Arnold Schwarzenegger returns in new PPI reclaim ad

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is today releasing a new round of Arnie ads, which will run until 16 May, to highlight that Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) was sold alongside a vast array of products which many people may not think of including car finance, catalogue credit, credit cards, store cards and mortgages.

The regulator released its first advert featuring Arnie back in August, to mark the start of the two-year deadline for the majority of PPI claims, which is 29 August 2019.

At the time, around 12 million customers had claimed, despite 64 million policies being sold. Since the launch of the Arnie ads the FCA says there have been a further one million claims upheld - meaning many more are likely to be able to claim.

Below are some pictures from the new TV ad:

You can watch the full ad on the FCA website.

See our to check if you've been mis-sold.

What is PPI and how do I reclaim?

PPI was an insurance policy sold when you got a loan, credit or store card, catalogue account, overdraft or car finance.

PPI stands for 'Payment Protection Insurance'. It's designed to cover your loan or credit card repayments for a year in the event of an accident, sickness or, in some cases, unemployment.

In itself, it isn't a bad product. But it's been widely mis-sold and now, because of a ruling called Plevin, even just having had it means you're likely due some cash back.

The original mis-selling has left many paying thousands for potentially worthless cover – and you could even have it without knowing (see the Mis-selling Checklist for full info.)

You need to act NOW to reclaim mis-sold PPI

Because of the 2019 deadline, it's key to check if you've ever had a loan, credit or store card, mortgage, overdraft or catalogue debt to see if you were mis-sold PPI.

Claims over how PPI was sold must be received by the firm you're complaining to on or before 29 August 2019, or they won't be considered. Complaints received ahead of the deadline will then be allowed to run their course.

There are a few people who will still be able to claim after 29 August 2019, however:

• If you buy a new PPI policy after 29 August 2017, the deadline WON'T apply to any mis-selling claim.

• If you have an existing PPI policy AND you make a claim on that policy for a payout (eg, if you become unemployed and claim as a result), if you then find the firm rejects your claim and you want to dispute it and say you were mis-sold, the deadline WON'T apply.

• If you have an existing PPI policy and you want to make a mis-selling claim WITHOUT having claimed on the policy, the deadline WILL apply.

If you think you were mis-sold you can use the Resolver tool on our website to reclaim – and you'll keep all the money.

For 5.5 million the deadline will be earlier

For most, 29 August 2019 is the deadline for complaining about PPI, but for some they will have to claim much sooner, or may have even missed out.

That's because between 2013 and 2015, firms proactively wrote to 5.5 million people who were at high risk of being mis-sold PPI but had not yet claimed.

Some of these letters, known as redress letters, offered money upfront. Many of them, also known as contact letters, warned customers that they had three years from the date they received the letter to make their claim - that deadline still applies.

'We want people to act before the deadline'

Andrew Bailey, chief executive of the FCA said: "We know that PPI was sold on a huge variety of credit products throughout the 1990s and 2000s, but many people just don't realise they had it. "Since we launched our campaign the largest firms have told us that the proportion of people complaining to them directly has increased.  This may in part be due to the improvements we asked firms to make to their complaint handling processes, including the introduction of online checking and complaining tools.  This means that more customers get to keep more of the redress that they are due."We want people to act before the deadline. Dig out that old paperwork, visit our website or call our helpline to find out how to check if you had PPI and how to decide whether to complain."