Tweet
British Bankers Association:-
Misleading actions by claims management companies
Last month, we reported that we were pleased the Ministry of Justice and the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) had taken action against a number of claims management companies. And this has continued, with the OFT taking action against firms using unsolicited and misleading calls to advertise their services, in some instances where callers had been registered with the Telephone Preference Service, which should shield consumers from unwanted calls.
The Financial Services Authority has recently hosted further talks, prompting the Ministry of Justice to comment; "We work closely with regulators like the Solicitors Regulation Authority and Financial Services Authority, with the police and National Fraud Authority to ensure malpractice by claims management businesses, solicitors and any other parties is tackled effectively. "Our aim is to work collaboratively with other agencies to make the regulatory regime a hostile one for businesses and professionals not willing to follow the rules, and with the police to deal with any criminality." Meanwhile, the BBA has written to Lord Mandelson calling for changes to the law to close down the loopholes that are being exploited with the promise that debts will simply be written off. And as we conclude our mystery shopping exercise, we will bring our own evidence of mis-selling to the attention of the regulators to help build an evidence base that can lead to enforcement action where applicable.
Misleading actions by claims management companies
Last month, we reported that we were pleased the Ministry of Justice and the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) had taken action against a number of claims management companies. And this has continued, with the OFT taking action against firms using unsolicited and misleading calls to advertise their services, in some instances where callers had been registered with the Telephone Preference Service, which should shield consumers from unwanted calls.
The Financial Services Authority has recently hosted further talks, prompting the Ministry of Justice to comment; "We work closely with regulators like the Solicitors Regulation Authority and Financial Services Authority, with the police and National Fraud Authority to ensure malpractice by claims management businesses, solicitors and any other parties is tackled effectively. "Our aim is to work collaboratively with other agencies to make the regulatory regime a hostile one for businesses and professionals not willing to follow the rules, and with the police to deal with any criminality." Meanwhile, the BBA has written to Lord Mandelson calling for changes to the law to close down the loopholes that are being exploited with the promise that debts will simply be written off. And as we conclude our mystery shopping exercise, we will bring our own evidence of mis-selling to the attention of the regulators to help build an evidence base that can lead to enforcement action where applicable.
Comment