Shwarzenegger is back to torment banks in new FCA ads

He said he'll be back and, after prompting more consumers to apply for for PPI compensation, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s animatronic image has returned to front another ad campaign for the Financial Conduct Authority.

The FCA’s previous campaign featuring Schwarzenegger spurred a jump in people complaining directly to banks about being mis-sold payment protection insurance – or PPI for short.

Now the Terminator star – whose catchphrase in the series’ first film was “I’ll be back” – is once again encouraging consumers to check whether they were sold PPI.

The campaign includes a TV ad and radio spots featuring 1990s and 2000s themes to reflect the decades when PPI was sold. The ads will run from 4 April to 16 May and will also run on social media and at outdoor sites, including at bus stops.

Since the FCA first teamed up with Schwarzenegger it has received nearly 17,000 calls to its helpline and 900,000 people have visited its campaign website. Consumers have until 29 August 2019 to claim.

The number of people complaining directly, rather than through a claims handling firm, has increased to 55% from 46%. Lloyds Banking Group, which was the biggest seller of PPI, paid out more money for PPI than expected last year after the Schwarzenegger ads prompted people to claim.

Banks sold PPI, often using misleading practices, to customers taking out mortgages, credit cards and other loans to cover payments if they suffered loss of income due to illness or unemployment. Many buyers, such as self-employed workers, did not qualify or the policies failed to pay out as promised.

Andrew Bailey, the FCA’s chief executive, 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.

“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.”

PPI is Britain’s biggest financial mis-selling scandal: since 2011 companies have paid out £29.6bn in compensation.