PPI FAQ
What is PPI?
PPI is a type of insurance that is taken out to cover repayments towards alongside a loan, credit card, card finance or mortgage. The aim of the policy is to cover repayments should you be unable to do so yourself due to illness or unemployment.
PPI stands for Payment Protection Insurance but can also be referred to as:
- Loan Protection Cover
- ASU (Accident Sickness Unemployment)
- Redundancy Cover
- MPPI (Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance)
PPI is nothing new, for many years now it’s been sold alongside borrowings and independently as a helping hand for those that encounter financial difficulties. In total there are around 20 million PPI policies currently held in the UK and the majority of them are doing exactly what they are supposed to – helping people. However, around an estimated 2 million of these policies have been mis-sold to financial consumers, which is why many policy holders have made a PPI refund claim.
How do I know if I have a claim?
There are certain reoccuring incidents that many victims have in common, take a look at this checklist, do any sound familiar? If so you may have a claim:
- Where you unemployed or retired at the point of agreement? If so, you may have been paying for worthless unemployment cover which should not have been sold to you.
- Were you self-employed when you took out the borrowing? If you were, you should check if you would have been paid out if your business went bust as it often wasn’t the case.
- Did you have any medical conditions at the point of the policy/credit agreement? Most policies don’t allow you to claim for help due to pre-existing medical conditions. You may have a case if you weren’t asked relevant questions or informed about this affecting your policy.
- Were you aware that you were paying for PPI cover?
- Are or were you making repayments on a borrowing through any of the following companies:
HFC Bank (owned by HSBC)
Egg
GE Capital Bank
Alliance & Leicester
Swinton
Home & County Mortgages
Capital Mortgage Connections
Loans.co.uk
Capital One Bank
All these financial institutions have been found guilty of mis-selling PPI and punished accordingly. If you hold or held a loan with any one of them, there’s a strong chance that you have a PPI policy that could have been mis-sold. To find out more about making PPI claims or to get your reclaim started, either fill out the online form above or give us a call today on 0800 840 7291.
How long until I receive a refund?
Every PPI refund case is different and it’s length will be dependent on a number of factors including:
- When you took out the borrowing
- What paperwork you have
- How quickly the lender or insurance provider replies
- How co-operative they are and the number of claims they’re dealing with.
Most of these things are out of both our hands but you can be sure that our claims team takes care of everything as quickly and efficiently as possible. If you really want a time-scale, we’ve had cases turned around in under 4 weeks but we’ve also had to wait 4 months on some. Our advice – be prepared for a wait.
How much will I get?
The amount you receive depends massively on:
- How many policies you’ve paid for
- How much you borrowed
- How the policy was mis sold
- How much the insurance provider charged you for the worthless cover.
Once all this information is known, a rough payout can be calculated, but as a guideline the average payout per policy is £2000. This figure is based on the FSA estimates of the total compensation needed to refund mis sold PPI victims, £4billion, and the Which? estimate that around 2 million policies have been mis sold.
Needless to say: your payout could be less, but it could also be more. The only way to find out, is to make a claim.
How far back can I claim?
Financial regulations state that banks and lenders must keep records of all their customer’s transactions for 6 years, this rule makes claims for policies held in the last 6 years easier to fight. Conversely, if you don’t have the paperwork that came with the loan and it was paid off over 6 years ago, it may be difficult to make a claim. If you’re still paying off an old borrowing taken out more than 6 years ago then paperwork will still be available and a claim stands a better chance of succeeding. Whatever the year was when you took out a loan or policy, it’s always worth making a PPI claim – it’s free after all. To get your mis-sold PPI claim started, simply fill out our online form above or give us a call on 0800 840 7291.
What are the costs of claiming?
Making a claim through BankCharges.com is completely free and our experts will fight your case without you spending a penny. We believe it’s your right to have fair financial support from lenders and you shouldn’t have to pay to fight when you don’t get it. If you choose to let our team handle your PPI claim, then your case will be on a strictly No Win No Fee basis. If we win, we charge 25% plus VAT of the payout amount, if we don’t win, you pay absolutely nothing. If you’re ready to start a claim then call us on FreePhone 0800 840 7291 or fill out our 30 second form above. Here’s the Ministry of Justice Fee breakdown we adhere to:
I’ve used the policy, can I still make a PPI claim?
YES, even if you’ve used the policy to cover your repayments, you can still make a full PPI claim.
Can I make a claim against an expired PPI policy?
YES, it doesn’t matter if you’ve paid back the loan or cancelled the cover, you can still make a claim. To get started with your claim, call us on FreePhone 0800 840 7291 or fill out our super quick form above.
