Have I Been Mis-Sold PPI?

Unfortunately, more and more people are realising they are a victim of mis-selling and have been incorrectly advised that Payment Protection Insurance is of benefit to them.

There are many reasons why the PPI you have may have been mis-sold to you, often people and companies offering the financial products, to which the insurance was added, were either inadequately trained or under pressure to meet sales targets.

Usually PPI offers protection in 3 main areas, covering your repayments in the event of,

Unemployment
Sickness
Accident

If you can answer 'yes' to any of the following, then you may have been mis-sold payment protection insurance and may be eligible to make a reclaim.

Q. When taking out the policy, were you,

65 years or over?
65 years or over, but was not asked about your age?

There is usually an upper age limit of 65 or 70 on most policies, if you were over this threshold for your policy when you took it out then you can claim.

Q. When asked about your employment status, did you say you were,

Self-employed?
Employed, but only on a temporary contract?
Employed, but only on a part time basis working less than 16 hours per week?
About to give up work to take maternity leave or have a baby?
Unemployed or a housewife?
A student, or about to become a student entering into full time education?
Retired or due to retire from full time employment during the lifetime of the loan?
Aware you were about to be made redundant?

If you were not in full time employment when you took out the PPI policy then it would have been impossible for you to have used it should you needed to.

Q. When asked about your medical history,

If any, did you state that you had a pre-existing medical condition?
If any, did you mention any recurring illness or condition for which you've been treated previously?

When applying for PPI you should have been asked about any illness or other medical problem that may have prevented you from working. If you informed them that this applied to you, then they should have advised that PPI was unlikely to be suitable for you.

Did they fail to inform you of any significant features of the PPI policy which may have invalidated your claim, such as an inability to work due to stress or back problems?

Often, in the small print, Payment Protection Insurance has significant exclusions to its cover, for example many will not 'pay out' if you are unable to work because or stress or back related problems. If this was not explained to you when you took out the policy then you can claim.

Q. Were you sold Single Premium PPI, where the insurance premium is wrapped up into the loan amount, thus attracting interest?

If you were and you wanted to settle the loan prematurely, then you should be able to claim back the unused proportion of the PPI premium that was paid for up-front. If you were awarded a refund but were only given a relatively small amount compared to what you paid, then you can claim to get a fair refund.

Or if you have managed to cancel the PPI element of the loan, only to have the lender redraw it at less favourable interest rates, then you can claim money back also.

Q. Were you ever told, or was it implied, that taking out PPI was compulsory or would increase your chances of approval for the credit?

This is not the case, while some banks and lenders can insist on the borrower having some form of PPI, they cannot make it a condition of the loan that you sign up to their Payment Protection Insurance offering.

Also, when applying for your credit, if you were only quoted for the cost of it with the PPI already attached then you can claim.

Q. Did you buy Payment Protection Insurance to provide you with cover for a long term loan (e.g. over 5 years?)?

Most PPI policies only last 5 years, if your loan was taken out over a longer term than this then the insurance will run out before the loan is fully repaid. If this limitation wasn't explained, then you can claim.

If any of the above applies to you, and you wish to talk to a lawyer about making a reclaim then contact Farleys Solicitors now on freephone 0800 074 1958 or you can e-mail us.