Warning: Only 3mths left to reclaim PPI 
Today we reveal the biggest PPI payout we've seen - a life-changing £175,000

 Use it as inspiration to check if you're owed £1,000s - and we show how to do it for FREE and beat the deadline

A jaw-dropping £34.4 billion has already been paid to millions who were mis-sold PPI - but hundreds of millions of pounds is still to be repaid. While we've screamed about how to reclaim for years, now our clarion call has added urgency ahead of the 29 Aug deadline. So check NOW if you're owed via our Free PPI reclaim tool and guide.

To spur you on, a retired MoneySaving couple from Swindon today tell their story of how they've cleared their mortgage and have become debt-free after reclaiming a remarkable £175,000 on various credit cards and a loan going back 20yrs.

Jane says: "We originally thought about applying but didn't. Then we read all the information on MSE and gave it a go. The banks made it difficult but we kept on going and succeeded.

"Getting this money has given us peace of mind as we can look forward to retirement debt-free." For more, see Jane and Bob's incredible £175,000 PPI reclaim.

Typical payouts are unsurprisingly far lower, but we regularly see £1,000s returned. So if you've had a loan, credit card, mortgage, overdraft, catalogue debt or car finance in the last 30yrs+, here's how to check if you're owed too.

The bank, card firm etc must have your complaint by 11.59pm on 29 Aug or your claim won't be processed - though in reality the deadline is a little earlier that day for posted letters. If you do it by then, it doesn't matter how long the rest of the reclaim process takes - as long as you hit this deadline.

Yet as you may need to do a bit of prep work, start checking if you can claim right away. And don't leave submitting your claim till the last minute anyway as it can just take the postman losing a letter or an email going astray and you're stuffed.

There's nothing wrong with the concept of payment protection insurance - which covers loan, card, overdraft, mortgage and catalogue debt repayments if you can't make 'em - but banks and others massively overcharged and systemically mis-sold it for decades. This created the UK's biggest recent financial scam. There are two types of mis-selling:

• Some were outright mis-sold. Banks, car salespeople, shop assistants and others may have lied that PPI was compulsory, added it without asking or failed to ensure it was suitable - see the full mis-selling checklist.
  
  - How far back can you claim if mis-sold this way? You can go back as far as you like, though it can get harder for some if your PPI was taken out pre-2005.
   
  - How much will you get back? If outright mis-sold, you're entitled to the full amount of PPI you paid, plus interest charged by banks on the PPI itself. Whatever that total, you get an additional 8% a year on top - a bit like savings interest - as it's assumed you'd have put that in a savings account earning interest.
   
• Or are you one of millions overcharged commission? Even if you wanted PPI, you were likely mis-sold due to the excessive commission taken by banks and building societies. After a landmark 2014 ruling called Plevin (the surname of the successful claimant), if more than 50% of the PPI cost included undisclosed commission (most wasn't disclosed), you're due the extra above that.
   
  So just having had PPI means you may well have been mis-sold. Watch Martin's Plevin video to see how outrageous banks' and building societies' commission was.
  
  - How much can I get under Plevin? It depends on the commission, but on loans, lenders typically took a HUGE 67% for themselves. On a £10k loan over 5yrs, Plevin payouts are typically £500ish.
  
  - Can anyone claim under Plevin? No. The PPI and loan had to be active at some point since Apr 2008, though there can be exceptions. Also, you can't claim if you've already had a mis-selling payout, even if you didn't get the full sum back.
   
   - I think I had PPI but I'm not sure I was wrongly flogged it - should I just do a Plevin claim? NO. It's VITAL to check first if you were outright mis-sold PPI as you'll get a bigger payout. If the bank rejects your mis-selling claim, it should then automatically assess you for Plevin.

• First, check if you had PPI, even if you think you didn't. Scour all old credit card, mortgage, loan, store card and overdraft statements to see if there was PPI. It may also have been called 'payment insurance' or 'accident or sickness cover'.
  
   - Can't remember the lender? All debts active in the last 6yrs are on your credit report(s) even if the accounts were opened earlier. Get your Experian report for free via the MSE Credit Club, plus see how to check other reports . It won't show whether you had PPI, just the lenders to check with.
   
   - Not got paperwork? You can request it from your lender, and as long as the account was active in the past 6yrs the firm must keep details, regardless of when you opened it, and therefore give them to you. If it was closed more than 6yrs ago you can still ask for paperwork or whether you had PPI at all, but there's no certainty it'll have this info.
  
  Once you've sorted your paperwork, follow the steps below...
   
• Not claimed before? Do it yourself for FREE. You DON'T need to pay to reclaim - claims handlers typically take a third of your payout, often £1,000s, and do very little you can't do yourself. To do it easily, use our free reclaiming tool, powered by complaints site Resolver. It'll send your claim direct to the bank, building society etc that sold the PPI.
  
  For inspiration, here's Rhoda's story: "I would like to say a big thank you for my successful overdraft PPI claim. Received £3,000 from Barclays in less than three weeks of claiming via Resolver."
   
• If rejected on a new claim, go to the free Financial Ombudsman Service. Sometimes when you contact banks and building societies, they say "fair cop" and pay out £1,000s in a few days.
   
  But if they wrongly reject you (as many do) and you've exhausted their complaints processes, you've 6mths to take your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service. This independent body can adjudicate and, if it upholds your claim, force banks to pay you back.
  
  Via our free reclaim tool you can easily escalate the case to the ombudsman if you're turned down. If you're struggling or unsure, call its helpline on 0800 121 6222.
   
• Even if previously rejected, many should claim again. There are 1.2m whose claims were turned down by banks, building societies and other firms (even where the ombudsman agreed with the rejection) who are now eligible again under Plevin. You should have been notified by whoever sold you PPI - if not, claim anyway.
  
  What's more, after a ruling on commission payments in Nov, up to 150,000 previously rejected claimants should have received letters from lenders saying they can reapply.
  
  If you got one, act on it. If you still have details from your previous claim, use those to help with your new one. However, don't worry if you don't have them as you can still try. With our free Plevin reclaim tool you only need to fill in a few straightforward details.

• Payouts are normally taxed - so check if you're due this back. Most firms deduct tax automatically at the basic 20% rate on the 'savings' interest element of payouts (explained above) - not on the actual PPI you paid to the lender. While firms are only following HMRC instructions, millions could be due this money back as under the personal savings allowance - in place since April 2016 - most can now earn £1,000/yr of savings interest tax-free.
  
  So if your payout was since then, you could be due £100s back if you needn't have paid savings tax. Read Martin's blog for info on how this works or check our guide for how to reclaim PPI tax.