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Regulations
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) are the UK’s regulator for most financial products available in the UK. They regulate most companies, large and small, that offer financial service products from mortgage brokers and banks through to travel agents that sell insurance.
One of the FSA’s main objectives is to protect the consumer, not just against financial crime and fraud but also against mis-selling and how they are treated. To achieve this all companies regulated by the FSA are obliged to follow the same set of rules and guidance to ensure that the customer receives the same information and advice regardless of whom they approach.
Some of the services NOT covered by the Financial Services Authority include:
Personal Loans, credit cards, banking services and occupational pension schemes.
However this does not mean that they are unregulated as these services may have their own regulator. It may be worth checking out the regulator and the protection they can offer when taking out any new financial service.
In October 2004 the majority of mortgages became regulated by the FSA and as such we are authorised and regulated to sell and give advice on mortgages. The Financial Services Authority hold a Register of all firms that are regulated on their website. This is available for consumers to check that the firm that they are dealing with have the required permission levels for the product they are purchasing. It is worth remembering that each type of product is authorised individually therefore if the website advises that they are authorised to sell mortgages and you are buying insurance, the provider is not authorised to sell this.
If a firm is not authorised by the FSA, on face value the consumer may receive a similar level of service but if things go wrong, they won’t have access to the complaints and compensation procedures.
As mentioned above not all mortgages are regulated and the most notable exclusion to this are most Buy to Let mortgages. Therefore if you are considering Buy To Let, remember that they may not be regulated.
Regulation may appear daunting or confusing but the FSA have their own website specifically aimed at consumers which may help called Money Made Clear. However regardless of your views on regulation, the Financial Services Authority have been set up to protect the consumer and any reputable company that wants to protect their customers, will adopt and apply the rules and guidance wholeheartedly.
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