Mortgage News
Which? slams banks for inappropriate investment advice
Banks and building societies are continuing to provide inappropriate investment advice to consumers, a Which? investigation has revealed.
An undercover investigation from Which? reporters found just four of 37 branches visited gave appropriate advice about investing a lump sum.
The remaining 33 recommended inappropriate products without properly explaining the risks. A total of 21 firms investigated gave advice which included referring to capital guaranteed products as having no risk.
14 advisers failed to mention the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and only one adviser suggested splitting savings between two institutions to avoid going over the £50,000 savers protection limit.
Which? chief executive Peter Vicary-Smith said: “It is disappointing to see yet more evidence that the way many banks treat their customers hasn’t improved since our taxes were used to bail them out.
“Banks and building societies need to buck up their ideas and make sure their sales practices don’t exploit consumers by encouraging their staff to recommend inappropriate products.”
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