It’s a big thing in the UK. Just Google it and you’ll be amazed by the number of search results.

Radio stations drive you nuts constantly playing annoying adverts making you idiotically sing along, ‘Have I got PPI??’

You don’t dare pick up the phone to unknown or witheld numbers, as 99.9% of the time it’s about PPI claims. It could be a cold call if you are lucky, or a pre-recorded message. If it’s the latter and you were stupid enough to answer the phone, you quickly drown in cold sweat, remembering all those horrific stories of telephone scam where you end up paying an enormous bill simply because you picked up the phone. Modern age paranoia or what?

To cut the long story short, a new piece of legislation came into force a few years ago allowing people to claim compensation for missold payment protection policy on any financial products they hold. And, as UK institutions are famous for their long-winded bureaucracy, this is how a new business trend emerged: lots of big and small financial specialists whose sole purpose seems to be handling your PPI claim quickly and efficiently.

For the average Brit this could ring an alarm bell. It must be really complicated to claim, if everyone wants to help me. Or is it? Who the hell are these people, and most importantly, can I trust them with my financial information?

My answer to this is NO. Having suffered the consequences of using the services of a so called independent financial advisor once, I swore to never make this mistake again. So I decided to give it a go myself. After all, what is there to lose? They’ll either accept my claim and give me some money, or they won’t.

A few years ago I already did this. Apparently some 12 years ago I had some kind of a loan that I had a PPI for. All I remember is that there was a couple of phone calls concerned and some paperwork, but nothing major – and I got myself a reasonable amount of money back. Now I realised I had a credit card with PPI a few years ago, so why not try and claim compensation again? Surely it must be complicated if they are drumming up all this publicity.

I still had the letter from that previous claim, so logically I decided to call the same old number. Surprisingly, it still worked. And they kept details of that credit card I didn’t even remember about. So I got a full explanation of the process, I was given a timescale and was told to expect a questionnaire in the post. All sounded like it was going to be a real pain.

Letter didn’t arrive, so I got wondering, maybe this is why those firms exist, to chase banks and defend your interests? Eventually, the letter arrived, but the deadline to reply had already passed… like two weeks ago! Quiet panic. I blew it. Should have used a specialist, stupid woman. Still, I decided to fill in the form. Nothing too complicated – not to anyone who can read and write, anyway. Sent it off and prepared for a loooong wait.

A week later I got a letter marked ‘Private and Confidential’. My claim was upheld and I was offered an amount of money I was perfectly happy with. The letter was very seriously worded, this was their final decision and I could appeal within a given deadline. Why would I? No idea, I had no intention to.

Money arrived into my bank account within a few days. No hassle, no need for any phone calls. All I had to do to claim my PPI compensation was one phone call and one form to complete.

Moral of the story? It’s pretty obvious. Maybe I’m not as brain-washed as other people in this country, or maybe not as greedy as others who hope that using a specialist will result in a large amount of money.

No idea. All I know is it was straightforward and relatively quick. So don’t fall for any of it. Do it yourself.