CONSUMER campaigners are calling for a refunds scheme for people who were mis-sold insurance deals by York-based CPP to be extended.

Seven million people could have got payouts from Card Protection Plan Limited (CPP) card or identity protection insurance products, but figures on the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)'s website show that only 2.37 million claimants - one third of those eligible - applied on time.

The redress scheme was approved by CPP customers in a vote last year and in ran from January until August this year,

But now consumer help website MoneySavingExpert has found that many victims mistook claim forms for payment protection insurance (PPI) junk mail.

Martin Lewis, MoneySavingExpert.com creator, said the similarty of the name CPP to PPI should have been noticed and the problems foreseen.

He added: "Most people who got these letters simply didn't believe they were genuine or did not understand that in effect they were being offered a wad of notes - and they chucked it in the bin.

"For redress campaigns such as this to work the victims need to be better informed.

"The communication needs to be clear, unambiguous and backed up by TV and newspaper advertising. That didn't happen."

An FCA spokesman said: "This redress scheme achieved its objectives - seven million eligible policyholders were written to three times and given the option of making a simple and free claim through a process which was approved by the High Court after careful consideration."