How to get a PPI refund

Payment Protection Insurance Refund

Payment Protection Insurance (hereafter referred to as PPI) is a form of protection for individuals who take out any form of loan, be it a mortgage or on a credit card. It has recently come to the forefront that many banks’ and lenders’ frequently mis-sold PPI in many forms, claiming it was compulsory or that it would affect ones loan request if they did not also purchase the provided PPI. The financial services authority, whose position has been affirmed by the courts, has now determined that any lender and banker who mis-sold PPI are under obligation to ensure that customers receive PPI refunds for any mis-sold PPI they were subject too. Any individual who feels that they were mis-sold PPI is entitled to a refund. The article aims to detail where the areas under which an individual is within their right to claim, the expected amount they could get from there PPI refund and the average length of such a claim.

Could you be entitled to a PPI refund?

In the past banks weren’t held liable for mis-selling PPI. More often than not individuals were unaware that this was being included on their policy or were forced in to having it under the impression it was compulsory. It is only recently, thanks to attention being brought to the issue by the financial services authority, that such banks and lenders are being held liable. The following is a list of areas in which individuals can claim for being mis-sold PPI:

• The cost of the insurance was not thoroughly explained to an individual.
• They were not asked if they had other insurance policies in place which covered the same eventualities.
• They were told that the PPI was compulsory and that chances of the loan being approved would be reduced if it was not taken out.
• They were not advised of the opportunity to search around for cheaper PPI policies or the fact that it was not necessarily required at all.
• They were self employed
• They were below 18 or above the age of 65.

Calculating the amount you could be entitled to claim for a refund

Once an individual has decided that they have been mis-sold PPI and intend to claim against it, they can roughly work out how much of a PPI refund they may potentially achieve. If they know exactly how much they have paid for PPI every month and exactly how long they have been paying the amount, then they can do a simple sum to work out the potential refund they may win. For example, if the amount of PPI per month was £20 and they had been paying this for 3 years, the total cost of the policy would be £20 x 36 = £720. All of which they are entitled to claim against and win as part of their PPI refund.

Length of claim

How long the claim will take is dependent on the size of the claim, whether the bank accepts the claim and the company against which you are claiming. Some claims can be completed quickly with little resistance; others can run on for longer periods of time when disputes over the mis-sold PPI in question arise. If the individual making the claim feels they have substantial evidence and the lending company accepts the claim it should only take around a month to complete. In contrast to this if the lender company rejects the claim and evidence is thin on the ground then the claim could either be unsuccessful or take closer to 3 months to settle.

In order to be successful with a mis-sold PPI claim, it would be advisable to seek legal advice. In many situations where individuals have tried to claim against a bank or lender for mis-sold PPI on their own, they are often fobbed off for not have the relevant evidence or understanding of the situation. By having the relevant legal advice and a solicitor to represent an individual in a mis-sold PPI case, banks or lenders are in a position where they have to oblige any claims made against them, if reasonable, because of the applicable law that the solicitors bring to the forefront. PPI claims have and continue to be successful with the presence of relevant legal advice and assistance.