FCA planning 2018 deadline for mis sold PPI complaints

Published: 19/10/2015

The speculation is over – an announcement has been made that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is planning on setting a deadline for consumers to make a PPI mis selling complaint to be assessed by their Bank or by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

The FCA has said that before setting any deadline it will consult with the industry and this means that it’s likely any new rules will only be introduced in Spring 2016. The details of the FCA plan which have emerged reveal that the deadline would fall two years after the date the proposed rule comes into force so if their plan goes ahead consumers would have until Spring 2018 to complain.

The current rules surrounding mis sold PPI complaint handling have been guiding activity since December 2010 and 10m customers have received total compensation of £20 billion so far. In proposing a deadline the FCA have commented that the open ended nature of the current complaints approach has led to customer inertia with customers feeling that they don’t have to progress their complaint in a timely manner. Their view is that imposing a deadline and a communications campaign to promote this will encourage customers who have yet to complain to take action.

Solicitor Paul Cahill comments:

“I’ve been warning of the possibility of a deadline for a few weeks now. Anyone yet to reclaim mis sold PPI really must take action immediately. Although it still seems that there’s a long time to make a claim the reality is that it’s easy to forget this or put it off and then find that the deadline has passed.

“I’ve read recently that the Citizens Advice Bureau is calling for the FCA to launch a publicity campaign to raise awareness of any deadline for PPI mis selling. I’d echo that call.”

Content correct at time of publication