The current Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) Rules only allow businesses classed as “micro-enterprises” to participate in the FOS complaint redress scheme. At the end of January 2018, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) opened a consultation on proposals that would extend access to the FOS to a much larger group of businesses. The FCA consultation identifies that “small businesses often have more in common with individual consumers”, and “small businesses that buy or use financial products […]
Mis-selling of SIPP investments – what are a consumer’s options?
December 14th, 2017
A SIPP is a Self Invested Personal Pension, and as the name suggests, allow the holder a wide degree of freedom to invest in different types of investments. The SIPP itself is simply a wrapper for the investments within it which can be FCA regulated products such as unit trusts, shares, bonds and gilts and also more risky, unregulated products including collective investment schemes and property investment schemes (UK and overseas). A SIPP can be […]
Claims or complaints about Fixed Rate Loans – update
April 10th, 2017
Many thousands of businesses have been struggling over recent years to deal with the implications of long term fixed rate loans: ongoing interest costs significantly above current base rate, and unexpectedly high break cost charges for repaying loans early or refinancing. Businesses often feel that they were not fairly informed about the implication of long term fixes when entering into the loan and would either have not fixed their rate, would have chosen a different […]
What am I; Consumer or micro enterprise?
May 11th, 2016
Business owners often encounter situations where they wish to complain about a bank or insurer on a matter which affects their financial position personally, but is connected with their business. For example, a director entering into a personal guarantee of a company’s loan may wish to complain that he was not given fair or accurate information before signing up. Can such an aggrieved individual have his or her complaint looked at by the Financial Ombudsman […]
