The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has decided to consult, by the end of the year, on the introduction of a deadline by which consumers would need to make their PPI complaints or else lose their right to have them assessed by firms or by the Financial Ombudsman Service.
The regulator intends to consult on a deadline falling two years from the date the proposed rule comes into force – which, subject to consultation, would not, it anticipates, be before spring 2016 – hence PPI consumers would have until at least spring 2018 to complain.
The consultation will also set out plans for a proposed FCA-led communications campaign designed to prompt consumers to complain in advance of that deadline. This will include a proposed fee rule concerning the funding of the proposed communications campaign.
The FCA has also decided to consult on proposed rules and guidance concerning the handling of PPI complaints in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in Plevin v Paragon Personal Finance Ltd earlier this year. Such complaints would also be subject to the proposed deadline.
The regulator will publish its consultation paper on the deadline for PPI complaints and on rules and guidance in light of the Plevin decision before the end of 2015. The consultation paper will include full details of the various proposed rules and guidance summarised above, the evidence the FCA has assessed, its reasons for proposing them, and its assessment of their costs and benefits.