Table of Contents

• What Is PPI?
• Who Can Make A Claim?
• How Long Does A PPI Claim Take?
• Should I Go It Alone?

As the total compensation figure for mis-sold PPI cover tops £13 billion; millions of UK households are reaping the benefits of digging out their paperwork and making a claim.

What is PPI?

PPI is Payment Protection Insurance that was often sold alongside loans, credit cards, store cards, mortgages, and other credit agreements. PPI can also come under alternative names such as credit insurance, credit protection insurance, or loan repayment insurance. The purpose of this form of insurance was to cover you in the event of illness, disability, loss of employment, death, and other circumstances that would prevent you from being able to make your repayments.

How do I know if my PPI was mis-sold?

In broad terms, PPI was mis-sold to you if any of the following applies:

• If you felt ‘pressured’ into agreeing to PPI
• If it was not made clear that PPI was optional
• If you were advised to take out PPI even though it wasn’t suitable for your personal circumstances
• If you thought that agreeing to PPI was mandatory in order to secure credit, or that it would increase the chances of your application being approved
• If key exclusions were not explained to you at the time, such as being self-employed or having a pre-existing medical condition
• If your personal circumstances would have prevented you from being able to successfully make a claim on your PPI
• If you were unaware that your agreement had PPI, or it was added without your knowledge
• If it was not made clear that you would be liable for paying additional interest on any PPI premium applied to your credit amount
• If it was not made clear that your PPI protection would end before you had paid off the credit agreement in full

There may be other scenarios where PPI was mis-sold. If you are in doubt, you can contact the Financial Ombudsman for a decision.

Who can make a claim?

If you entered into any credit agreement before April 2012 where PPI was included, the chances are that you are eligible to make a claim. Here are some of the common FAQs that might be applicable to you.

Can I claim PPI if I don’t have any paperwork? Or I can’t remember the name of the company?

Yes. It doesn’t matter if you can’t find any documentation or can’t remember the name of all your previous creditors. You can check your credit record through a credit referencing agency as this will give you a list of names. Each company should have a record of whether or not you took out PPI with them, so whilst any documentation you do have will make the process easier; it is not essential for making a successful claim.

Can I still make a claim if I’m not sure what I was told at the time?

Yes. If you can’t remember what was said to you when you were sold PPI, it is still possible to make a claim. In these cases, if the PPI you bought wasn’t relevant to your personal circumstances i.e. you were retired but the insurance covers unemployment, your occupation fell under an exclusion, or you had a pre-existing medical condition which made you ineligible then you should be able to claim back PPI.

Can I claim against current credit agreements?

Yes. Provided that you entered this agreement before April 2012 and PPI was mis-sold, you can make a claim for any ongoing, existing credit.

Can I claim PPI if I live abroad?

Yes. You can make a claim regardless of where you currently live, provided your PPI was bought through a UK company.

Can I make a claim even if the company no longer exists or has been taken over?

Yes. You can still make a claim even if the company you originally bought your PPI from has since gone into administration, been dissolved or gone bust. The FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme) is in place to protect consumers in exactly this situation, and you should still be able to get the full refund due to you.

You can make a claim even if the original finance provider has since been taken over by another company. In this situation, your claim would go to the new company.

Can I make a claim if I’ve been declared bankrupt or had an IVA?

Yes. You can make a PPI claim after your bankruptcy or IVA agreement has ended. However, you need to be aware that any refund could potentially be clawed back under the clause ‘unrealised asset’. The financial provider, particularly if it was a bank, may try to argue that they want to offset any amount against the sum you originally owed them. If you have a certificate of completion for your IVA, then this argument may be null and void but it’s very much a grey area of law at the present time.

There is no rule against making a PPI claim whilst you are bankrupt or within an IVA agreement, however, it is worth bearing in mind that any ‘windfall’ will be immediately seized to help pay off your existing creditors.

Can I claim PPI on behalf of a deceased relative?

Yes. You can claim back PPI on a policy taken out by a now deceased relative. However, each individual’s circumstances are different, and not all claims will be successful or directly benefit you. You will need proof of your relationship to the deceased as well as evidence of their passing, such as a death certificate in order to make a claim.

Is there a time limit?

No. There is no time limit on how far back you can make a claim. It is worth noting that banks and other finance companies are not required by law to keep records over 6 years old, so if your PPI was sold prior to that, then it may be more difficult and take longer to make a claim unless you have all the relevant paperwork.

Types of credit that you claim back PPI:

• Secured loans
• Personal (unsecured) loans
• Mortgages
• Credit cards
• Store cards
• Car finance
• any other credit facility

Who cannot make a claim?

You won’t be able to make a claim if you have ever benefited from the PPI you bought, i.e. you were out of work for 3 months and your PPI covered your repayments for those 3 months.

If your PPI cover would have covered you and you could have successfully made a claim in the event of accident, illness or death; then you are less likely to obtain a refund unless you can prove it was mis-sold in a different way.

How Long Does A PPI Claim Take?

If you think that you are owed PPI and wish to make a claim then you’ll probably want to know how long it might take before your case is settled and you receive any money due.

One thing you should be aware of is that while private claims companies often say they can get your money back quicker than doing it yourself, there is no basis for this if you are organised and willing to do what is necessary for a quick resolution.

The only thing you have to ask yourself is whether or not you have the time to go chasing your lender and/or the ombudsman should you need to – a claims specialist can take care of this for you.

Stage 1 – Filing Your Claim With Your Lender

Time scale – up to 8 weeks

When you first contact your lender to file a formal claim for compensation, the amount of time taken for them to respond to your case does vary and while some companies move swiftly, others are known to prolong the process as much as they can.

