PPI - Payment Protection Insurance

How do I know if I have PPI?

We hear about it on the radio, see it on TV and in newspapers and magazines – PPI. Its easy to dismiss it as something that has nothing to do with you. After all, when people get unsolicited e-mails about PPI and the irritating pre-recorded calls they get annoyed with such inappropriate advertising. However, these factors aside, it is important to ask have I got PPI? as many people actually have paid for it in the past or are still paying for it without their knowledge – and they could be owed money back from the banks and lenders.

What's Payment Protection Insurance?

Inability to make repayments to your lender for loans, credit cards and mortgages etc is what is generally covered by payment protection insurance. It comes into effect if you have a policy and then lose your job, become ill or suffer an accident and can therefore no longer keep up payments yourself. The payments would be covered for usually 1 to 2 years.

What is the problem with PPI?

Lenders and banks made enormous gains in the selling of PPI, and so offered big commissions to market the policies. This meant that PPI was vigorously and consistently mis-sold. Some individuals were made to believe the purchase of PPI was compulsory (not true), and that it had to be from the lender (they should have been allowed time to look for the best deal if they wanted to buy PPI).

In the worst cases of mis-selling, some people were not told they were paying into a policy, they were just billed for it and had to pay it without realising. Some customers were sold policies that wouldn't have been right for them as they were self employed or retired, and therefore not eligible to ever use the PPI if they ever needed it.

How do I know if I had PPI?

If you took out any loan, mortgage, credit card or other credit such as car finance agreement at anytime in the past decade or so, then it is worth checking to see if you had PPI on the agreement. Remember, you may not even know you had been paying for it. You can find all the details of your borrowing on your credit file if you don’t have all your old documents filed away.

Go through each agreement and check for the words PPI, ASU (accident sickness unemployment), loan cover, loan / credit protection insurance amongst other names that all mean the same sort of thing.

Who can claim PPI compensation?

Anyone who thinks that they might have been mis-sold a PPI policy has a right to claim PPI compensation.

To date, millions of pounds have been paid out in PPI compensation payments, and the collective banks and lenders have been made to set aside billions of pounds to cover the expense of yet more expected repayments as many people are still yet to claim. It’s the time to ask have I got PPI?

How to claim PPI compensation

Applying for a PPI compensation claim can be done by yourself directly with your bank or lender, however a lot of people opt to make use of a committed claims management firm to help make the procedure quicker and simpler.

Using a reputable company like HaveIGot PPI.org.uk means access to solicitors who are specialists in getting maximum compensation amounts for you, as well as having free to phone dedicated case handlers on hand to help you through the whole process. There are no costs to pay if your claim is not successful, so there is nothing to lose.