PPI claim deadline proposed for June 2019 by FCA

Banks have so far paid out £24 billion in compensation since 2011

Claims management companies handled 80 per cent of PPI claims during 2014-15, making up to £5bn from the scandal (Getty Images)

Those seemingly endless PPI claim calls may be coming to an end – by June 2019 anyway. The FCA has set the deadline for people to make claims over mis-sold payment protection insurance.

The regulator put out an update on an earlier statement saying that it wanted a rule to set a deadline by the middle of 2017 as well as a public awareness campaign.

Andrew Bailey, chief executive, said the FCA would do everything in its power to make sure that it reached people who could be affected, particularly vulnerable customers, but that a deadline was necessary. “Putting a deadline on PPI complaints will bring the issue to an orderly conclusion in a way that protects both consumers and market integrity," he said.

The FCA is due to accept feedback on this and other proposed changes by 11 October.

Banks have so far paid out £24bn in compensation since 2011. Claims management companies, which handled 80 per cent of the PPI claims during 2014-15 and are now infamous for persistent cold calling, have pocketed up to £5bn by taking a cut of this compensation, a report by MPs has shown.

The PPI scandal happened from 1990s onwards when consumers were agressively sold insurance to protect payments on mortgages, loans and credit cards by banks, who were later revealed to be making huge profits on the payments.

In 2005, Citizens Advice labelled the service a “protection racket” and claimed the insurance offered was expensive; ineffective when a customer needed it to keep up with payments; sold to people who would never be able to claim; and inefficient, with long delays for claimants.

The Public Accounts Committee has called for action to be taken to stop such a scandal from occuring again.