Below are some suggested questions to ask of a company that you plan to use to help you claim back PPI.
Is the company regulated by the appropriate authority? If you are using a firm of solicitors then they will be regulated by The Law Society and more specifically by the SRA (Solicitors Regulation Authority).
If you use a claim handling firm then they will be regulated by the MOJ (Ministry of Justice) and will have a reference that you can check in the MOJ's database.
This is directly from the MOJ website: "Who needs to be authorised? All persons providing a regulated claims management service must be authorised by the Claims Management Regulator unless they are covered by an exemption.
" Avoid any firm that is not regulated.
Reputation of the company involved It's important that you pick the right business to help you.
Things you should be asking are: * What is your average settlement time? * What is the average amount of compensation that you recover? * How much do you charge? * In what percentage of cases that you agree to take on do you help people to successfully claim back PPI? It is worth searching the internet and discussion forums for anything related to the firm.
You are more likely to find discussions on service dissatisfaction just because people are more motivated to make these posts than the opposite.
Keep a note of the volume and nature of the complaints.
How long have has the business been established? Because of the volumes involved both in terms of potential complainants and settlement figures and also due to the relative ease of setting up a claims firm there have been many new firms established.
You ideally want a reliable, long established firm with competent staff and adequate systems in place to deal with your claim.
How many people have you helped successfully claim back PPI? Here you are looking to engage a capable firm that has not fallen afoul of any of the lenders and one that has a proven track record of successful claims recoveries.
The last thing that you want is a firm that has yet to cut their teeth or refine their systems.
Ask them specifically for a number and don't be fobbed off.
This will be information that management have readily to hand and if they're reluctant to offer a number tick the cons box.
These questions will help you to get started in your quest to claim back PPI.