Britain’s financial regulator put a deadline for customers that claim they were mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI), which turned out to be one of the most expensive banking scandals in UK history.
The Financial Conduct Authority set the new deadline of August 29, 2019 for customers that want to complain and potentially claim compensation against a bank that they say missold them PPI.
PPI was a form of insurance intended to pay out if consumers failed to make payments on their loans. Many consumers were duped into buying it, or did not know how it worked.
It was wrongly sold alongside loans, credit cards and mortgages and banks have been forced to pay out to customers who paid for the coverage.
The scandal has cost Britain’s banks £35 billion in total so far.
"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," said Andrew Bailey, Chief Executive of the FCA.
"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."
In February, Lloyds Banking Group - the largest seller of PPI- reported £2.1 billion on conduct charges last year.
Conduct charges involve money set aside or spent on legal fees, fines, compensation for customers, and admin work related to those issues.
One billion of the total conduct charge amount came from a provision the bank set aside in the third quarter to cover the PPI scandal. It has set aside £17 billion in total in compensation and related fees for PPI.