Arnie urges PPI claimants to ‘do it now’

Arnold Schwarzenegger has been brought in as the muscle for the Financial Conduct Authority’s upcoming PPI complaints ad campaign, with the deadline for claims now just two years away.

In a throwback to Arnie’s famous scene in Predator, an animatronic model of the 70-year-old’s head urges people to ‘do it now’ and make a decision on whether or not to make a complaint before the 29 August 2019 cut-off.

The campaign is being funded by the 18 firms that have had the most complaints so far, but the FCA refused to reveal exactly how much it is paying the former bodybuilder and Governor of California.

“Our message, and Arnie's, is ‘do it now’ and I urge people to make a decision before the deadline,” said FCA chief executive Andrew Bailey.

The campaign’s launch also coincides with a new claims process, which could see customers receive compensation even if they weren’t mis-sold.

If they had a previous complaint about PPI rejected, they may be entitled to a pay-out if the provider earned a high level of commission from selling the policy.

Over £27.4bn has been paid out to customers since the regulator opened the complaints process back in 2011 following years of mis-selling, with the big lenders sitting on another £10bn or so.

Lloyds has been the hardest hit, having been forced to set aside £18.1bn, while Barclays and bailed-out lender RBS round up the top three with their provisions of £9.1bn and £4.9bn respectively.