Martin Lewis

It's a very incisive question, Gavin, and yes is the answer.

I think...

And some of the conversations I've had with people in the background about this challenge is, I mean, there is always the existential threat that this challenge stops this mass redress scheme.

And I think even more so, there is a larger existential threat that it stops all mass redress schemes in future, which I personally would be very, very depressed if that happens.

You know, ultimately, for all the years and all the mis-selling campaigns I've done over the years, we got a billion pounds back for people on bank charges.

Through my templates, we got over 10 billion pounds back for people on PPI.

In all these cases where companies were deliberately and systemically trying to profit or mislead customers.

People have said to me, why do we have to complain?

If they miss sold, why don't they just give us our money back?

And under this mass redress scheme, that is what the regulator is creeping towards doing.

That people who haven't complained will have to be contacted and will have to be given money.

Now, while I agree to an extent that the actual payout levels the regulator is giving have been watered down and are less than you going to court, because there are so many people who've been missold and just don't know how to do it, who are information disenfranchised, who are vulnerable, who don't have the time, who've gone the wrong route, and in some cases who haven't heard about this,

or think it's all a scam because of the way that some claims management firms have gone about advertising it, will miss out.

And I think that's wrong.

And I'm a supporter of the mass redress scheme.

But it is under threat.

So there's a number of outcomes here.

The first outcome is all the court cases lose and we just get on with it in exactly the same system.

The second is that there is a tweak either up or down to the eligibility and payment criteria in what the FCA has said about its mass redress scheme, but things carry on.

The third is the FCA decides that because of a court ruling, it cannot continue with the mass redress scheme, in which case people will need to make individual complaints and would still be able to go to the financial ombudsman.