How to reclaim mis-sold PPI for free

You might associate PPI refunds with spammy sales calls. But if you borrowed money in the nineties and noughties, there’s a good chance you could get compensation. 

Lenders were mis-selling profitable payment protection insurance (PPI) policies to people for years. The regulator started fining companies for mis-selling PPI in 2006, and lenders have paid people £35 billion in compensation so far. 

The deadline to make a claim is 29th August 2019. So it’s worth finding out if you can get compensation.

PPI stands for payment protection insurance. It's designed to cover your loan or credit card repayments for a year, in case you become ill, get into an accident, or in some cases lose your job. 

According to Money Saving Expert, lenders sold about 64 million policies between 1990 and 2010. But they encouraged sales staff to sell PPI aggressively, meaning many policies weren’t effective or were sold to people who didn’t need them. They might have told you it was compulsory, or even sold it to you without you knowing! 

If you took out credit at any time in the nineties and noughties, you should consider making a claim before the deadline on 29th August 2019 – less than a month away! 

You can check out Which?’s PPI mis-selling checklist to work out whether your lender mis-sold you PPI. But if you can’t remember exactly what happened, you can still put in a claim and see whether you qualify for compensation.

Lots of companies promise to make a PPI claim on your behalf, and in exchange take a large percentage of your compensation. But it’s quick and simple to make a claim yourself.

All providers have online tools that make it easy to claim compensation for PPI, or contact details so you can complain by post or on the phone. 

It’s free to do and doesn’t need lots of paperwork. You just need your date of birth and your previous home addresses to get started.

You can use the FCA’s list to find your provider and see how you can get in touch. 

The final deadline for making a PPI claim is 29th August 2019, so you’ve got just under a month to complain.

Lots of people have PPI without even knowing. So if you’re not sure, you can check your  statements. 

Money Saving Expert recommends looking for any mention of an insurance fee or a product to cover your payments if you lost your job through accident, sickness or unemployment.

These could be called things like: 

If you can’t remember which lenders you took out credit with, check your credit report to find your provider. Then find them on the FCA’s list and contact them to make a complaint.