Payment protection insurance (PPI) was a neat little upsell lenders used to have in the UK. It wasn’t always clear you were buying PPI, and some lenders were making as much money as the insurers.
Whatever the case – fair or not – the UK government decided you can claim some of the money back, provided:
- The deal was not clear, you could not afford it, you did not realise you had to pay for it, you had a medical conditions that excluded you, etc. and / or
- More than half the insurance payments went to the lender without them explaining this to you as borrower, at the time you took the loan.
However, aggrieved borrowers have only four weeks left to find documentary proof and put in their claim, so this opportunity is coming to an end.
A Drum Roll for Martin Lewis Please
Martin Lewis was chatting about this on Good Morning Britain. He underscored the need to get moving quickly, particularly in view of the August 29, 2019 deadline. He explained how you need to have your claim lodged by then to stand a chance of clawing money back.
“So anyone who has ever had a loan, mortgage, credit card, store card, overdraft or car finance should check now if you were sold PPI,” he told viewers possibly shuffling through their files as they listened.
This Little Goldmine Does Not Die with the Borrower
Just because a person passed away and their estate is wound up does not mean people owing them money are off the hook. It’s just a case of their executor, administrator or next of kin getting their act together and submitting their claim. Probate valuation Golders Green
Now we are not in the business of telling you how to go about this. However, if you were to google ‘ppi advice uk’ you will get hundreds of suggestions what to do about PPI next. Those piles of old papers you kept just in case might finally prove their worth!
However You Are Going to Need to Find the Facts First
We expect loads of dishonest people are trying to scam the PPI system right now as you read this. So you need to find proof of the transaction(s) and information about the deceased borrower too.
Martin Lewis suggests “as many details as you know about the deceased’s circumstances at the time they got the policy – employment, sick pay entitlement, additional cover they had, and their health”.
The name of the game is ‘show me don’t tell me’. The assessor may have access to the same information, but the volume of claims is so high they simply don’t have the time.
How Does This Work in Terms of a Deceased Estate?
After someone dies, all money owed to them becomes part of their estate. An executor or administrator’s job includes collecting it and dispensing it to their heirs.
Under normal circumstances, the statute of limitations allows six years to chase up the money (or twelve years for some mortgage short payments).
In the case of the PPI scam, however the UK government bent these rules because the money was taken as opposed to being borrowed. If you believe you could be in the PPI pound seats then it is time to get your skates on, because the clock is counting down fast.
