Wednesday 24 October 2018 12:45 pm | Updated: Tuesday 21 May 2019 4:21 pm

Arnold Schwarzenegger ad campaign drives PPI payments to £3.7bn in 10 months

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A total of £3.7bn has been paid out relating to wrongfully sold payment protection insurance (PPI) since the City watchdog launched a campaign featuring an animatronic Arnold Schwarzenegger head to increase consumer action.

Since the campaign started at the beginning of this year, 4m checking enquiries were made with monthly volumes up 40 per cent on the level immediately before the launch, and 3.7m complaints have been made, an increase of 63 per cent.

PPI was offered to customers to insure the repayment of borrowings to protect against accident, illness, unemployment or death, however some policies were mis-sold.

The deadline to complain about mis-sold PPI is 29 August next year and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will step up its campaign to improve the understanding of PPI and how to make a complaint among ethnic minority and disabled consumers.

Financial Conduct Authority executive director of supervision, retail and authorisations Jonathan Davidson said: "We are encouraged by the results of the first 10 months of the campaign.

"However, with less than a year until the deadline, we will carry on working hard to ensure every consumer has had the chance to make a decision on whether to complain about PPI.

"Since 2011 more than £30bn in redress has been received by consumers.

“Where we have seen firms failing to meet the standards we expect, we have challenged them to make improvements.”