One day to go until the PPI deadline: How to make a PPI claim
Consumers are rushing to make last-minute PPI claims as tomorrow’s deadline looms. Here’s how to get your claim submitted before the cut-off time of 11.59pm on 29 August.
What is PPI?
PPI – or Payment Protection Insurance – was intended to cover loan repayments if the person who took out the loan became unable to do so. It was designed to cover circumstances such as the customer being made redundant or being unable to work.
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) estimates that as many as 64m PPI policies were sold in the UK, mostly between 1990 and 2000.
How do I know if I was mis-sold PPI?
Many PPI policies were mis-sold, so if you had any product involving credit – such as a credit card, consumer loan, store card, or mortgage – up until 2006, you should check if you had PPI.
Policies were mis-sold when providers sold PPI to customers without explaining what exactly it covered, or – in some cases – lied to customers by telling them PPI was compulsory.
You can check whether you had a policy by checking any relevant paperwork you have, or by contacting the provider. There are also third-party sites that carry out the checks for you.
How do I make a claim?
To complain about being mis-sold PPI, you need to contact the provider who sold you the policy directly.
Having information such as your PPI policy number, when you bought the policy, and your circumstances at the time to hand can help speed up the process, but you can still make a claim without these details.
It’s too late to ensure complaints sent by post to reach providers by tomorrow’s deadline, so you will need to make a claim either on their website – many providers have online complaints tools – or over the phone.
If you decide to call your provider, be prepared for a long wait. Many providers have warned that they are experiencing high call volumes as the deadline approaches.
Read more: RBS and Santander rapped over PPI reminders
For a claim to be valid, it has to be submitted by 11.59pm on 29 August. Once you have submitted your complaint, you should expect to hear back from your provider within eight weeks.
The FCA has a dedicated PPI helpline, which can be reached on 0800 101 8800. The regulator also has an online guide to the process of making a claim.
Main image credit: FCA