Arnold Schwarzenegger advertisement inspired PPI complaints rise 24% in six months, says FCA

Complaints about Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) are continuing to rise, according to the city regulator, which launched a campaign featuring actor Arnold Schwarzenegger to inform them of the approaching claims deadline.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said the number of complaints spiked by 24% in the first half of the year, compared with the previous six months.

That raised the total number of PPI complaints to 1.11 million, compared to 899,000 in the second half of 2016. The rise occurred even before the FCA announced a deadline for all PPI complaints.

Consumers have until the 29 August 2019 to apply for compensation and the FCA is actively encouraging people to come forward before the deadline.

The regulator said PPI accounted for 82% of the £2bn paid out in total to consumers whose complaints were upheld over the six months in question.

So far £27bn has been refunded to people who were mis-sold PPI insurance.