Stake your own claim, says Which?

Some claims management companies are discouraging consumers from claiming back excessive bank charges or mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI) by themselves, reveals an undercover investigation by Which?.

Researchers who posed as customers interested in making a claim found that almost a third of firms didn't meet Which? benchmarks.

Only 10 out of 38 companies asked about mis-sold PPI passed the Which? test. 12 of those that failed implied the researchers would be better off using their company rather than claiming independently, even though an independent claim costs nothing. This breaks rules set by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ).

A further 16 firms professed to have successfully claimed back money in 90 per cent or more of cases without properly qualifying this, while five companies couldn't say how they were regulated.

Advice about excessive bank charges claims was better, though some firms discouraged researchers from claiming themselves. Comments included "You can make the claim yourself but you will have to wait till maybe next year... [we can do it] straight away". One company didn't mention the ongoing bank charges court case.

Claims management companies typically charge a commission of 25 per cent, plus VAT, if a claim is successful and many also charge upfront fees.

Martyn Hocking, Editor, Which? magazine says: "Claims management companies have some very crafty ways to encourage you to use them, from exaggerating their success rates to suggesting they'd be more successful at getting your money back than if you did it yourself.

"Not only are the firms breaking rules in some of these cases, but making a claim for mis-sold PPI or bank charges is a simple process, and you can do it yourself for free."

Customers who feel they've paid excessive bank charges or have been mis-sold PPI can skip the middleman with Which? tools, template letters and information at which.co.uk/bankcharges and which.co.uk/ppiclaim.