To ask a completely moronic question about PPI?

[checkingforballoons]

Yes, I am embarrassed to be asking such a stupid question but Google isn’t helping What information do I actually need to give to a company that looks into whether you’re owed anything? Would full name and previous addresses suffice or do they need more detail - account numbers and whatnot?
Please dumb down answers massively

Please don’t, a massive amount of said companies are useless or scams (or both). Google “ppi money savingexpert” and follow the guidance on there,It’s quite simple to follow.

They're not all scams at all. I used a PPI company and got thousands back. It was absolutely worth their fee to pay them to do the legwork.

Honestly - what Typhers said. Go to MoneySavingExpert website (I'll find you the exact link in a minute) and you can do it yourself in less than a minute. You don't need any documents.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/ppi-loan-insurance/#resolver

Do it yourself and avoid handing over 40% of your refund to a bunch of charlatans!

Let them do the donkey work - We've had over 15K back.

You don't need to use a company. I used to work for a bank PPI redress department and all they do is send a standard letter. They can't get anything any quicker or get you more money than if you did it yourself. All you need to do is put your details on a letter requesting your mis-sold PPI and the bank will do it for you

And to answer your question, all you need to supply is your name and all previous addresses. They send you a checklist of all the loan and credit card companies you might have used and you just tick the ones that are applicable. If you're not sure just tick it anyway.

If you have any idea what banks you would have had loans with they usually have a form on their website to complete. I think I just needed name address and date of birth. I didn’t have any account numbers or any details and the bank found loans from the 1990s, I got £3k back which was a total surprise as I didn’t think I was eligible at all!

Try directly with the banks if you can before using a claims company. If you use a company then do check out the %age they take first.

I rang the bank's own PPI complaints department, was asked for name, DOB and address/relevant previous addresses and they did the rest. I received a form in the post to fill in additional details (most of which I couldn't remember so left blank) which I sent back and 8 weeks later I received my payment. It really is that simple

Thanks all! I have looked at MSE but I’m not entirely sure who I’ve had accounts with over the years.
I think what I’m after is a company that I can just give my name, DOB and previous addresses to and let them do the digging, if that’s possible!

It is possible. I did exactly that with the Fair Trade Practice. As I said, got thousands and their cut was worth it - after all, the money was a bonus.

There is no donkey work though. You give your details to the bank, not the PPI company.

But Wingbing I know I’ve had store cards etc, that would require going to those specific companies wouldn’t it?

The information you give to a PPI claim company that takes a % is the same information you'd use to claim yourself for free.

They're stealing a living.

I've got about £15k back in total for me, DH and my dad, for the cost of stamps.

I didn't even have account numbers or dates for many of the applications.

So Flisspaps, I can do it myself without necessarily knowing who I had accounts with or what the details of those accounts are/were? Where would I go to start? I assumed you’d have to go to the company you had the account with.

I just wrote to all past and present credit card companies and gave my name a address at the time (or a couple of addresses if I wasn't sure) and my DOB. Did the job. No need to involve a 3rd party.

Thing is to do it yourself you have to know who to write to.

FFS, there is no legwork. You are handing over 40% of your money for nothing (I work in PPI). You can apply through resolver on MSE website to any lender that you think you had PPI with. It takes a few minutes and the lender will investigate for you.

I did a claim directly to my old bank almost as a joke - I'd had some personal loans in the 80's and 90's
I closed my last account with them over ten years ago.
The £4500 will come in very handy :-)

I used the Fair Trade Practice recently and they were decent but I got nothing back as I’d never had PPI.
You will need to let them know who to write to though as well as your previous addresses so I jotted this all down before I spoke to them.
Can you recall any companies you’ve had credit with? I don’t know if Fair Trafe Practice will just write to every credit company going for people who don’t know who they’ve had credit with?

hi, just to join the party, but what if you aren't sure where you may have had e.g. store cards or loans, then a PPI company would basically do a search for you and see if there were any?

I mean, I've had the same bank account for years, but numerous credit cards and I cannot remember them all, nor have I kept records from that long ago.

do they charge if there is actually no PPI to be claimed??

To be clear, although I said Fair Trade Practice were decent, I only let them do it because I was 99% certain I’d never taken out PPI and I had had credit in the past with around 20 companies so basically couldn’t be bothered writing to all of them myself and I let them confirm it for me.
It really is super easy to do it yourself as PP have said.

Op I think you still have to know who you had loans with. I tried and failed using the PPI companies as they said they had no records of my info (maybe it was too old? From the 90s) - from what I recall I still had to know which companies i’d had credit cards with though. Unless, like someone else said, you just tick all the boxes for ALL the lenders and just hope for the best! But if that’s the case, you’d need to use a PPI company and not DIY as you wouldn’t know who to write to. Does that make sense? I got bored in the end and also it took AGES and then I just gave up... I probably should have followed it up more judging by this thread.

Ok so the best solution might be to contact anyone I can remember myself and then once those are resolved perhaps use a company that will do a more general check, even if they do take s big cut (it’s money I wouldn’t have had anyway)
Thanks all!

I used the Resolver form on Money Saving Expert, which was super easy, and got £5k off a credit card provider which I half remembered selling me something when I was 18. Absolutely no need to use one of the services which takes a cut.