Banks and other lenders are liable for the whole amount plus interest but some may try to avoid a portion of this by offering you a lower deal for a quick resolution. While you obviously want to proceed with your claim and any subsequent payment in a timely manner, don’t be lured into the trap of accepting a smaller offer of compensation than you are entitled to.

If, after 8 weeks, you still haven’t had a response from your lender (or your lender has refused your case) then you will have to contact the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

Stage 2 – Going to the Ombudsman

Time scale – up to a year

If, for any reason, your lender is not willing to settle your case directly then you will have to approach the Ombudsman and have them resolve it based on the evidence provided by both parties (you and the lender).

Because of the sheer volume of new claims coming in from PPI and other financial products, the FOS has added a further 1000 staff but even so it can take a long time for them to reach their decision.

The length of time required to process your case depends on how complex it is and whether or not any further information is required and how long it takes to obtain it. In rare circumstances it can take as much as a year to reach a climax while other cases might be settled in just a few months.

While the FOS typically reviews case in the order they receive them, there are some special circumstances where a case may be prioritised. These include situations where:

• the claimant would face significant financial hardship if any delay were to occur (e.g. the threat of repossession of the claimant’s property).
• a delay might impact the claimant’s health or wellbeing or cause undue distress and inconvenience.
• the claimant might experience a significant worsening of their financial position should the case not be resolved (e.g. a debt not being repaid until compensation is received).

One thing any claimant can do to ensure the fastest possible resolution to their case is to provide requested information as fast as possible – next day recorded delivery is recommended.

Stage 3 – Receiving The Compensation

Time scale – up to 8 weeks

Once your PPI compensation claim has been resolved and you are satisfied with the amount to be paid, you will usually receive either a cheque or direct BACS payment.

Some lenders may require you to confirm you are happy with the amount (assuming it didn’t go to the Ombudsman) but others will arrange for payment automatically unless you tell them otherwise.

While most lenders state that they will aim to pay the agreed amount with 28 days, there are many reports from members of the public stating delays of up to 8 weeks. These claimants were told that this is due to the number of claims being processed.

What This Means For You

If you haven’t yet made a claim for any PPI you believe was mis-sold, what you should take from this article is that the sooner you start the process the better. Because of the long time frames that can be involved, there is no reason to delay – get all of the relevant information together now and either speak to a PPI claims company or write to your lender and include copies of all the evidence you have gathered.

Should I Go It Alone When Reclaiming PPI?

One question many individuals will naturally have is whether they should attempt to claim a policy with or without the help of a third-party accredited claims institution.

In such a situation, there are both pros and cons of attempting to file a claim individually and you must consider various options before undertaking what can prove to be a monumental task.

Claiming By Yourself

First, let us examine the potential benefits of filing a claim individually. The most obvious benefit is that there will be no added expense in regards to paying a claims company for providing their services. The fees incurred can often be quite substantial and, depending on the size of the claim, may very well leave the claimant little financial remuneration at the end of the process.

Should you choose to “go it alone”, you must ascertain the specifics of any dispute you may have. This may be quite clear should there be sufficient evidence that misselling has occurred. Such instances may include, but are not limited to, overpriced policies, an insufficient explanation upon purchase, the so-called “mandatory PPI” required for a specific loan or possessing a policy whose clauses prohibit the policyholder from using it.

Should these factors be obvious and should you have direct evidence, personally filing a claim is recommended because the processes involved are relatively straightforward. Simply stated, if an individual case is clear-cut and enough evidence already exists, then a third party’s involvement may be redundant and costly.

Employing The Services Of A PPI Claims Company

One of the main pitfalls with filing a PPI dispute is that such evidence may not be altogether apparent. An advantage of partnering with a claims specialist is that they are familiar with all the laws and associated nuances. Any necessary information regarding either the policy or the issuer can be found expeditiously and other important variables such as if the FSA has already taken appropriate action can make the claims process much easier. They can also reduce how long it takes for a PPI claim to reach a conclusion – in other words, you may get your money sooner.

There are many instances where people have held a PPI policy for a number of years. In fact, some have continued to pay into a policy for a decade or more. In these instances the potential financial return can be large enough to warrant employing a claims professional; not only can they make certain the paperwork and eventual result is in order but whatever fees may be accrued will be relatively minor in comparison to the overall refund.

Also, it is important to note than most PPI claims specialists operate on a system where if they pursue a claim unsuccessfully they will not charge a fee. It is therefore in their best interest to ensure their clients are rewarded.

A Fork In The Road

The path you choose to pursue ultimately depends on your individual circumstances and how your policy was initially presented upon purchase. Should you choose to pursue a claim on your own, you must first understand the time and effort which may be involved. Regardless, there is no harm in scheduling a no-obligation appointment with a PPI claims specialist who can determine the merit of a claim on a case by case basis.

What should I do now?

If you think that you were mis-sold PPI, then it is in your best financial interests to consider making a claim. Whilst the BBA (British Banking Association) was recently denied the opportunity to cap refunds for PPI by applying a cut-off date; there are no assurances that this won’t eventually happen.

Unfortunately, if you’ve simply suffered a lapse of judgement and broken the rules then there’s not much you can do other than suck it up, pay the fine and try to be more careful in future. However, not all parking fines are legitimate. Whether it’s a simple case of human error, something gone wrong somewhere in the administrative chain, or a matter of the relevant signage being in some way obscured from view, if you have a good excuse, you could be let off. Here we look at what to do if you weren’t at fault.

