PPI Facts

Are all PPI policies bad?

Some Payment Protection Insurance represents good value for money, and is potentially very useful. However many schemes were overpriced and did not legally provide the cover that they claimed. If you have PPI on any of your existing loans or overdrafts, you should consider carefully whether you need it. There may be a better value protection scheme available to you.

On this page you will find information about:

Why were PPIs mis-sold?

The mis-sold PPIs are those that did not provide the full cover that was offered to the customer. This was because the details did not apply to the individual customers’ circumstances. It was discovered that PPIs had been mis-sold when a high rate of unsuccessful claims were made against the policies.

In many cases, sales staff working for financial companies received financial bonuses for successfully selling Payment Protection Insurance to customers. Many of these staff may not have realized that the PPI was not suitable for those customers.

I had PPI on a loan 20 years ago. Can I still get a refund?

Policies dating from the early 1990s, or sometimes even earlier, are potentially covered by the rules enforcing financial providers to return mis-sold PPIs.

In 1998 the first cases of mis-sold PPIs were revealed, and in 2005 stricter rules were put in place governing the sale of PPIs. However, these were not always successfully followed or enforced. So, whenever you took out your PPI there is a possibility that you will be due a refund.

Is there a deadline for claiming a PPI refund?

There is no official deadline for claiming a refund on a mis-sold PPI. However, because of book-keeping laws, you stand a greater chance of resolving a case quickly and successfully if a claim is made less than seven years after an account is closed.

How much will I get back?

That depends how much you paid, and on the kind of scheme you bought.

PPI schemes were sold at very different rates, depending on the type of loan and the different providers. In some cases you may be due a refund for the full value of the PPI, and in others for only part of it. A typical PPI charge may be 10%-30% of each payment you make. You could therefore be due up to this amount of the total money you have paid back.

If you are awarded a PPI refund and you have not yet paid off the full loan, you can use the refund to pay off the remaining debt.

What if I have already claimed on my PPI?

If you have already successfully claimed on your PPI you may still be due a partial PPI refund, depending on your circumstances and the type of scheme you bought.

For further PPI information, please follow the links below: