James Walker: Time for PPI sceptics to think again

On 29 August, 2019, the deadline for making PPI complaints falls, drawing the curtain on a saga that's run for well over a decade. The biggest financial miss-selling scandal in recent memory will be over.
Many people dont realise they have payment protection insuranceMany people dont realise they have payment protection insurance
Many people dont realise they have payment protection insurance

But surely everyone’s complained about their PPI policy by now? The simple answer is no. The scale of the mis-selling was huge. Here’s a few of the statistics.

◆ It’s estimated that 45 million policies may have been sold.

◆ £27.4bn has been paid out since 2011.

◆ Some estimates suggest the final bill could be £100bn.

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◆ The banks have put aside £40bn to cover successful PPI claims.

Put simply, countless people may have had PPI added to their policy, despite it being unsuitable for them – and may never have realised it. This happened to one of the team at Resolver who made a claim to demonstrate how it works – and found out PPI had been added to two credit cards without his permission.

So when I’m asked if PPI claims are just encouraging “compensation culture”, it’s easy to disagree. You still have to make a complaint that’s looked at on its individual merits. And many PPI complaints are still turned down. But the majority are upheld.

There’s one thing to remember above all else. Never, ever pay a claims manager to make a complaint for you. And here’s why:

◆ They don’t improve your chances of winning – and with “cut and paste” forms, many of them make it worse. The best way to succeed at any complaint is to explain what’s gone wrong in your own words – and what you’d ideally like as a solution.

◆ They charge you huge chunks of your compensation while still getting you to provide all the information. The forms you’ll be asked to fill out by claims managers are basically the same as the ombudsman’s PPI form. And yes, they’ll get you to fill it out.

◆ You can do it for free through Resolver – and in a matter of minutes. We’ve simplified the process so it’s even easier for you to make a successful PPI complaint. And our guide to PPI encourages you to think of the things you need to focus on to improve your chances.

Countless numbers of complaints will be made to the banks and credit providers over the next two years. We know the banks haven’t exactly covered themselves with glory over the years when it comes to PPI, and it’s likely they’ll be overwhelmed with people getting in touch.

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When I started Resolver, I wanted to make everything about complaints easier for people – and for businesses. The simpler it is to make a clear, focused complaint, the better the result.

So the team and I have come up with two new ways to help out with the main problems people face when making a PPI claim.

Many of them don’t know they’ve got PPI, so we’ve created a free tool that asks the business to sort through its archives to track down your policy. Once you’ve got the information, you can use Resolver to personalise the complaint rather than risk the “cut and paste” or template approach to PPI practised by claims managers.

And from Tuesday, if you’ve previously had a PPI claim turned down, you may be able to get the case looked at again thanks to a Supreme Court ruling. If you’re affected, the business should get in touch, but you can beat the rush with Resolver straight away.

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