Establish Who You Are Dealing With

There are two types of tickets – private and public. Telling the difference can be tricky, which is largely down to the fact that private companies will try to make their tickets look as similar to those issued by public bodies such as the police and local councils. However hard they try to confuse things, the one thing these private tickets can’t do is categorically mislead you. If it doesn’t name the local council in question and doesn’t name the police force in question, then it’s private. This changes the way you go about fighting it.

Private Tickets

If it’s private you can take a much more aggressive stance in refusing to pay. This is because, unlike a ticket from a public body, the private companies can’t really enforce their tickets without taking the fairly drastic step of court action. They can’t, for instance, threaten your credit score or send the bailiffs round to your house.

With this in mind, if you get a ticket on private land that’s been unfairly given or is clearly exorbitant then you can simply write to them explaining why you won’t pay, or why you will only pay part of the total asked for (a reasonable measure might be to offer to pay only what you would have been charged had the incident occurred on a public road.)

If things can’t be resolved this way it will be helpful to you to be backed up by any available evidence, so you need to photograph anything that might be useful to you whilst at the scene, for example, the signs and their wording, the meter or anything else that led you to dispute the ticket.

(Though we are using the word ‘ticket’ to talk about both private and public tickets, only public ones should be thought of as fines. Private tickets are simply an invoice. These companies don’t have the right to issue fines.)

If this doesn’t work, you can appeal. You don’t need to pay before you appeal, and it’s always hard to reclaim money back once it’s gone, so don’t pay until you have to. If the ticket comes from a company that is approved by the BPA you can appeal through the independent body, POPLA. This process is free, but can only be resorted to once you’ve already gone through the appeals process of the individual operator. You will find details of how to do this on the back of your ticket.

Hopefully, you will be successful first time around. If they accept your argument, fail to reply or respond saying that they won’t pursue things further then you don’t need to take any further action. If they do continue to demand you pay them, then it’s time to turn to POPLA.

As far as they are concerned you only have a case if you weren’t responsible for the vehicle at the time (i.e. it had been sold on or stolen), you are being asked for an amount that exceeds that relevant to your offence, or if you simply did not commit the offence in question. Bear that in mind if you are hoping extenuating circumstances will get you off the hook.

If you are successful the operator has to stop chasing you. However, if you are unsuccessful, that doesn’t mean it’s all over. You’re basically just back where you started. Given that POPLA aren’t enforcers, you aren’t actually beholden to pay just because they didn’t find in your favour. Therefore, you can just hold out and wait to see if the operator will actually bother to take you to the small claims court. Even if they do and you lose, it’s not a criminal matter and the worse that can happen is that you will be forced to pay up.

If you want to be more extreme, you can head straight for this impasse stage by simply saying you won’t pay, and will not get involved in any further correspondence from the get go. Don’t even use the word ‘appeal’ (this implies there’s some sort of legitimacy to their ticket). Either they’ll attempt to go through court or, as you’d hope (and as is quite likely), they won’t bother to follow up on it.

If the company is not BPA approved then you can write to them and explain why the ticket is unfair and why you won’t be paying it, or you can just ignore them and wait as described above. As these companies aren’t bound by POPLA , don’t mention the word ‘appeal’ when writing to them. That will make it sound like you want to be dealt with through their in-house appeals process, which you don’t.

Finally, bear in mind that in many cases the operator will be independent of the property owner, who will have hired them in to run their car park. Whilst the operator won’t, the landowner will most likely have a brand they’d like to protect and public relations they’d like to maintain. If you write to them and complain of scandalous treatment, they may intervene on your behalf.

Public Tickets

Things are different when you’re dealing with a ticket from a public body. The first thing to remember is that, if you think the ticket is unfair, you shouldn’t pay it. This will amount to an admission of liability and take away your right to appeal. Unless the car has been clamped or towed, you should wait until you’ve appealed before you even consider paying. You’ll want to move quickly as, even if your appeal is unsuccessful, the fine is usually half price if paid within two weeks.

You should begin building your case at the scene of the incident, where you’ll need to gather any evidence you can to support your case. Again, photos should be taken if they’ll prove your case (for example, incorrect unclear markings, signs, the position of your car, or the metre).

Keep all correspondence regarding the incident, as it could be important. Other mitigating factors can also come into play, so if there are other issues that you believe should be taken into account put together some evidence relating to them.

Once you have the evidence of the mitigating circumstances or the error that was made, you can make an appeal. The first stage is usually informal and you have nothing to lose no matter what the outcome. The fine is put on hold during this time too, so once things are under way, you don’t need to worry about the price doubling after 14 days.

How exactly this appeal will work depends on who issued the ticket. If it was a council the ticket will be a PCN (Penalty Charge Notice) which uses a ‘civil’ appeal system (more on which later). The exception to this is an Excess Charge Notice. These tickets are ‘criminal’ (don’t worry, that doesn’t reflect on you, and it won’t lead to you getting a record. It simply means the appeals process is different).

An FPN (Fixed Penalty Notice) issued by the police is also criminal. If you live in London you could also get a ticket from TFL. These are PCNs and are civil.

If you’re looking at a civil case then there are eight grounds that you can win on;

• There wasn’t a contravention. This covers cases where the ticket was given incorrectly, or where the relevant signage and markings were not visible.
• You were overcharged.
• There was an admin error. For example, if they didn’t include all necessary information on the ticket or took too long to reply to correspondence.
• You were no longer the owner of the car at the time.
• You’re a hire firm (which we can ignore, seeing as you aren’t).
• The car was stolen.
• You already paid.

As you can see the first point is really the one that applies in most cases. Mitigating circumstances that might apply aren’t really covered in these points, but discretion has to be shown when you appeal, so you can include them as part of your case. These might typically include;

• You’d broken down.
• You were involved in an emergency.
• You’d fallen ill after parking.
• The parking became suspended whilst you were away.
• You were at a funeral.
• You bought a ticket, or permit, but for some reason it was not visible to the warden.

