The financial services sector is one of the most highly regulated areas in the UK, on par with the pharmaceutical industry. That area can kill you; financial services can only seriously wound you.
Hence protection comes from a variety of sources:
The FCA
The FCA’s main reason to be is to protect consumers. Reams of rules and principles ensure advisers do the job they should do, plus they make it very simple to complain and seek redress for bad advice.
HMRC and The Treasury
These government departments run the economy and do so in the best interests of consumers and businesses. They also pull strings at the PRA and FCA.
DWP – Department for Work and Pensions
This government body runs the welfare system providing a financial safety net for UK consumers
The Claims Management Regulator
Looks after all those companies promising you that they’ll get them to pay on your behalf, less an attractive remuneration for themselves. Part of the Ministry of Justice, they regulate claims management companies.
National Crime Agency
Oversees serious fraud and crime to protect the population.
The Single Financial Guidance Body
The SFGB replaced the Money Advice Service, The Pensions Advisory Service and Pension Wise and is admirably funded by the financial services sector, so it has clout.
It aims to be a free adviser to consumers providing advice and guidance on all areas of financial services. It gives lots of information that can be relied upon. I get my news from the BBC because I can depend on it although the news is available all over the internet. The SFGB provide the “BBC” of information.
They provide information and guidance on pensions, money in general, debt, protection and they work with younger children to inform and educate them.
Which
Famous for its magazine and web site that champions the consumer.
Citizens Advice
Provides help to the consumer in all legal affairs online, over the phone or face to face. They have “super-complaint” status like “Which”, and they used it last year. A super-complaint goes straight to the ombudsman and represents lots of people complaining all at once. The complaint was mortgage lenders and the high cost of their standard variable rates that consumers drift into when the fixed-rate mortgage comes to an end.
