What Is the FCA’s Consumer Duty?

So what is the Consumer Duty and what are its rules? In short, the Duty aims to enhance consumer protection as people buy and use financial products.

The new regulations are based on three core principles:

• Consumers should receive products and services that meet their needs and are marketed in a way that is clear, fair, and not misleading.
• Consumers should not face unreasonable barriers when they try to access financial products and services or exercise their rights.
• Consumers should receive products and services that are designed to meet their needs throughout their lifetime and are delivered fairly, taking account of their changing circumstances.

The FCA has also laid out three rules which underpin these principles. Financial services companies should:

• Act in good faith
• Avoid causing foreseeable harm
• Enable and support retail customers to achieve their financial objectives

In a recent speech, Sheldon Mills, Executive Director for Consumers and Competition at the FCA, said: “The common thread, the thing we are interested in above all else in our work, is reducing harm to consumers and ensuring firms deliver good outcomes for consumers.”

Thanks to MaxContact

Author: Robyn Coppell