A claims management company has launched a judicial review of the Financial Conduct Authority’s decision to time bar payment protection insurance complaints.
We Fight Any Claim said the decision was “clearly unlawful” and has appointed a barrister to fight the decision in the courts.
Last week the FCA announced that the final deadline for making a new PPI complaint would be 29 August 2019.
The FCA has also made final rules and guidance related to how firms should handle complaints in light of a recent Supreme Court judgment.
Mark Davies, legal advisor and spokesman for We Fight Any Claim, said: “Over the last 12 months, we have repeatedly warned FCA that what they planned was not just plain wrong but was clearly unlawful.
“We have also provided the FCA with the detailed and closely reasoned opinion of leading counsel, Stephen Knafler QC, as to the fundamental problems with their approach.
“Unless these proposals are challenged, the only winners will be the banks and card providers who sold this toxic product.
“Millions of ordinary people, many of whom are not even aware they were sold PPI, will lose out.
“Somebody needs to stand up and fight for those people. We will, and we believe we will win.”
For several years PPI has been the most-complained about product to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
At its peak in 2009 around 30 per cent of the complaints Fos received were about PPI.
When it announced the deadline, the FCA said two years was plenty of time to allow consumers to decide whether they wanted to complain or not.
The FCA added that in the intervening period it will run a consumer communications campaign to let people know about the deadline.
damian.fantato@ft.com
