5 Tips for Choosing a Claims Management Company

There are lots of claims management companies out there looking to help you to claim back your mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance (PPI). How do you choose the right one? You want to make sure that you go with a company you can trust and that will have your best interests in mind at all times, since they will be dealing with your loan paperwork and your bank. And you also want to ensure that they are working their hardest for you to claim back any money for you that is rightfully yours.

Here are 5 tips for choosing the right claims management company for you:

1. Don’t pay an up front fee.

You should not have to pay anyone an up front fee for them to help you with your claim. There are lots of reputable companies out there that will help you without charging you an up front fee. In fact, the Ministry of Justice, which regulates this industry, discourages claims management companies from charging up front fees. Up front fees misalign the incentives of the customer and the claims management company – once the company gets an up front fee, they have less of an incentive to work hard to get you your money back. With no win, no fee, the customer and the company are perfectly aligned because if the customer doesn’t get any money back, then the company makes no money!

If you have been mis-sold your loan insurance or PPI, you have already had money taken from you. Why would a claims management company make this worse by asking you to put your hand in your pocket to start a PPI claim?

At the PPI Claimline, we don’t believe in asking our customers to put their hands in their pockets for up front fees so that our interests are perfectly aligned in claiming back your money.

2. Ask about hidden charges.

Some claims management companies appear to charge very low fees – 10%, 15%, 20%. You must dig a little deeper! Are there any hidden charges for document handling, requesting documents, returning documents, administration fees? What are they charging 10% of? Is it of the cash claim or the entire amount of the claim? Some companies even keep the 8% statutory interest.

At the PPI Claimline, we charge 25% + VAT of the cash amount you receive from your claim. There are no hidden charges, and we only get paid our fee if we win you money.

3. Check to make sure that the company is regulated by the Ministry of Justice.

You can go to the Ministry of Justice website to confirm that the company you choose is indeed regulated by the MoJ.

4. Confirm who will be writing your claim letter and dealing with the banks.

You want to ensure that you have trained professionals writing your claims letters and negotiating with the banks – that’s what you’re paying for! Some companies have automated form letters or untrained people dealing with your claims.

At the PPI Claimline, we have trained solicitors in-house ensuring that each claims letter reflects your unique case and that the banks are dealt with accordingly.

5. Don’t believe false promises.

The Ministry of Justice has warned the public and claims management companies about making false promises regarding guarantees to win money, guaranteed time frames to get your money back, and unenforceable credit agreements. No company can provide you with guarantees about how much money you’ll get back and when you’ll get the money back. Be wary of anyone who tells you otherwise.