MAS boss: We are addressing enormous advice gap
As Money Advice Service chairman have you sat down and contemplated why there is such a large advice gap?
The whole RDR regime and creation of the MAS has been constructed to prevent consumers obtaining independent financial advice by making it unaffordable and regulating advisers out of the industry. The FSA and MAS alike are pushing consumers down the information-only route without them knowing it, directing them to quangos, the banks and information-only websites (which offer free cuddly toys when you purchase the wrong insurance product to meet your needs).
When will you be happy?
When the whole of the UK holds one capital repayment mortgage, one personal or occupational pension plan, one bank account, one deposit account and one ISA? No investments, no buy to let properties and no independent advice. At that point you can pat yourselves on the back and retire on your pensions whilst the consumer contemplates why they are so average.
Pointed
01 Nov 2012 | 13:32
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FOS chief praises advisers for complaints handling
It also has to be said that IFAs are more knowledgeable, more qualified, more experienced and much more compliant. And not only do we know our clients, our clients know us.
Mary Henderson
30 Oct 2012 | 16:03
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Claims firms to encourage interest-only ‘mis-sales’ actions
Whenever I read about claims management companies moving on to their next feed I instantly get a mental image of locusts swarming. So we can now expect thousands of text messages to be sent to the 30% of the population who have only ever rented; thousands of ‘throw this at the wall and see if any of it sticks’ template letter complaints and advisers and lenders being charged thousands by the Financial Ombudsman Service just to defend frivolous complaints.
I’m getting a deja vu flashback to the endowment complaint days before time barring effectively stopped them. It is way overdue that claims management companies bore some financial liability for frivolous and obviously unsubstantiated complaints.
If they are confident that their client’s complaint is well founded they shouldn’t be afraid of losing, and so can put their money where their greedy mouths are.
Andy Wilson, Andy Wilson Financial Services
29 Oct 2012 | 13:47
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Claims firms to encourage interest-only ‘mis-sales’ actions
The vast majority of interest-only cases with no repayment vehicle were taken by people who requested it knowing full well they could not afford a repayment mortgage, because for them the most important thing was to get on the housing ladder. Lenders offered it, brokers sold/advised on it. Another example of Joe Public knowing what they are getting and then blaming someone else when there’s a sniff of compensation.
Ian
29 Oct 2012 | 15:48
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Thank you for all your comments
