THE mis-selling of Payment Protection insurance (PPI) was the biggest scandal perpetrated by the banks on us ordinary consumers.

If you took out a loan or a mortgage at any time over the last 15 years, the chances are you would have been sold PPI on top.

On many occasions people were sold PPI whether they wanted it or not. On other occasions people were told taking out the insurance was a condition of the loan.

PPI ensures the loan is paid in the event of you becoming unemployed, and it is sensible to insure the payments, especially for a mortgage.

However, it makes sense to shop around – the chances are you will get a better price and if you are self-employed, for example, you will need to find a suitable product.

The FSA found that the High Street banks were routinely selling PPI to consumers without checking whether they either wanted it or whether they would ever be able to claim against it and have now ruled that banks must refund with interest where consumers have been sold this product when they neither wanted or needed it.

This is going to cost the banks a lot of money. Friends of mine who have applied for refunds have been surprised by just how much they have got back.

And you do not need to go to a claims management company to get your refund. Just go to your lender and fill in the form. Claims management companies will do no more than you can and will charge a hefty percentage of your settlement for the privilege.

They are unregulated and are using questionable tactics to get your business. PPI refunds are proving a nice little earner for them, but take a tip from me and do it yourself. Nothing ventured, nothing gained and you might just get an unexpected windfall.