Are you asking yourself have I got PPI? Have you filed your PPI claims yet? If you haven’t, it might turn out to work in your favor and with Christmas creeping up on us, parents all over the UK can do with extra cash.

The BBC reported in August that more than 2.5 million PPI claims, signed off as done and dusted, are to be reopened amid claims of underpayment in some cases and, far worse, of outright rejection of perfectly legitimate claims in other cases.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has said that banks are to look at these cases again because of fears raised that claimants have been treated unfairly for a second time. First, it was the mis-spelling itself and now it’s the process of trying to get back the money that is rightfully theirs.

One expert has estimated the total amount for the short-changing as being in the region of £1 billion, or around £400 per claimant on average.

Err On The Side of Caution

No one really knows just how widespread the short-changing of PPI refunds has spread or if it is still happening, so it might be safe to err on the side of caution and assume it could happen with your claims.

So how can you protect yourself from being short-changed with your refund or having a legitimate claim outright rejected?

The simplest thing you can do is to get a PPI calculation prior to filing your claims. Having a good idea of how much your refund offer should be before you submit any claims will give you a good idea of what kind of offer you should expect to receive from your bank.

If the offer you receive is considerably less than what you were expecting, you can then challenge your bank on it and most likely receive a second (and better) offer. And if your bank still doesn’t offer you what you believe you are owed, you can take your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) and have it independently adjudicated.

How To Get Your PPI Calculation

While it’s possible to calculate your own PPI refund figure, not everyone has a head for figures, especially when there are often variables involved. If that sounds like you, your best bet is to use a service that will help you come up with a reliable figure that you can expect to receive from your bank.

You can use a PPI calculator that will provide you with a reliable figure that you can then use to compare against the offer you receive from your bank and ensure you get back every penny you are owed.