NatWest investigated over impartial advice claims

[Legal Beagles]

Advertising Standards Authority looks into complaints that the bank's MoneySense service is pushing customers towards NatWest products
NatWest is under investigation by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) following complaints it is not giving customers the impartial advice it claims to offer in its adverts.
Last December, NatWest launched MoneySense, a service claiming to give "free, impartial guidance and practical money management tips", to much fanfare.
The TV adverts were shot in local branches using what the bank said were MoneySense advisers and real customers to illustrate the help available.
But the ASA has received 15 complaints about the service from individuals and financial advisers, all claiming the advice being given by the bank is not impartial.
This follows an investigation by consumer body Which? that found just four out of 20 MoneySense sessions attended by its researchers provided the impartial information advertised, without any attempt either during or after the meeting to interest the customer in NatWest products.
On six visits the adviser spoke exclusively about NatWest products during the MoneySense session. In two of these visits there was no mention of shopping around, Which? said.
In the other 10 visits the researcher was passed on to a customer service adviser or the MoneySense adviser ended the session and went on to speak exclusively about NatWest products.
"This would be an invaluable service if NatWest was always actually delivering on its promise of free, impartial financial guidance," said Which? personal finance campaigns manager, Doug Taylor. "However, it is being let down by the poor standard of at least some of the service being delivered."
He added: "If schemes like this are really to benefit consumers, more must be done to ensure that advisers are properly trained to provide truly impartial financial guidance."
The Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS), the debt advice service that trained NatWest's MoneySense advisers, said it would be disappointed if the advice being given was not impartial.
"The training we gave was on the basis that the advice handed out was going to be impartial," a spokeswoman said. "If it is not impartial then that is very sad. NatWest has come back to us about getting more training but we haven't made a decision on that yet."
A spokewoman for the bank said she could not comment on the ASA investigation as the bank has not yet received formal notification.
She said the 10 MoneySense advisers who sent customers to the branch's customer service advisers were right to do so.
"If something becomes a product-related enquiry then a MoneySense advice would not be allowed to deal with that, so they would be right to transfer the customer to a branch adviser," she said.
The ASA expects to conclude its investigation within a month.

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[natweststaffmember]

Re: NatWest investigated over impartial advice claims

ABOUT TIME TOO. I was a moneysense advisor for NatWest and some of the things that are coming out DOES NOT come as a shock to me.
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Advertising Standards Authority looks into complaints that the bank's MoneySense service is pushing customers towards NatWest products
NatWest is under investigation by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) following complaints it is not giving customers the impartial advice it claims to offer in its adverts.

Mr customer come and sit in an interview with banks' posters telling you we can save you money and then we can suggest you look around for other products. Do we do Guaranteed to Beat Home Insurance? Yes Mr Customer, we will give you a quote shortly.

Last December, NatWest launched MoneySense, a service claiming to give "free, impartial guidance and practical money management tips", to much fanfare.
The TV adverts were shot in local branches using what the bank said were MoneySense advisers and real customers to illustrate the help available.

Helpful Banking from NatWest. The theory was a very good thing.

But the ASA has received 15 complaints about the service from individuals and financial advisers, all claiming the advice being given by the bank is not impartial.

It can never be impartial if it is carried out by sellers within the bank.

This follows an investigation by consumer body Which? that found just four out of 20 MoneySense sessions attended by its researchers provided the impartial information advertised, without any attempt either during or after the meeting to interest the customer in NatWest products.

people further up the chain are suggesting that these interviews can be used to sell in spite of the training stating unequivocally that it was not a sales role.

On six visits the adviser spoke exclusively about NatWest products during the MoneySense session. In two of these visits there was no mention of shopping around, Which? said.
In the other 10 visits the researcher was passed on to a customer service adviser or the MoneySense adviser ended the session and went on to speak exclusively about NatWest products.
"This would be an invaluable service if NatWest was always actually delivering on its promise of free, impartial financial guidance," said Which? personal finance campaigns manager, Doug Taylor. "However, it is being let down by the poor standard of at least some of the service being delivered."
He added: "If schemes like this are really to benefit consumers, more must be done to ensure that advisers are properly trained to provide truly impartial financial guidance."

Totally agree with Doug Taylor. Seems like the advisors they spoke to didn't know anything about moneysense.

The Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS), the debt advice service that trained NatWest's MoneySense advisers, said it would be disappointed if the advice being given was not impartial.
"The training we gave was on the basis that the advice handed out was going to be impartial," a spokeswoman said. "If it is not impartial then that is very sad. NatWest has come back to us about getting more training but we haven't made a decision on that yet."

1 days training and with a lack of support among managers because of the "no sales" approach, what do you expect?
Surely with 7 hours training it isn't really gonna be that good.

A spokewoman for the bank said she could not comment on the ASA investigation as the bank has not yet received formal notification.
She said the 10 MoneySense advisers who sent customers to the branch's customer service advisers were right to do so.
"If something becomes a product-related enquiry then a MoneySense advice would not be allowed to deal with that, so they would be right to transfer the customer to a branch adviser," she said.

She was hardly going to say that the advisors were wrong was she? That is not really moneysense. Only if the person specifically requests that should they be passed on. That is the rules.

The ASA expects to conclude its investigation within a month.

• Banks and building societies
• Borrowing & debt
• Consumer affairs
• Advertising Standards Authority

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Sometimes, you wonder why I am sooooo arrogant on stuff. Cos I did some of these types of jobs that no one else wanted to do