Withdraw Deadline Asu For Full Money Back

Just contact the ombudsman and ask it to take on your case. The Resolver tool allows you to do this. The ombudsman will then look at each case individually, so if yours is a matter of you saying one thing happened but the company disagrees, the ombudsman will decide if it thinks the company acted fairly.

As the party with responsibility to provide full details of the insurance, the lender is expected to have more evidence on what happened to back up its case.

In the last few years, of the cases that needed to go as far as the ombudsman, around two-thirds were awarded in consumers' favour. And even if yours isn't, there's no penalty for losing – it just means you don't get the money back.

Let it know your story – the non-Resolver route

If you haven't already filled in the PPI questionnaire in the template letter section you'll need to do this now. Enclose copies of any paperwork that backs up your case. If you need help at any stage call the ombudsman's helpline on 0800 0234 567 (or 0300 123 9123 from a mobile).

Everyone also needs to fill in a copy of the ombudsman's complaint form:

You can either do this via its online form – which allows you to fill out the PPI questionnaire at the same time – or you can use one of the forms below...

Editable Word document

Printable PDF version

Again, it's quite simple to fill in, though do take care. To help, we've written a guide which takes you through the questions step by step. It's written in Microsoft Word so you can easily cut and paste sections, or print it and have it next to you as you're filling in the ombudsman's form.

Ombudsman complaint form help

Sometimes this will take a long time, maybe even a couple of years, as the ombudsman deals with huge numbers of complaints. Though don't worry – you can leave the matter to the ombudsman to resolve and it will contact you with any offers from your lender.

If you think the ombudsman wrongly turned you down

The ombudsman's decision is usually made by an assigned adjudicator, but if you disagree with the result, you can ask for a formal decision to be made by one of the official ombudsmen at the service. This usually takes several months as it involves a detailed investigation into your case, but don't be afraid to push your complaint further if you think the initial decision isn't right.

After that, while the finance company must accept the ombudsman's decision, you still have the right to take the company to court – see the 'Use a claims handling firm?' section – if you don't agree with the result.

It's also worth noting that if you feel the ombudsman hasn't handled your case correctly, eg, there have been unnecessary delays, you can ask for a senior manager to review it. If that doesn't resolve things you've a right to go to the Independent Assessor, though this is only about quality of service, not the actual decision made.

For other complaints the ombudsman can help with, see our Your Financial Rights guide.

When won't the easy route work?

The ombudsman can only help with complaints about Financial Services Authority (FSA)/Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)-regulated companies. All PPI sales from January 2005 are regulated by the ombudsman, but some earlier policies aren't. Any provider that was regulated before this will be covered by the ombudsman, so all banks' and building society loans should be fine.

Sadly, if you got PPI in 2004 or earlier and the provider wasn't FSA/FCA-regulated (such as car dealerships, window installers or some hire purchase arrangements), the ombudsman has no jurisdiction. This makes reclaiming trickier, though it's still worth trying.

Call the ombudsman to check – it'll put you in touch with any other organisations that may be able to help, including the Finance & Leasing Association, Association of British Insurers or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if your lender's gone bust.

Please share your experiences in the PPI non-ombudsman reclaiming and Companies in default forum discussions.