How to Claim PPI and Why Women are Missing out on Mis-sold PPI Claims

Did you know that 64 million PPI policies were sold in the UK? You may have seen endless adverts about PPI and making a claim, and thought it didn’t apply to you, but the reality is that many of us are eligible for a refund. Are you one of them?

Payment Protection Insurance — or PPI, as it’s more widely known — is a type of insurance that was sold alongside mortgages, loans and credit cards. The insurance was designed to cover repayments in the case of sickness or redundancy.

However, for many years, it was widely mis-sold to consumers. Customers were forced to buy it or had it automatically added without their knowledge. It’s for this reason that millions of people have been able to make successful PPI claims to their banks.

It’s not a small amount of money that’s being repaid, either. Collectively, banks and lenders have repaid over £30 billion to consumers since 2011.

This figure will continue to increase until August 2019, the PPI deadline means consumers will no longer be able to make PPI claims. The Financial Conduct Authority has set 29th August 2019 as the final cut-off date for consumers to contact their bank regarding a claim.

Below, we explain why PPI claims are important for women and how you can go about making a claim well in advance of the deadline.

PPI Claims for Women

There is no gender discrimination when it comes to making a claim, however, for women who are divorced, there are some important facts to take note of.

In 2016, a number of divorced women missed out on their PPI refund due to having a joint account with an ex-partner. In these cases, the PPI claim money was given to the first name on the policy — often, this was the man. Since this happened, the banks involved (Natwest and RBS) now ensure that both partners receive a fair share of the refund amount.

If you want to claim PPI on a joint account with an ex-partner, be aware that the bank might need consent from both policyholders. In most cases, the refund amount will be split equally between each individual.

How to Claim Mis-sold PPI

Lloyds Banking Group is expecting 13,000 new claims per week until the deadline and there is potential for billions more pounds to be paid to consumers before the cut-off date.

Even if you never remember having PPI, it’s worthwhile taking a small amount of time to check. If you end up receiving a cheque, it’ll be worth it. If not, you’ll have spent no money — you really have nothing to lose.

Follow these simple steps to make your claim:

1. Find Evidence of PPI

The easiest way to find out if you had PPI is to contact a PPI claims company, which will do all the work for you. With a few details, it will conduct a thorough investigation into your financial history.

All reputable claims companies operate a no-win, no-fee policy, meaning you’ll only have to pay a small fee in the event your claim is successful and you receive a refund.

However, you can do it yourself, too. The first step is to find any old financial paperwork and statements to check if PPI (or another name, such as card protector) is listed.

If you can’t find any old statements, you can contact your bank and ask about previous products that were sold with PPI. However, it’s important to know that, for extremely old accounts, the bank is not obligated to keep a record.

2. Consider How it Was Mis-sold to You

Once you have found evidence of PPI on one or more accounts, you are ready to make your claim! If you’re keen to know how much you might receive, use a PPI claims calculator for an estimation.

When making your claim, it’s important to explain to the bank how the PPI was mis-sold to you. PPI was mis-sold in a variety of different ways — including telling customers it was compulsory or that it would improve a customer’s credit score — and outlining your reasoning is crucial.

3. Make Your Claim to the Bank

As with finding evidence, there are two ways to make your claim. You can either contact the bank yourself with all the correct paperwork and evidence, or you can use a trustworthy PPI claims company.

With new government regulations passed in July, PPI claims companies cannot charge more than 20% + VAT on successful claims. Many of the best claims companies are charging well below this fee.

The claims company will handle all correspondence and paperwork, which is perfect for busy women or those who simply don’t want to have to chase up the bank on the status of their claim.

Once your claim is received by the bank, it should respond with an outcome within eight weeks. However, it can take longer, especially if the case is more complex — for example, if you have a joint account.

If your claim is not resolved in your favour and you think you have a strong case, you can challenge the result by referring your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

However, be aware that the FOS is extremely busy dealing with a backlog of claims and it could take up to two years for your case to be reviewed.

Many consumers had no idea that they were due a refund, yet received thousands of pounds back from their bank. Don’t miss out on your opportunity before the deadline arrives. Start your claim today!