A brief article about PPI.

1. By Rock Law ltd

2.  While it’s more than likely you’ve heard the
term PPI bandied about on the news and cold
callers claiming to be able to save you money,
it’s important to understand what PPI is.
 Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) was a form
of insurance sold by companies when they
give you a loan. The loan could be anything
from an unsecured cash loan to a credit card,
but the principle is the same.

3.  PPI was sold as a way to ensure you were able
to keep making your loan repayments in the
event of a change in your income as a result
of you losing you job or illness for example.
 While that may sound reasonable enough the
way in which payment protection was sold to
people has led to a mis-selling scandal, court
rulings, and PPI compensation claims running
into the millions.

4.  PPI was often sold to people who would never be
eligible to claim, to those who were covered
through other means, and often without the full
knowledge of those being sold the product.
 For example, until recently if you went to a bank
to take out a loan, credit card or car finance deal,
PPI was often bundled into the loan. When it was
included it was often poorly explained by sales
staff and included in loans to the self-employed
or people with pre-existing medical conditions
who would never have been able to claim.

5.  If you remember a conversation about ‘cover’
or ensuring your repayments when you took
out your loan there’s a good chance you have
PPI, particularly if you took out your loan over
or before 2012 when PPI was still being sold.
 Even if you don’t remember such a
conversation you may still have PPI on your
loan or credit card as PPI was often sold
without people being aware of it.

6.  The best way to check is to look at the
original paperwork given to you at the time of
the loan being taken. If you don’t have the
paperwork you can simply contact your credit
provider and ask them whether your loan or
credit card has or had PPI on it or request a
copy of your original credit agreement.
 You may also be able to see it itemised on
past statements, although it might not always
be referred to as PPI. Look out for any extra
charge on your monthly statements and
phrases like ‘protection cover’.

7.  If you contact your financial services provider
and discover you have PPI you should be
careful about how you make your claim.
 While your financial services provider may
offer you a compensation figure and claims
management companies may contact you, it
is perfectly possible for you to claim back the
full amount you’re entitled to yourself
without losing any money to third parties.

8.  The first step of reclaiming PPI is all about
getting all your documentation together.
Make sure you collect and take copies of the
original loan agreement, any statements you
have, and any correspondence between you
and your financial services provider about PPI.
 Next step is to contact the financial service
company who sold you the PPI in the first
place, usually a bank, and formerly start your
compensation request.

9. There are template letters available online but
the main things you need to include are:
 Any reference number or the name of a
complaints manager assigned to your case
 Your credit reference number and your PPI
number if you have one
 When the PPI policy was taken out

10.  What financial product it was tied to
 Why you think the PPI was mis-sold, so if you
have a pre-existing condition or if you
weren’t made aware of the PPI
 Your full contact details and the details of
anyone else involved in the claim

11.  If you financial provider doesn’t respond to
your claim, offers you a settlement you
disagree with, or denies your claim for any
other reason you can still escalate your claim
by taking it to the Financial Ombudsman
Service.
 Since the High Court ruling your bank should
respond quickly, but if you don’t get a
response within six weeks you can also go to
the Financial Ombudsman.

12.  The Financial Ombudsman Service is an
independent organisation that will evaluate
your claim and make a ruling that the
financial service provider must adhere to.

13.  No. One of the important things to remember
about PPI is that it can be a useful product,
and many people knowingly took it out.
 PPI compensation only refers to those cases
where mis-selling of PPI occurred. Luckily the
process of claiming PPI is now easier than
ever thanks to the High Court ruling.

14.  Despite the process of claiming back PPI to
be relatively easy there are a huge number of
claims companies who will offer to handle
your claim for you.
 While this can be useful and makes the
process a bit easier by keeping you away
from the paperwork it costs a lot of money.

15.  While most claims companies only charge you
a percentage of any compensation due the
compensation figures are often thousands of
pounds. So for example, if you were awarded
four thousand pounds in compensation some
claims companies would take up to one
thousand pounds to cover their fees.
 That’s a huge amount of money for
something you can do yourself for free.

16. Resource: http://www.uswitch.com/credit-cards/guides/what-is-ppi/