When was the PPI deadline set?

The FCA announced the PPI deadline on 2nd March 2017. They also announced that they would run a two-year consumer communications campaign starting in August 2017 in order to help consumers decide whether to act about PPI before the deadline.

Why is there a deadline?

Andrew Bailey, Chief Executive of the FCA said:
“Putting in place a deadline and campaign will mean people who were potentially mis-sold PPI will be prompted to take action rather than put it off. We believe that two years is a reasonable time for consumers to decide whether they wish to make a complaint.”
“We have carefully considered the feedback we received and we still believe that introducing a deadline for PPI complaints and a communications campaign warning of the deadline will benefit consumers.”

Will the deadline announcement affect my ongoing claim with Gladstone Brookes?

The announcement of the deadline will have no effect on claims which have already been made. It refers only to new claims. However, are you sure you have looked into all possible claims on past financial agreements? The new vetting procedure announced by the FCA aims to make it easier to check if you had PPI on any of your other agreements and our pre-submission team already has a process in place to make such checks for you.

What happens after the deadline?

The deadline is only for the start of any new claims. As long as your claim has been submitted to and received by your lender before the deadline date it will be fully investigated. Claims submitted after the deadline date will not be actioned by the lender as they will have become time-barred.

Are any claims exempt from the deadline?

No – the deadline is absolute.

I’ve had a claim rejected in the past – what should I do?

Any claim which has had a formal rejection from a lender will be subject to what are called ‘FOS rights.’ These give the consumer the opportunity to appeal the decision with the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) within six months of the date of the rejection letter. If you have not made your appeal within that time frame you will have forfeited the right to do so and the claim cannot proceed any further.

Is there any other cut-off date for claims to be made?

Yes. Some consumers may have received warning letters from their lender advising that if they believe they had been mis-sold they should make a formal complaint. Consumer rules state that that a consumer will lose the right to make a complaint three years from when they knew or could reasonably have been aware that they had cause to make a complaint and the FCA consumer panel believes over three million people already fall into this category. It is believed time will run out for another 1.2 million people before the end of 2017, according to the FCA.