PPI claims surge to highest level in years

PPI (payment protection insurance) complaints surged to their highest level in more than four years during the second half of 2017, the City regulator has said. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said complaints about PPI rose by 40% to 1.55 million, compared with 1.11 million in the first half of last year. The latest half-year figure is the highest since the 1.79 million complaints made in the first half of 2013.

A publicity drive featuring the animatronic head of Arnold Schwarzenegger has been reminding people to decide whether or not to make a complaint.

In January 2018, firms paid out £415.8 million in compensation to cus- tomers who complained about PPI. FCA said this was the highest figure since March 2016 and took the amount paid since January 2011 to £30 billion.

Christopher Woolard, the watchdog’s strategy and competition executive director, said: “Having set a deadline for PPI complaints, we are encouraging consumers to decide whether they want to claim, and if they do, to make their complaint as soon as possible, as many already have.”

PPI was designed to cover repayments in certain circumstances such as if someone lost their job, had an accident or became ill but it was often mis-sold to people who did not want or need the product. It was added to products such as mortgages and credit cards.