In some cases councils will let you off if you were within 3 minutes of your valid stay time, so this can also be used as grounds to ask for the fine to be waived.

The first stage is to make an informal appeal by writing to the relevant body including all your evidence. If this doesn’t work (and it has been suggested that initial appeals are rejected out of hand) then the second stage is to make a formal appeal.

When you get your Notice to Owner (the response if your first appeal fails) this also serves as the form to make a formal appeal. (If your ticket is posted to you, the form will come in the post with it). You then simply recycle the information from your first appeal into the form. You can also include a letter detailing your exact grounds for appeal, and any mitigating circumstances that need to be included.

If this doesn’t work you will receive a Notice of Appeal along with your rejection. With this you can appeal to the independent Traffic Penalty Tribunal. They will make a final decision. You can either have the case assessed by writing to them, with all the information from your first two appeals, or it can take place as a hearing over the phone or in person.

If a council ticket is ‘criminal’ then the process is largely the same, expect that if the informal and formal appeals don’t work then all you can do is appeal to the local government ombudsman.

In the case of notices from the police you will have to check with the prosecuting force how you can appeal. You may be able to write to the central ticket office or the force itself. If this doesn’t work your last recourse would be to take things to a hearing, but this could see you become liable for legal costs, will be hard to win and, as such, is probably a disproportionate risk.

• 0870
• 0845
• 0871
• 0872
• 0844
• 0843

All of these can end up costing you close to 20p a minute. When you realise a company is using these numbers to skim a bit of extra profit from you, you may well feel like complaining. Gallingly, there’s a good chance you’ll find that their complaints department uses such a number. Often these numbers will be costly, even if you’re on a landline inclusive deal.

That said some providers now offer these types of number for free. So, one of the simplest ways to avoid falling foul of them is just to move to a different phone company. If you do go down this route, be sure to check exactly which numbers are exempt from high charges and, importantly, when such calls are exempt.

Where these non-geographic numbers do apply they can provide an easy revenue stream, but, if you’re savvy you can avoid contributing to it. One way of doing this is to circumvent the expensive number by disguising the reason for your call.

Companies want to encourage you to get in touch if they think you’re going to be spending money, so their sales department will have a cheap line or even a free 0800 number. Call that number and then ask to be transferred over to the appropriate department if you want to make a complaint.

Another trick is to look at the company’s website. Often they will list an alternate number that customers can ring if they are calling from abroad. This will usually be cheaper and you can still dial from the UK if you use the international prefix.

If you do need to call using the premium rate number, be sure to use a landline rather than your mobile, as that will cost you even more. Unless you have a smartphone, that is. If you do, there are apps that can help you make your calls without paying a premium rate. The WeQ4U app for instance, which is free to download, will route your calls through to premium numbers through a standard number. This does involve being held in a queue of other callers, but companies are likely to put you on hold anyway and they’ll charge you for the pleasure.

If your phone can’t support such apps you can still make use of the service. First you’d need to call 0333 5432111 and then make your call to the number of the company you want to get in touch with.

Another alternative is to do some poking around and see if there is an alternate cheaper number that will get you talking to the same people. The SayNoTo0870 website acts as a crowd sourced database, compiling these obscure, cheaper numbers. However, as anyone can contribute there are some duds and, unfortunately, some scammers have been known to put up fake numbers for their own ends.

Finally, if dialling from a landline, you can try using an ‘override’ provider. These are services that, using a prefix to the number you ring, take you temporarily off of your landline providers tariff and on to theirs (which will be cheaper for certain numbers). There are two ways this can work. With some, you’ll need an account with the company through which you can be billed. In this case you will have a free phone access number that you dial when you want to use the service.

With others you will simply dial the access number, with no accounted needed, and you will be billed through your usual provider at over rider’s rate. The drawback here is that you are charged from the moment you call rather than the moment you’re connected, so you’d have to pay for a minute’s call even if nobody picked up. That said, it is hassle free and worth the risk.

Luckily, partial and full remissions are available in a number of scenarios.

In Receipt of Benefits

If you are in receipt of the following benefits you can get a full remission;

• Income related Job Seeker’s Allowance
• Income Support
• Working Tax Credit (as long as you aren’t also receiving Child Tax Credit)
• Pension Credit
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance

To prove that you are in receipt of these benefits you need to include an official letter from the organisation responsible for your payments in the documentation you provide as part of your application. So, depending on the benefit in question this might be the Job Centre, The Department for Work and Pensions or the HMRC.

This letter will need to show your title, full name, address and postcode and confirm that you are currently receiving that benefit. It will also have to be less than a month old at the time you make your application (except for Working Tax Credit or Pension Credit, which will be valid as long as they refer to the current financial year.)

Low Income

If you have a low level of income you can also get a full remission. What’s classed as a low income will depend on whether you are single or part of a couple and whether you have any children, as shown in the table below. Note that even if the court fees are being charged as part of the cost of getting divorced, as you’re still legally married you count as a couple for remission purposes.

If you have more than 4 children the threshold goes up by £2,930.

You will need to be able to prove your income. If you are employed, you can do this by providing your last three month’s payslips (or last four weeks’ slips if you’re paid weekly). If you’re self employed you can prove your income with a tax return, HMRC self assessment or other documentation.

You also have to declare any other income you may have of any kind. Be it income from stocks and shares, rent from a lodger, a pension or child benefit.

Low Disposable Income

You can also get either a full or partial remission based on the level of your disposable income (the amount you have left over once essential expenses have been paid for).

