31/08/2017
The disembodied head of Arnold Schwarzenegger will feature on TV, online and outdoor advertising media over the next two years in a surreal Financial Conduct Authority campaign to urge people who may have been mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI) to make a claim before the 29 August, 2019 deadline.
While over £27.4bn has been paid out since the FCA introduced rules for complaining in 2011, the major banks set aside more than £37bn to pay compensation. The FCA introduced the deadline to prompt people to check whether they had PPI and whether they wanted to make a complaint.
Designed to support the deadline by urging them ‘to act now’, the campaign is funded by the 18 banks, building societies and credit card providers who generated the most complaints for mis-selling PPI – usually alongside loans, credit cards, store cards and mortgages between the 1990s and 2010.
Customers whose previous complaints have been rejected may benefit from the judgment in ‘Plevin v Paragon Personal Finance Ltd, Supreme Court, Judgment 12 November 2014’, which ruled that failure by banks and other financial services firms to disclose large commissions for selling PPI was unfair to consumers. New rules allow claims for mis-selling where 50% or more commission was paid.
The firms have also agreed to make the process as easy as possible by
- providing an online option for submitting complaints
- ensuring complaint forms are as simple as possible
- supporting vulnerable customers
- provide free PPI checking processes
The FCA’s new dedicated phone line on 0800 101 8800. It has also updated its website to provide ‘Everything you need to know about PPI and how to claim back money you’ve paid’.