The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has clarified its position relating to PPI claims made as a result of high commission charges.

Last year, the FCA announced firms would need to handle PPI claims where they failed to disclose at the point of sale that a large commission was payable out of the premium. This was as a result of the Plevin case heard at the Supreme Court.

But, there wasn’t clear guidance on whether PPI policyholders who may have inadvertently paid commission on an on-going basis were eligible to make a claim on these grounds.

As such, the FCA has updated its rulebook stating that firms should assess commission disclosures not only at the point-of-sale but also where it was paid in instalments.

The regulator has also launched a consultation on whether firms should write to around 150,000 PPI complainants who had previously had their claim rejected, to tell them they have the right to make another complaint. The letter would need to remind consumers of the PPI claim deadline – 29 August 2019.

Jonathan Davidson, executive director of supervision – retail and authorisations at the FCA said: “The final guidance resolves an area of uncertainty and will ensure fair and consistent outcomes for regular premium PPI complaints.”

Sarah Coles, personal finance analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said if you’ve had a claim rejected but may qualify for a payout, you needn’t wait for a letter.

“Anyone who wants to claim on this basis will need to submit it again, and you only have until 29 August 2019 to get it done, so it’s best to get cracking as soon as possible.”

Around 50 million PPI policies were sold between 1990-mid-2000s. To date, £32.6bn has been paid on around 20 million policies since 2011.

Coles said claiming PPI doesn’t have to be hard work.

“If you have any paperwork showing you paid PPI, you can complete a template on the Which? or Moneysavingexpert website and send it to your bank to reclaim your cash. It should take less than 15 minutes.

“Even if you don’t have a scrap of paperwork, you can get it sorted. Go to the FCA website and find the name of the provider you borrowed from – you’ll be able to click through to the provider and check if you had PPI with them. Once they’ve got back to you, you can submit your claim,” she said.