We have all heard of the PPI claim commotion that has been sweeping the nation. To recap, Payment Protection Insurance was a form of insurance that was sold (and miss-sold) to thousands of people when they signed up to loans, credit cards and other financial agreements. The premise of the insurance was to ensure borrowers were protected from the consequences of being unable to make repayments as a result of unemployment or sickness, for example. The Financial Conduct Authority recently began to correct the fact that so many people were unknowingly sold PPI and it can now be confirmed that the initial deadline for making a complaint is now extended! This initiative is similar to the occasion when the Financial Conduct Authority put a price cap on short term loan companies.
It seems while there has been a push to get people claiming back hundreds and sometimes thousands of pounds, there is going to be a new initiative put forward which will aim to encourage a further group of people to act. Starting from August of this year, the FCA will begin a further two year campaign which will run through until the 29th August 2019. The hope of this is that people who were too late to make a claim the first time round are given another opportunity with an added deadline to encourage them to claim back their money. This initiative has come from receiving a great deal of input and feedback from consumers who believe adding a deadline will increase the amount of responses and claims people will make.
One thing that this initiative hopes to help with is the fact that firms that have previously dismissed claims will now be made to be made accountable as to why the claim was rejected. This will help to shed some light on why some claims were dismissed and give consumers the chance to challenge any claim rejections that they see as being unfair. This gives the consumer more control over the way they were treated and be able to claim back the money that was rightfully theirs. This also gives the chance for companies to alter their way of dealing with PPI problems and gives the Financial Conduct Authority more time to keep an eye on the way consumers are being treated.
If you are concerned about the possibility of being owed money as a result of miss-sold PPI then it is imperative that you make a complaint as soon as possible. Get in touch with the company that you feel could have sold you PPI and also the Financial Ombudsman Service. While the deadline extension allows for plenty of time to make a claim, some firms have a separate deadline so it is important to be aware of this. Remember that making a complaint is free and in most cases you would not need to take your claim further and should not need to seek further action to assist you in your case. Get in touch with the FCA is you have any further pending questions or concerns on the matter.