How to claim your money back for free, from flight delays to PPI

If you’ve been disappointed by a recent service or item and you’ve got a few minutes to spare, here are consumer expert James Walker’s top ways to boost your bank account with some free cash.

Train reclaims

Wrong type of snow? Staff off sick? There are lots of reasons why your train home has been cancelled.

But you are entitled to compensation. You are entitled to get 50 per cent of your fare back if the train is delayed by more than 30 minutes and 100 per cent if it’s delayed by more than an hour.

Some firms refund automatically, but not many, so put a claim in if you’ve been delayed.

You might also be able to make a claim after a 15-minute delay – or if you’re a season-ticket holder.

Flight delays

If you’re delayed over three hours, you’re entitled to compensation – and in theory, you have up to six years to claim (though you’ll need the flight details).

PPI

The clock is ticking on PPI claims, you’ve got around a year and a half to get yours in.

Don’t give your cash to rip-off claims managers, find out if you had PPI, make a claim or learn more about how you could claim for compensation if you’ve been turned down previously with my free complaint app www.resolver.co.uk/ppi.

Specialist and ‘double’ insurance

Insurance companies spotted a huge growth industry a few years back in ‘bolt-on’ or specialist insurance products.

These policies often have low premiums and are for things that you don’t really need to insurance against (ID theft), are hard to claim on (warranties) or you’re already covered by existing insurance policies.

Go through your accounts and cancel the ones you don’t need. If you’re not sure about the value of a policy, speak to your home and contents provider to see what they can do to cover goods.

Don’t forget that you can avoid expensive increases in premiums when they renew by shopping around.

James Walker is the founder of consumer website Resolver.co.uk.

This article first appeared on our sister paper the i.