Couple win back £153k for mis-sold PPI – are you due back a refund too?
A HUSBAND and wife are celebrating after reclaiming a massive £153,000 in mis-sold PPI.
The couple from Devon were mis-sold 12 separate policies relating to numerous credit cards and loans dating back to the early 1990s.
PPI (Payment Protection Insurance) has been one of the biggest financial scandals in recent years, with millions of policies mis-sold.
The couple said they "took a punt" and used reclaim tool, which helps customers submit claims for free.
The biggest single pay-out they got was for £43,303 from two credit cards.
The husband, who only wanted to be identified as Hugh, told MSE, that they only decided to look at their credit cards after reclaiming a four-figure sum for a packaged bank account.
He said: "I'd always been really sceptical up to that point, but once we got that success we started to look at the credit cards.
"We started the first claim in April, and probably had the first success towards the end of April.
"It was far easier than I thought and it was just so simple. I think each claim took between 10 and 15 minutes max.
"Three hours' work for £153,000 is not bad."
He said as well as clearing their debts and putting a "fair amount" into saving, he and his wife will be looking to buy a new home.
"My message is quite simple, you've got absolutely nothing to lose, it's takes a very little amount of time," he added.
PPHIGHER MILLIONS MORE CUSTOMERS NOW DUE PPI COMPENSASTION DUE TO COURT RULING
MSE's Martin Lewis said it was the biggest PPI reclaim he had ever seen and urged consumers to check if they were mis-sold.
He said: "We've had some trickle close to £100,000, but none as big as this.
"What's best about this claim is by using our totally free tool to get money back, he didn't have to give what was likely to be £40,000 to £50,000 to a claims firm.
"You can reclaim PPI yourself, it isn't that difficult.
"Anybody who hasn't checked if they were mis-sold PPI should see this as a clarion call to check everything.
"While of course it's very unlikely you'd be owed this much, a typical payout is £3,000, which is nothing to be sneezed at, it’s still worth checking.”
What is PPI mis-selling?
Many credit agreements like loans, mortgages and credit cards were sold with a PPI insurance policy attached in the 1990s and early 2000s.
But millions of customers were unaware they bought the insurance - or if they did they found out they weren't covered.
Around 60 million PPI policies were sold over the past 30 years - during which there have been 18.4million complaints, according to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
Banks have had to fork-out billions in compensation since the scandal came to light, with the bill totalling a mammoth £27billion.
How to make a PPI claim
Think you've got PPI? Then follow these steps.
1. Find out if you have a PPI policy - Check your loan or credit documentation to see if it refers to anything like "payment cover","loan protection" or "ASU (accident, sickness and unemployment) insurance."
If you've thrown away your documents, you can check you credit file which will list any credit agreements you have had in the last six years - and you can ask your lender for a copy of your documentation and terms and conditions too.
2. DON'T use a Claims Managment Firm - Claims firms will promise to do everything for you - but will take a massive slice of your cash if your claim is successful. MSE, Which? and watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority, all have template letters and tools you can use to submit your claim for free.
The firm must respond to you within eight weeks of making your claim.
3. You might be able to make a new claim even if you've been rejected - Thanks to a court ruling known as Plevin, customers can get their money back if the bank didn't declare at least 50 per cent of the policy was in commission.
4. Act quickly - The deadline for making a claim is August 2019, so make sure you get your claim into the company you're complaining too well before then.
More on money
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Money team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 78 24516