can take to identify if you had any PPI policies. One of the easiest ways is to contact a PPI claims company. A company will thoroughly investigate if you had any previous policies.
The alternative is to contact any banks or lenders you remember having financial products with and asking whether PPI policies were attached. But, as the news suggested, not all banks are forthcoming with this information. If you do use this method, ask the bank to check all products for PPI policies. Keep in mind, the bank might not have a record of the product or any associated policies if the account was closed a long time ago.
Claiming PPI with a Claims Management Company
If you don’t have time to make a claim or would like a PPI specialist to handle a claim on your behalf, contact a PPI claims company. Always find a reputable claims company that works on a no-win, no-fee basis and charges a low fee on successful claims. Please be aware that some companies may charge a cancellation fee after the 14-day cooling off period. Always check the terms and conditions. The maximum a company can charge is 20% + VAT (24% total). However, a select few do charge below this amount.
Logican works with the best PPI claims companies by providing PPI software designed to handle multiple claims.
