Payment Protection Insurance Mis-selling
Payment Protection Insurance is a policy which protects a borrower in the event that they find themselves unable to work due to accident, sickness or unemployment. In theory, it is a good policy for some, but many people have been mis-sold this type of insurance for a number of reasons. We discuss the main reasons why it may have been mis-sold to you below – if any of these apply to you then you may be entitled to claim compensation.
Cost:
If you took out PPI with a loan, chances are that you took out a policy known as a single premium policy. This type of policy is added to the cost of the loan and interest is added on top of this. The lender should have explained to you the cost of the policy so that you had a clear idea about the additional cost of the policy over the term of the loan. If this was not explained, there is a case for mis-selling.
Employment Status:
If you were in a temporary contract, worked only part-time or were self-employed, this would have affected your ability to claim on the policy due to unemployment. If you were unemployed at the time then there is an even stronger case here that the policy is unsuitable for you.
In addition to this, if your employer provided you with sick leave benefit should you find yourself unable to work then it is likely that you would not have needed to take out payment protection insurance.
Pre-existing medical conditions:
If you had any medical conditions when you took out the plan, the lender should have advised you that the policy may not cover you for these conditions. In essence, you should have been made aware of any exclusion clauses which may prevent you from making a claim on the policy due to accident, sickness or unemployment.
PPI as a precondition of the loan:
Many consumers have reported that they were told that they could only obtain the loan if they agreed to take out a payment protection plan. In other instances, they were led to believe that the loan application would be looked upon more favourably if the consumer agreed to take out PPI. The lender should have made it clear to you that PPI is optional and should never have given you any impression that it was compulsory to take out this type of policy.
What to do next:
There are a variety of reasons why payment protection insurance may have been mis-sold to you. Above, we have covered some of the most common reasons. If you feel that you may have been mis-sold PPI, get in touch with us today. You can call us on 0845 475 0505 or complete our online claim form and we’ll give you instant feedback on whether we can assist you with a possible claim.
We handle the entire PPI claims process for anyone who has been mis-sold PPI. We do not charge any upfront fees for this service – our flat fee of 25% (plus VAT) of any compensation award only applies to successful claims. The average claim is in excess of £2,000.
