UK Consumer groups have joined forces in an advertising campaign showing victims of the payment protection insurance mis-selling scandal how easy it is to claim their money back themselves.

The publicity drive, from Money savingexpert.com and Which?, will hit back at advertising by claims management companies that often take a quarter of any payout plus VAT when they act on behalf of consumers.

Campaigners said £5 billion (€6 billion) in mis-sold PPI is yet to be claimed, and with a typical payout of £2,750 (€3,366), people could end up paying £825 (€1,010) to a claims management company for something they could “easily” do themselves for free.

The groups are launching a radio advertising campaign to increase public awareness about how people can reclaim their cash themselves.

The advert says: “Forget ‘no win no fee’. Far better is no fee.”

They will also hold a PPI summit with major banks and credit card providers on Monday next week, with the aim of working together to “restore trust” in the reclaiming process. A separate meeting will also be arranged with representatives of claims management companies.

Moneysavingexpert.com founder Martin Lewis said claims management companies often used template letters similar to the ones given out by the consumer bodies for free.

He said: “Worse still, the huge cash generated means their adverts are everywhere. That’s why Which? and Moneysavingexpert.com, who together have helped thousands reclaim PPI for free, are teaming up to get a simple message out: you don’t need to pay to reclaim, you can do it yourself and keep all of your cash for free. In most cases it’s easy.”

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which pays money out when a company which has mis-sold PPI has gone bust, has said more than three-quarters of consumers are making claims to it through claims management companies, but customers are just as likely to secure compensation if they make the claim themselves.

The Financial Ombudsman Service expects to have to settle a record 130,000 PPI cases this year and has warned that disputes are likely to be more “entrenched”.