PPI claims have been big news recently, as everyone was made aware that the deadline for making new mis-sold Payment Product Protection insurance (PPI) claims expired in August 2019. But was this strictly true?

The FCA redress system certainly came to an end in August of last year, but this did not end any entitlement to make a claim through the Courts.

There is therefore an exception to this rule, specifically related to commission paid on most PPI policies, otherwise known as ‘Plevin’ claims, named after the case law they are based on from 2014.

What is a ‘Plevin’ claim

Plevin claims are claims for compensation, following the sale of PPI on financial products (loans, credit cards etc).  The basis of the claim is that the commission which was paid to the seller was retained without telling the consumer, and often the amounts of the commission are so large that, following the Supreme Court ruling in Plevin, they render the relationship between the lender and consumer as unfair, in accordance with s.140A of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. 

In the Plevin case for example, the commission retained was in the region of 71%.  It is likely that for most consumers if they were informed a policy contained commission at this level then they would think twice about arranging the product.

Redress

S.140A of the Consumer Credit Act gives the Court wide powers of redress where it is determined that the relationship between a lender and consumer is unfair, and if the Claimant’s evidence is indeed that had they known of the level of the commission then they would not have arranged the PPI policy, then the Courts can and do give relief of the entire premium paid, plus interest.

Following the Plevin judgement in 2014, the FCA set up what was known as DICP redress.  Put basically, this provided a set of rules for redress to the consumer, so that where the commission element of any PPI premium exceeded 50%, known as the ‘tipping point’, then the lender was required to repay the amount of commission which exceeded this 50% level. Much less of course than the cost of the entire premium.

This is how many Plevin claims have been dealt with, and the part of the redress scheme which came to an end in August 2019.

Eligibility

Although the FCA redress scheme came to an end, any potential Claimant who has not already made any claim is of course still entitled to bring a claim through the Courts, subject to limitation.

However because the FCA redress system under compensated Claimants they may still be entitled to claim further damages through the Court even where a DICP award has been, and recover the difference between the award already received and full reimbursement of the entire premium, with interest.

The following criteria details whether you may still be eligible to claim for ‘Plevin’ compensation;

• Your PPI policy was sold before 6 April 2007 and open after 6 April 2008, or sold after 6 April 2007 (whether or not it was still open after 6 April 2008);
• You have not previously complained about Mis-sold PPI;
• You have had a PPI Claim rejected; or
• You had a refund for the ‘Plevin only’ part of your PPI (a ‘tipping point offer’).

If you think that any claim falls under this criteria, then it’s worth reviewing as further compensation may well be owed.

At Box Legal, we understand that PPI Plevin cases tend to move quickly. We have systems in place to allow you to get a policy on cover in a short space of time The After the Event Insurance policy for PPI Plevin claims is offered as a single monetary premium for all PPI Plevin cases, and they have been designed to be flexible and competitively priced and our policies are also now available with disbursement and WIP funding if required.

Get in touch for further information on the ATE PPI policies which we are able to offer.