Credit life complaints deadline looms in the UK and top memory prompt methods

With only one month to go until the 29 August 2019 Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) complaints deadline, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is urging consumers to jog their memories back to the 1990s and 2000s when they may have bought products and were mis-sold PPI at the same time.

In a new move the FCA has also enlisted the help of eight-time World Memory Champion Dominic O’Brien, as part of its drive to ensure people don’t miss their chance to claim money back for PPI. 

Research carried out by Censuswide on behalf of the FCA with 2,000 UK consumers, between 8 and 10 July 2019, released by the FCA, shows the majority of UK adults (87%) hit a significant milestone during the 1990s and 2000s – when many of the estimated 64 million PPI policies were sold in the UK. Almost half bought a car (49%), more than a third purchased a house (35%) and over a quarter got married (27%). More than four in 10 people – over 22 million – recall taking out credit to help fund these big-ticket items, including products that commonly had PPI attached such as loans, mortgages, credit cards or store cards. Brits estimate they have had four different credit streams on average – 71% remember taking out some form of credit, with 53% having between one and five credit products and 18% six or more.

The FCA is urging consumers to jog their memories by visiting its website which includes a comprehensive list of providers that have sold PPI. This includes high-street stores, catalogue firms, building societies and supermarkets. It is also extending its PPI contact centre opening hours  to 8pm on weeknights and 5pm on Saturdays from 5 August to provide further support to consumers.  

Dominic O’Brien, eight-time World Memory Champion and author, said: 'The ‘time travel’ technique is a powerful tool to ‘transport’ yourself back to remember key financial milestones in the nineties and noughties and help prompt whether you bought anything on credit. Close your eyes and return to a location that you frequented during the time period in question. Choose a specific starting point such as bridge over a stream or a friend’s kitchen and ask yourself what incidents that triggers. One memory sparks off another. The deeper you immerse yourself and reflect, the greater the chances that more memories will be triggered leading you to remember key events and milestones.'

Alongside Dominic and the star of the PPI deadline campaign ads, ‘Animatronic Arnie’, the ‘Pressure’s on Panel’ also features 90s fitness icon, Mr Motivator, who is providing support in jogging people’s memory ahead of the 29 August 2019 deadline.

Dominic O’Brien’s top memory prompt methods

1) Remembering numbers

Get into the habit of coding information such as telephone numbers using mental pictures.  For example, to remember the number 0800 101 8800 – the FCA PPI helpline – imagine your alarm clock waking you at 08:00. You switch on the TV and watch 101 Dalmatians. In the kitchen a couple of egg-timers, 88 are timing a couple of boiling eggs 00. Now you know the FCA PPI helpline.

2) The journey method

To remember a shopping list of items, use a series of stages or stops along a well-trodden familiar route or journey. Picture washing the Traffic Lights with Detergent, a crate of milk has smashed at the Market Square, Bananas are thrown from the roof of the Town Hall, instead of books, the Library is stocked with sacks of Potatoes, a Chicken is laying an Egg in the Alleyway, and so on.

3) Memory and time travel

To help recall episodes from the past you can use the ‘Time Travel’ technique. It works by closing your eyes and returning to a location that conjures a variety of recollections such as an old friend’s house, your school or village you left a while ago. Choose a specific starting point such as bridge over a stream, a friend’s kitchen, a park bench. What incidents are triggered? One memory sparks off another. What was your state of mind at the time? The deeper you immerse yourself and reflect, the greater the chances that more memories will be triggered.

4) Remembering names

Most of us are naturals at recognising faces but have trouble matching the right names to them. One trick is to imagine a person performing their name in some way. For example, if I meet someone call Mrs Walker, I may imagine her as being an outdoor type and picture her with a walking stick. Association comes into play – some feature that neatly connects to their name. Think ‘Sean’ with short-cropped hair, or ‘Fred’ sporting a Freddie Mercury moustache.

5) Roman room method

When trying to memorise items on a tray and identifying a missing object, the trick is to link each item to a particular household object or piece of furniture related to the room you are in. For example, if you’re playing the game in your sitting room and you’re trying to remember car keys, picture the car keys resting on the Mantelpiece. It should then be easier to retrace your steps and find the missing item.

Full FSCA media release