FCA encourages Brits to prioritise PPI

Late last week the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) urged the 18 per cent of consumer who said they'll make a last-minute decision on whether to complain about PPI to act immediately ahead of the 29 August deadline, warning that those who don't get their complaints in on time won’t be able to claim money back.  

The FCA’s latest poll of the public suggests at least half of these ‘last minuters’ (53 per cent) are confident they will complain ahead of the deadline on 29 August 2019. The new research has been released by the FCA as part of its drive to encourage people to act as soon as possible, so they don’t miss their chance to make a decision on PPI, and to reassure them they’re not on their own – there is still time and support is available.  

According to FCA stats, in the past eight weeks since the FCA’s final PPI push went live, it has seen a 420 per cent increase in web users, and 269 per cent increase in calls, compared with the previous eight weeks. Additionally, a total of £340.4 million was paid in June 2019 to customers who complained about the way they were sold PPI, taking the amount paid since January 2011 to £36 billion. 

"Leaving things to the last minute is natural behaviour for many of us and we’re sharing these findings to show that anyone who hasn’t yet decided on PPI is not alone in leaving things close to a deadline," said Emma Stranack, the FCA’s PPI deadline campaign lead.

"That said, now is the time to act. We all lead busy lives, and the FCA is prepared for a last-minute flurry of enquiries. We’ve extended our PPI helpline hours to 8pm on weeknights and 5pm on Saturdays to provide further support to consumers and will be available for calls on bank holiday Monday. Ultimately, we don’t want the UK public to miss their chance to decide."

An estimated 64 million PPI policies were sold in the UK – the majority in the '90s and '00s. Products that commonly had PPI attached include loans, mortgages, credit cards or store cards, the FCA pointed out.