To apply for this form of remission you will need to show your income as described above, but you will also need your monthly expenses. These consist of;

• Housing Costs:You can show these with a bank statement, tenancy agreement, mortgage statement or other form of documentation.
• Child Maintenance: If applicable you can demonstrate your costs by producing a court order, child support agency assessment, signed voluntary agreement.
• Child Care Expenses: If you have to pay for childcare, be it in the form of a nursery.
• Court Order: If you have a court order to pay an individual or organisation monthly instalments you can list this as an expense.

As well listing however much you are spending on the above you can also add fixed amount for the following;

• General Living Expenses: £315 a month.
• Dependant Children: £244 a month per child.
• Partner: £159 a month.

When you’ve submitted you evidence the court will work out your disposable income and if it’s less than £50 a month you will get a full remission. If it is more you will get a partial remission based on how much you can afford.

Applying

To apply you need to fill in a EX 160 form (which you can download by following that link) and collect the evidence you need to support your application as detailed above. You can either post this to the court you are dealing with or take it their in person.

Refund

If you paid a court fee and think you would’ve been eligible for a remission you can apply retrospectively for up to 6 months from making payment. As well as evidence to show your eligibility for a remission, you need to provide evidence of having paid the fee.

The reclaiming process is both free and easy, meaning that, though nothing is guaranteed, you’ve got nothing to lose by attempting to get some of your money back. Whatever your situation, it’s always worth writing to your bank and asking that charges be repaid. After all, the worst that can happen is that you’re refused. If your bank does reject your appeal and you feel you’ve been dealt with unfairly you can ask the Financial Services Ombudsman (FSO) to step in and look at your case.

Will The Ombudsman Investigate My Case?

There are three different criteria the Ombudsman use to decide whether or not they’ll investigate a case. If the scenario you find yourself in matches anyone of those listed below, you could be eligible for help;

• You’re in financial hardship.
• The charges are excessive.
• You’re charges are leading to further charges, creating a vicious cycle.

If you’re unsure if any of the above applies to you, check out the guidelines below;

Financial Hardship

To be seen as being in the financial hardship by the ombudsman you’ll need to be able to show evidence (preferably with recourse to bank statements or other documentation) that at least two items on the following list could describe your situation.

• You frequently exceed your overdraft.
• You struggle to pay for basic necessities, such as food and heating.
• Your cost of living has gone up due to illness or disability.
• You’re under a debt management plan, individual voluntary agreement, debt relief order or in the process of going bankrupt.
• A change in circumstances has seen your income drop considerably.
• A significant amount of your income is being spent on charges.
• Your depending on credit to meet your basic living costs.
• Payments made from your account are regularly returned owing to a lack of funds.

(Note that, if you’re looking to reclaim charges that were handed down to you in the past – more on which down the article – the conditions of hardship need only apply to the time when you were charged.)

Excessive Charges

There are no cast iron rules as to what might be deemed excessive, but charges of as much as £35 are still not uncommon for going beyond your overdraft limit. If you only went over your limit by a few pence or so it would be easy enough to argue that such a charge is excessive.

A Cycle of Charges

This tends to occur as part of the parcel of financial hardship as, due to a lack of available funds, you’re unable to pay off existing charges before incurring new ones. Indeed, these charges may well cause you, directly or indirectly, to rack up fresh ones, thus creating an ongoing, constantly growing problem. If you can show that this is the case, the ombudsman will be able to look at your case.

How Much Am I Eligible To Claim Back?

If you feel your case is a strong one, your next step should be to figure out how much your claim should be for. Bear in mind that you can claim for charges that you were hit with in the past (in general, you can go back as far as six years) and that you can claim for charges from more than one account, or from more than one bank.

In addition you can still claim if the account in question is closed and even if you’ve received compensation for bank charges in the past, you can claim against any new penalty payments you might incur.

Finally, you should bear in mind that you are allowed to add interest to the amount you believe yourself to be owed and should include this in the amount you ask for. If you were going to go the court over charges and were to win you would get a flat rate of 8% interest on top of your compensation for every year you had to wait. Though applying for compensation through the ombudsman is not the same, you could use this figure as a guide in deciding how much you want to claim for. If you wish you could ask for more.

Remember, there’s a good chance that the bank will look to settle the case by offering a partial settlement. One way they might go about doing this is offering you compensation but without interest. Obviously, if you don’t demand interest in the first place this won’t happen, so it can pay to push for as much as reasonably possible.

What Is The Claims Process?

When it comes to actually making your claim, even if you meet the criteria to have your case looked at by the ombudsman, you should first write to you bank. Clearly explain your situation, giving details of the charges and how they’ve affected you. Make it clear that you will go to the ombudsman if they refuse to deal with you fairly. Any documentation you can provide to verify your story can help speed up the process, be it a bank statement or, if for example you lost your job, a copy of your p45.

When you hear back from your bank you may find that they are willing to offer you some, or even all of what you’ve asked for. If you’re offered less than you feel fair, you should treat your claim as an ongoing negation. Naturally, the bank will offer you the lowest settlement they think you might accept. Try contacting them again and explaining why you believe you can only settle for a higher sum. It could well be in their interest to give you what you’re asking for rather then letting things drag on.

By the same token, many banks will have a policy of automatically rejecting all requests. This is simply a tactic to try and put you off pursuing your claim further. You need to demonstrate that you won’t be deterred by calling them up and sending another letter. Re-emphasise the fact that you’ll take your case to the ombudsman if need be.

