Paul Lewis
The banks agreed this week not to resist paying out to the millions of people affected. And the crooks are already trying to get in on the act.
If you get a text message or an email saying ‘our records show that you may have been mis-sold PPI and are entitled to compensation’ and asking you to call a number or click on a link DO NOT DO IT. The banks will never contact you like that. If you respond you could be taking the first step towards being conned out of money. Delete them.
You may also see adverts in newspapers, on websites, or even on TV or radio offering help with a PPI claim. Ignore them too. They are not scams but they will take up to 40% of the compensation which you can easily get for yourself.
If you have put in a complaint about PPI in the last few months the bank may have written back to say it is on hold pending the High Court case. That case is now over – the banks decided this week they would not try to appeal against the judgment of the High Court on April 20.
So the banks are now busy processing their bulging pending trays. You should hear again soon. If the answer is not one you want then take your case to the financial ombudsman service.
If you have not already followed my advice of two weeks ago and put in a complaint, there are three good reasons to do it now.
First, the banks will not come and find you. Normally the banks will wait for you to complain – even though they have to look for what is called ‘systemic’ mis-selling and investigate it, your case may not be included.
Second, the banks will now deal with your case. Until Monday they were putting them on hold. If the bank does not give you compensation within eight weeks of making the claim you can go to the financial ombudsman anyway.
Third, the scale of the compensation could be far larger than we thought. The most recent estimate was that it would cost the banks £4.5bn. But five major banks have set aside a total of nearly £6bn and industry experts say the final cost could be between £8bn and £10bn.
That means more people are entitled and that compensation will be higher than we thought. So there are billions of pounds due to millions of people and we are now at the start of payouts on an industrial scale.
To see if you can claim part of it follow the link below to my piece of two weeks ago. And remember - don’t get help from anyone who wants to be paid to give it:
Payment Protection Insurance - could you claim?
Written by Paul Lewis, this article was first published on May 11, 2011. Paul's opinions are his own and for general information only. Always seek independent, professional, financial advice.