Claimants run the risk of missing the 29 August deadline – the cut-off point to assess PPI claims.

Claims management firm, Etico, said some banks are now only issuing their final response letters 16 after weeks after initial claims were made. The FCA says this response needs to happen within eight weeks. The group said it has cases from September 2018 where no formal acknowledgement of the claim has even been received.

The group said customers should be given a deadline that relates to the start of the process, not the submission of the actual claim. It said getting hold of this information is challenging, requiring banks to provide it accurately and promptly, and some consumers just won’t be armed with the correct information in time.

The findings show the dangers of waiting until the August deadline. Technically, if applicants wait more than eight weeks for a response, they can take their case to the Financial Ombudsman, but this requires more questionnaires and there may be a back-log as the cut-off date approaches.

Etico Group’s general manager, Nigel Wright, said: “With the FCA’s August 29 deadline looming, we have seen a slowdown in processing both initial PPI information requests and claims. Most consumers don’t realise that certain information needs to be provided by the lender before a PPI claim can be submitted. With just 30 weeks left before the FCA’s deadline is reached, delays in providing this information mean that claims cannot yet be submitted. It is essential that consumers are made aware that the delays being experienced with some banks could mean that they miss out on their claims

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“Consumers who have been putting off looking into whether they had been mis-sold PPI need to act now, either by investigating themselves or through a reputable claims management company. If they don’t act now it’s possible they’ll miss the boat and will not get another chance to secure legitimate payouts if they are found to be due.”