In some cases the bank will not offer you compensation but will instead take other action to try and help you out of your situation. They might arrange a payment plan for money you owe, or offer to stop any further charges being applied to your account. Alternatively, they might offer compensation but require that you use the money to pay debts that you have with the bank. Again, if you’re not happy with this you can try and negotiate or if that fails go to the ombudsman.

Going to the Ombudsman

If you have failed to reach a satisfactory arrangement with the bank, you can then complain to the ombudsman. You must have first written to your bank before you can do this and, unless you have received a rejection letter, you need to wait eight weeks from the date that you first write to your bank before going to the FSO.

To complain, you need to obtain the relevant form from the FSO. This can be done from their website (http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/), or by calling them on 0800 023 4567.

Though you do not need to make your response overly emotive, you do need to go into details about your specific details of your personal experience regarding the unfairness/hardship you’ve faced whilst dealing with the bank charges in question. When you return the from make sure you include copies of your correspondence with the bank.

Once you’ve returned the form, your case is in the hands of the ombudsman and they will contact you if they secure an offer of compensation from your bank or if they decide to launch a fully fledged investigation (though, this is comparatively rare.) Bear in mind that there’s no guarantee that you’ll receive an offer of money, as the ombudsman may well conclude that another form of help (as per the examples given up the article) might be more appropriate.

About half or cases are concluded within three months, but some will take longer so you may need to be patient. You certainly shouldn’t expect instant results.

Does Claiming Affect My Credit Rating?

Claiming compensation for bank charges has no effect on your credit score in of itself. However, it could affect your relationship with your bank and the repercussions might effect your financial freedom, or even your credit score.

For instance, if you claim due to being in financial hardship you could be switched onto a basic account which can restrict the way you use your money. If you’re put on a payment plan to help you manage your account in the wake of making a claim, be aware that this could bring down your credit score.

It is expected that the NHS will receive even more negligence complaints following the muddying of its reputation caused by the Stafford Hospital scandal.

Doubt over the validity of such claims will naturally begin to surface – and rightly so to an extent. Still, it is the genuine victims of medical malpractice who could suffer from this newfound scepticism and this is what concerns legal experts.

Before Stafford Hospital entered the headlines, there were still plenty of claims being filed in Britain; between 2010 and 2011, over £98million was paid out by the NHS in clinical negligence compensation (up from £42m the previous year).

Compensation is not a ‘jackpot’; one mistreatment case can permanently change the life of the victim – not to mention the lives of their family. Legal experts argue that, despite the prospective reports of a rise in scrupulous post-scandal claims, there are (and always have been) genuine people out there who deserve access to justice.

How to File a Medical Negligence Claim

The NHS explains your rights via the official website, when it comes to making a claim against it. You are legally entitled to:

• Have your complaint dealt with efficiently and investigated thoroughly
• Be kept up to date with the outcome of your grievance
• Pursue the case through the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, if you’re unsatisfied with how the NHS has handled your grievance so far
• Forward a claim for judicial review if you feel you have been directly impacted by an unlawful act or decision made by the NHS
• Receive compensation if you have been affected

In terms of actually fighting a case – the ideal route to justice is through an experienced legal service. Personal Injury Solicitor is the trading name of Bentley’s Solicitors, who encourage genuine victims of medical negligence to get in touch, should they want to pursue and win their case.

Of course, there are a variety of clinical malpractice case-types, from cancer misdiagnosis to serious prescription error; legal firms are well-versed in handling them all. Most importantly, they adapt to industry change and will be more than prepared for the impact a scandal like Stafford Hospital may have on a jury in court.

To better the chances of successful injury claims, professional legal assistance is the single best option to take, especially against the NHS today – which is predicted to receive surplus complaints from here on in.

From reclaiming mis-sold PPI to simply calling in old debts, gathering in these funds can end up making a big difference to your bank balance.

Tax is one area where you may well find that, rather than owing the government, you’re in fact due a rebate from HMRC. Due to the many complications that can arise in the way tax is calculated there are a wide range of scenarios that could potentially lead to you paying more tax than you should.

In this guide we’ll look at the various ways you could find yourself overpaying and how you can reclaim money if you’ve been billed incorrectly.

PAYE

In recent years millions of people have fallen foul to faults in the way tax is deducted from their pay. As a result, some people have made significant over-payments and could stand to be reimbursed with a substantial sum of money.

The majority of us pay our tax through the PAYE system. This is deducted automatically from your pay by your employer. How much is taken is determined by the tax code that applies to you. Since the introduction of new computer systems at HMRC in 2009, it’s been discovered that millions of people have been charged using incorrect tax codes. Most of these problems have been caused by failure to keep up to date information on workers’ personal circumstances.

For instance, if you’ve recently changed jobs and you’re employer fails to pass on the information, you could be taxed as if you’ve had two jobs. There have also been many cases of the system incorrectly charging people receiving work benefits such as a company car or medical insurance.

Whilst, often, if any of this information isn’t up to date it’ll be down to a communication breakdown between employers, it’s also important that you take steps to ensure the HMRC have the right information about you. For instance, if your moving house, you need to make sure you update them. Otherwise they may send a rebate to the wrong address.

As a policy, to avoid finding yourself on the wrong code, it can be worth informing HMRC every time there’s some sort of major change to your working situation. For example, if you change jobs, retire, take a break from work or leave the country, it’s important to make sure the tax authorities are given notice.

Such steps can help to ensure you don’t get put on the wrong tax code in future. To establish whether you’re currently on the right code, you first need to understand how they’re formulated;

How Can I Tell if My Tax Code is Wrong?

