Mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance – free advice is available

Consumers, unhappy about being mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance, could save themselves money by making a claim for a refund themselves rather than paying a claims company to recover monies due.

This is the advice from the Council’s Money Advice Team, which says that making a claim against banks and loan companies is simple and straightforward and does not require the involvement and cost of a claims company.

Pat Sproul, Money Advice Senior with The Highland Council, said “A lot of publicity has been given to the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI) by banks, loan companies etc. and many people may feel they could be eligible for a refund.

“We see clients who come to us for help with their debts and they have paid a company a substantial sum to reclaim their PPI.  This sum could have been used to help clear debts instead, so we always encourage clients to make the claim themselves.”

She said the Financial Ombudsman Service’s website has information about how to reclaim this money and also provides factsheets and forms which a claimant can request or download from the website to help make a claim. 
In addition, in March 2012, the regulatory body for financial companies, the Financial Services Authority, published guidance to firms who have mis-sold payment protection insurance and expects these firms to contact customers to let them know their rights. 

Pat added:  “The advice from Trading Standards and Money Advice is not to wait for a letter from your lender, but to make a claim if you think you are owed money. And remember, you don’t need to pay to do this.”