The deadline for filing a PPI claim (29th August) has now passed, so lots of people are now asking me if the date was set in stone, or if they can still claim. Here’s what you need to know:
General Rule
The default position is that if you did not get your claim in before 11:59pm on 29th August, it is now too late. However, lenders are not legally prohibited from accepting PPI claims after the deadline and there are some circumstances where my feeling is that they will make an exception to the general rule.
The possible exceptions
If you filed your complaint online before the deadline and the lender is claiming that they did not receive it, you may still be ok. You should gather any evidence you have to show that you
did indeed file on time, such as a screenshot, electronic, or any other form of acknowledgement. My view is that in these circumstances the lender will allow you to submit a further copy of your claim.
If you intended to file a claim but did not do so due to an ‘exceptional circumstance’ you may be ok. An exceptional circumstance would be an event which was outside of your control and made it impossible for you to deal with your claim on time , such as you or a family member being seriously ill, being in an accident, or some other similar event. In this respect, the Financial Conduct Authority (the Regulator) has made it clear that it expects lenders to treat customers fairly, which means they should be taking account of these types of situations when assessing whether to accept a late application.