The first thing to do is track down your code. The easiest way of doing this is to find one of your pay slips. (If you haven’t been keeping your payslips you should start doing so.) You can also find the code on your P45 and P60 forms. If you’re struggling to track these forms down you can also obtain the code by giving HMRC a ring. If you have your National Insurance number handy and are able to answer their standard security questions, they’ll be able to give you the information.

The next step to finding out if you’re being incorrectly charged is to establish what this code means. Once you’ve tracked down your code you’ll see it comprises of a three figure number followed by a letter.

The number is determined by how much you are legally allowed to earn before you have to start paying tax. For the majority of people this will simply be the basic personal allowance which is £8,015 for the 2012/2013 tax year. However of you receive extra tax credits (such as blind person’s allowance, or maintenance payment relief) then they should be added to this. Likewise, if you are subjected to any deductions (taxable earnings that aren’t taken from you at source, such as rent paid to you, or working benefits) these will be subtracted from the figure.

They’ll then use the first three numbers of this figure as the first part of your tax code. So for example, if you just had the personal allowance with no extras or deductions, your code would start 801.

The letter refers to your personal circumstances, specifically those which might complicate your tax situation. L is the most common code, but there are many possibilities. For instance, a K code applies where your deductions outweigh you your allowances, and NT where no tax applies (usually because you’re living abroad.)

As we’ve established, the most common code is 801L. This should apply if you are under 65 and earning less than £100,000 in one job without any extra benefits. If this is your situation and you have some other code it may well be wrong.

If you are starting a job for the first time, returning to work after a lengthy absence or returning to the country you may be placed on a code of BR with no numbers if you don’t have a P45 on starting and have completed a P46 before being paid for the first time. You need to ensure you are put onto a tax code that reflects your income and situation.

If you are of retirement age you should have filled out a P161 for HMRC. If you haven’t, you could be on the wrong code. You should have a P at the end of your code in aged 65-74 and a Y if over 75. In these age brackets you also have a larger personal allowance (currently £10,500 and £10,660 respectively). If you earn more than £25,400 this allowance will start going down depending on how much you earn.

If you’re a higher or additional rate tax payer receiving a range of professional perks you may expect to be on a T code reflecting your more complex state of affairs. If you have more than one income, you’ll also have more than one tax code. If this the case, it’s likely that your second income will be taxed entirely at the base rate, resulting in a BR code, but if it amounts to enough to be taxed at higher or additional rate in of itself, you’ll get D0 or D1 respectively.

Of course, there are many factors that go into making your tax code, so it’s impossible to make general statements as to what it should be know without being familiar with an individual’s tax affairs. However, if having been given an outline of the codes work you find yourself suspecting yours is wrong, there’s a good chance you should follow up on your hunch.

Getting Your Overpaid Tax Refunded

You need to get in contact with HMRC and let them know that you believe there’s an issue with your code and why you think it’s incorrect. They will investigate and let you know if there has indeed been an error.

When they’ve established how much you’re owed they will confirm your rebate by post. (Bear in mind that they will never user email or a phone call to discuss the details of a refund. If you are contacted in this way, it may be a scam.)

For monies owed form the current tax year you will be refunded by your employer via your regular pay. For claims pertaining to previous tax years, you’ll be sent a cheque or, if you prefer, you can arrange a BACS transfer. You may even receive (extremely modest) interest on top of the money you’re owed. You can claim as far as four years back if it transpires you’ve been overpaying that long.

More commonly referred to as a ‘no win, no fee’, conditional fee agreements (CFAs) provide an alternative way of funding certain types of proceedings. Though not all firms offer such agreements, those that specialise in winning their clients compensation in personal injury claims and other similar work will often employ them as standard procedure.

A CFA is a binding agreement that states that the fees and expenses incurred in the course of your case will only be payable in certain circumstances. What these circumstances will be exactly varies from agreement to agreement, but in general the key condition will be that your case is won.

Obviously, this arrangement means your solicitor has no guarantee of being paid for their work. To offset this risk, it is common for a ‘success fee’ (a bonus beyond their standard fees which is payable in the event that they win) to be a feature of CFA. This extra cost is normally expressed as a percentage of the standard fee and cannot exceed 100%.

However, if you’re pursuing a compensation claim, you needn’t necessarily worry about success fees diminishing your settlement. In cases where there is a dispute, it is standard practice for the loser to pay the winner’s costs, including any success fees. Of course, the order for the losing party to pay costs is at the judge’s discretion and, therefore, cannot be guaranteed.

By the same token, as losers generally pay the other side’s costs, if you do engage a solicitor to work for you on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis, you’re still putting yourself at risk financially. Though you won’t have to pay your own solicitor, you may need to pay the other sides should you lose.

One way of mitigating this risk is to take out legal expense insurance, which will cover you in the event that you do end up incurring fees. Fortunately, you can obtain this insurance even after proceedings have been planned or commenced. This is known as ‘after the event’ insurance. Before you take out such a policy, be sure to check that you’re not already covered for legal expenses as part of one of your existing insurance plans. Policies such as home insurance often contain ‘before the event’ legal expenses cover for scenarios where you need to bring a claim against someone for compensation relating to your house, a negligent plumber for example.

Though they can be acquired independently of each other, it’s common for legal expense insurance to be taken out in conjunction with a conditional fee agreement.

Further Reading

• A CFA could help you get the compensation you need following a road traffic accident. If you’ve suffered neck injuries in a crash thanks to the carelessness of another driver, be sure to read our guide to whiplash compensation.
• Not all compensation claims will require the help of legal professionals. If you’ve been mis-sold payment protection insurance for instance, you should be able to receive the money you’re entitled to without any outside help. Take a look at our guide on what to do if you’re owed PPI for more information.

• What Counts as Whiplash?
• How Much Will I Receive?
• How do I go About Claiming Compensation?

