The idea of Payment Protection Insurance is to help consumers feel secure that in the event of something unforeseen, they are covered for repaying their debts. But the truth about how banks and lenders use the product has emerged; it has been sold to people who are unaware, cant afford it or want it but don’t know they are ineligible. Most banks cunningly tag on PPI to any loan or credit and bank are pressured with bonus incentives to sell as much as possible.

Theoretically, PPI is a great item for consumers, particularly in view of the rising rate of unemployment in the UK where people are being made redundant regularly. Ideally, a short spell of unemployment shouldn’t hamper your ability to repay a mortgage, but the reality is quite the opposite; lenders will avoid paying out at all costs, often claiming that an individual is not able to take advantage of the system based on some technicality.

The worst of the con is that you will most likely not be able to ever use the insurance in the event of an emergency, for example; if you are over 65, employed or otherwise, you could not claim PPI because you are over the age of retirement. If you have a previously documented medical condition, no matter how small, you would not be eligible for the insurance as you will be considered a high risk customer and as you are more likely take leave on medical grounds. If you are self employed, you are considered a high risk customer, so you will not be entitled to PPI. But in any of these circumstances, banks will have no problem adding it on to a service with no intention of paying if required.

PPI can be worth more than 30% of your monthly repayments so for a 100,000 loan, over 5 years, this could work out at 500 a month that you needn’t be spending. However it is quite easy to claim back so someone who has been paying for PPI for the last 10 years on a mortgage could be entitled to a nice hefty lump sum.

The have been thousands of cases of banks mis-selling PPI just like this and if you are one of them, you are legally entitled to a full refund. You may need to be persistent with the banks and this can take time so it is sometimes easier to enlist a legal professional to do it for you. Doing this can save you all the legwork and give your claim much more authority, most agencies work on a no-win-no-fee basis so you will not be out of pocket. After a watchdog ruling in 2009 lenders are now required to correctly sell PPI to customers ensuring they are not overpriced, customers can chose to opt out at any time and they are fully covered.

There are many loan protection reclaim experts out there to help you claim back your PPI, contact Donns LLP for the best advice

When credit consumers take out a new financial service such as credit, a loan or new mortgage they are also offered Payment Protection Insurance which protects them if they experience difficulties in paying for the loan by means of unemployment, injury etc.

Banks aren’t obliged to offer this service but if they do they are required to ensure they understand the background of the customer and are certain the PPI would cover them in the unforeseen.

Banks can exploit PPI in a few ways and the most common is simply allowing the customer to select PPI, simply by ticking a box and this releases the bank from the responsibility to correctly sell a customer the right product. If that customer happens to be unlucky enough to need the PPI, the chances are they will not be eligible for the product they have paid for.

The cover they buy could insure them for the wrong value of their financial service and in most instances if the unforeseen does happen, they are not eligible for the insurance. This has left thousands of customers in financial ruin when not being able to pay back a loan after an accident or cover their mortgage when they have been made redundant.

A second method is much worse, by means of signing a contract a customer can be unknowingly accepting to pay for PPI when buying a financial service; this is likely to be complexly written into the small print thus avoiding any legal indiscretion.

This kind of scamming has accounted for almost 1bn profit for the UK banks in the last year and with the number of unemployed remaining high this figure is likely to increase. It has reportedly affected over 8000 families in the UK in 2009. Many families are seeking compensation to claim back their PPI payments.

Want to find out more about PPI Claims, then visit Dons LLP site on how to choose the best Mis Sold Payment Protection Insurance for your needs.