Summary
THE Financial Services Authority has come under attack twice in the space of a week for its approach to consumer protection. This is one of the key tasks of the FSA, yet it appears to receive a far lower priority than its other remits, such as ensuring markets function properly. It is clearly illustrated by the number of consumer scandals that it has failed to detect or crack down on early enough.
Both attacks come from the same source: the Financial Services Consumer Panel. Last week it warned that reforms to improve the stability of industry must not be at the expense of consumers. It told the FSA that it should become a more transparent regulator and should take a tougher stance on enforcement to ensure consumers who have been adversely affected by firms' behaviour gain compensation. Now it says the FSA is also unrealistic in its approach to consumer responsibility. 'How can consumers be responsible for decisions about products, when it seems that often those selling them do not understand how they work?' it asks.See the full content of this document
Extract
Don't let us down again ; the LAST WORD
This point is reflected in two stories in this week's Money Mail. Allegations made by former Barclays salesmen show how little they and senior per...
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