Making a claim for whiplash compensation isn’t always as easy as the popular media lead us to believe. There’s a wide range of things you should know before embarking on a claim, from how the severity of injuries are judged, to the different ways you can go about seeking a settlement. This comprehensive guide aims to throw light on the whole process and leave you in a position to get the compensation you deserve.

What Constitutes Whiplash?

‘Whiplash’ is commonly used as an umbrella term to describe soft tissue injuries to the neck resulting from road traffic accidents, typically rear end collisions. The main feature of a whiplash injury is hyperextension or hyperflexion (where tendons and ligaments are forced passed their natural limits) occurring in the neck as the head is thrown forward by the force of the impact.

These injuries can be sustained at very low speeds and, frequently, whiplash occurs where one car was completely stationary and the other was travelling at speeds of just a few miles per hour. Sometimes pain will be immediate, but is not uncommon for the symptoms of whiplash, which tend to include reduced movement of the neck and headaches, to only present themselves in the days after the traffic accident. This is because swelling, bruising and stiffness take time to develop.

Whilst only a small number of such injuries go on to cause lasting damage, it’s still important to receive immediate medical treatment to avoid prolonged discomfort. This is especially important if you find you have a sense of vertigo or are experiencing blurred vision. (You can find a full list of whiplash symptoms from the NHS.)

More serious cases are known as ‘chronic whiplash’. This where the symptoms from the initial incident persist for six months or more. The drawn out nature of chronic whiplash can lead to other emotional and psychological problems developing, such as anxiety and depression.

How Much Compensation Will I Be Able to Claim?

If you suffer your injuries (not only neck but back and shoulder among others) as a result of an accident that was demonstrably the fault of another party you may be entitled to make a whiplash compensation claim. How much you can expect to receive will depend on a number of factors, but how long you’ve suffered as a result of the condition and the severity of your impairment will be the primary considerations.

The Judicial Studies Board sets out broad guidelines for how to award in general damages in cases pertaining to personal injuries. These guidelines are regularly adjusted but generally speaking a case where the symptoms are resolved within a year could be expected lead to a compensation payment of £1,000 to £2,500.

If recovery takes up to two years the figure may be closer to £5,000. If the symptoms are ongoing you could be looking at £16,000. In rare cases where you are left in a severe suffering for the rest of your life due to a whiplash injury, the sums paid out can be several times higher.

These are, of course, only rough guidelines. How much you will actually receive will depend entirely on the specifics of your individual case. A more accurate indication of how much you may be eligible to receive can be given to you by a personal injury lawyer using their knowledge of your type of symptoms to reference similar injury claims and see how much courts have awarded in the past.

As well as claiming for ‘general damages’ (the impact on your health), you could also be eligible to receive compensation for ‘special damages’; things such as loss of earnings resulting directly from your condition and your inability to work, the cost of nurses or carers required during your recovery and expenses relating to damage to your vehicle are all recoverable as special damages (though it’s important to keep receipts for all such as costs.)

How Do I Claim Whiplash Compensation?

There are a number of different routes you can pursue when making a whiplash accident claim. One of the simplest methods is to seek an out of court settlement with your insurer. However, this can often result in a much lower payment and can come with added conditions. For example, the payment may be staggered over a lengthy period of time, rather than being awarded as a lump sum. Furthermore, you may be asked to forgo your right to make additional claims in the future. Always be wary of offers made before you’ve received a prognosis from a medical professional, as you may be tempted to settle for much less than you’re entitled to.

You can also contact a personal injury solicitor. Usually, you’ll be offered an introduction to a solicitor through your insurance company. It’s worth bearing in mind that this a large source of revenue for the insurer as they’re able to essentially sell your case on for a referral fee.

It can, therefore, be well worth your while to find a specialist accident claims company or an independent solicitor with relevant experience to take on your case, preferably on a ‘no win no fee’ basis.

As previously discussed, the value of your claim is largely determined by how long your injury lasts for. To get a good idea of the time it’ll take for your symptoms to resolve, and for an expert assessment of just how serious they are, you need to see a medical professional. Obviously, getting their advice will be extremely important for your own well being, but it’ll also act as vital evidence should you decide to make a claim. A solicitor should be able to put you in touch with a medical professional with no links to insurers.

Furthermore, a specialist whiplash solicitor (or company) should have arrangements in place with organisations with treatment providers and replacement vehicle services which they can offer at no cost (the money being recovered from the other side).

If you have legal expenses insurance you’ll have the bonus of having the costs of making your claim covered, but don’t forget, you’re still entitled to engage a solicitor of your own choosing, even if your insurers put somebody else forward to you.

Up until you have a solicitor onboard, make sure you are documenting your case as much as possible. Keep a record of things like consultations with GPs or losses related to your injury and make sure you can back up anything you’d want to refer to in your claim.

This is important for out of pocket expenses that you’d look to claim back as ‘special damages’ as you need to be able to show that they are directly linked to your whiplash and haven’t been spent for any other reason. For example, if you are forced to cancel a skiing trip, ensure you have documentation from your doctor stating that this was necessary due to your whiplash.

When you are made an offer of whiplash compensation, you have to think carefully before accepting a settlement because, once you do, you can make no further claims for the same injury. So, should it later transpire that your injuries are much more serious and long term than you initially thought, you’ll be unable to get extra compensation to reflect this development.

Finally, bear in mind that from a legal standpoint you’ll be normally expected to make your claim within 3 years of the road accident occurring, and you may find that many an injury lawyer is reluctant to take whiplash compensation cases where the incident occurred two or more years ago, as it makes gathering the required evidence and reports much harder work.