Brunel Franklin is urging people to check to see if they could have been mis-sold a payment protection insurance (PPI) plan which could mean cash back from their bank. Payment Protection Insurance was applied to many loan and credit card plans, but now that money may have to be repaid to the unsuspecting customers who may have had these payments added without their permission.

The original idea behind PPI was to cover loan repayments if a borrower fell ill or lost their job, but they were soon exploited by banks and credit card companies, which often made customers take out policies which rarely paid out. PPI has now become the biggest source of customer complaints to the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

Following a recent High Court ruling, banks have been forced to set aside £7 billion to meet potential Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) claims which could entitle thousands of people to claim their money back with interest.

Customers can pursue their own claim but can also use a firm like Brunel Franklin to check if they were mis-sold PPI. If the PPI was added to a Credit Card (in many cases automatically), this would have been on a monthly basis as a % of the balance and many banks did this so they could charge interest. The easiest way to find out if the insurance was added or is being paid is to look at and old or current statement.

Some people may have been paying for the Insurance for quite a while and then asked the Bank what it was and then cancelled it. These people will still be entitled to claim back the premiums paid along with any interest. Because of the interest, over time this will have built up and could be worth a substantial amount. Also, many people do not realise they were sold PPI with their mortgage. In some cases, the premium was added to the mortgage thus adding unnecessarily to the amount you borrowed. These policies were often sold by Brokers/Intermediaries and in most cases were mis-sold. This means you are entitled to the premium refunded, plus all interest charged.

Some of the grounds that could mean you are entitled to claim are:

• Your Loan/Credit Card/ Mortgage is still active, or if paid off, you made the last payment within the last 6 years.
• You were or are self-employed and it was not made clear by the lender you would not benefit from redundancy protection.
• Your lender failed to tell you that the ¬insurance was optional.
• Your lender did not make it clear that it would not cover pre-existing medical conditions.
• Your lender failed to tell you that you would pay interest on the premiums, or if it wasn’t made clear that the cover could run out before you finished paying off your loan.

Sally Bowyer, Managing Director of Brunel Franklin said “Making a refund application against a bank or other large financial institution can be a daunting prospect, which is why it is much better to seek help from an organisation like Brunel Franklin, rather than struggle on and be left to try and work out the details for yourself. We operate a no-win-no-fee service and there is nothing to pay until your case is successfully won and the vendor has paid out.”

Learn more about PPI refunds and find out if you could apply for a refund today! Visit the website www.brunelfranklin.com or call Brunel Franklin, free, on 0800 051 54 51.