The sure way to get a positive response to a claim concerning mis-sold PPI (Payment Protection Insurance) is to get the claim to the Ombudsman. This regulates insurance product sales that happened only from January 2005 on and can only offer help when it is about companies regulated by FCA/FSA. Any such provider will be covered by Ombudsman, therefore banks and building society loans are included. If your PPI is from 2004 or earlier, it is not under the jurisdiction of Ombudsman, sadly. This is what we call the uneasy route, and you will immediately know how to handle it.
When to Expect Difficulties
You should pay more attention to a situation which involves the categories mentioned above (the pre-2005 contracts), which include for example the windows installers and car dealerships, as well as hire purchase agreements. You are still entitled to repayments though, and therefore shouldn’t be discouraged with these even if the procedure takes a little more effort. Note that handlers will prefer to work on the easy agreements, meaning those signed in 2005 and later.
Know What to Expect
After you have identified which type of policy you were sold and in which way, you may proceed to calculating the value of the additional policy. When you know what to expect, you will be easier motivated to go through each step of the process.
Using a Claim Handler
You may want to look online first for a website that can help you figure out easily whether you should use a claim handler or not. The important questions to answer that will determine the outcome will be about loans that you have taken and your payment habits. It is in your advantage to be on time with the loan payments and to have no debt – to the lender in cause especially. Before proceeding, check the history of your claim handler. When you decide you can use a claim handler, you will have to pay a fee from what you obtain – a certain percentage, to be precise.
The Handlers to Avoid
If a company wants to charge you on “future PPI savings”, run from it. If you still have a loan with PPI to pay out and your claim goes well, these unscrupulous handlers will also want money from that which you haven’t paid yet. They consider the sum for the whole loan. In this case it could be a big loss on your side. On to another aspect, it is best to work with one that is able to inform you on the maximum compensation to be obtained. When it fails to do so, it usually means you are being tricked into getting only the minimum amount. Also, handler may tell you that your chances of obtaining the money are increased when you use their services – but this is not true. When they ask you to pay upfront, it isn’t a good sign either – the best for you is to find a No Win No Fee company. If you do not have the time to take care of this by yourself and afford to give up 25% plus VAT of the amount to be recovered, you may hire a company to handle your claim.
Note that it is not necessary to have a company handle the claim process for you. There are many way to achieve this by yourself, for free, as long as you have calculated the value of your claim, tracked back the policy and contacted the lender providing the needed information. The banks have lost the court case anyway.
Author bio:
Craig Bennet is publishing advice articles based on financial expertise and teaches his readers how to calculate the value of a PPI claim, as well as how to carry out a successful claim no matter the situation.