Being Fair To Longstanding Clients

Being Fair To Longstanding Clients.

In 2016, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced a review into how longstanding customers of various financial institutions are looked after.

The is a basic principle that all financial services customers are required to abide by called “TCF – Treating Customers Fairly”.  In short, we must all have written procedures to check that we are fair to all clients in our dealings with them, document it and document how this is reviewed and any further changes to improve TCF are then documented, implemented, recorded and reviewed again.

The issue with the Longstanding Customer Review is that many larger companies take on other companies client banks or are bought, sold or put in ‘mothballs’.

Have you ever asked yourself:

• What is happening to the failed Equitable Life policyholders that still have pensions, investments or policies with them?  
• What happens to Abbey Life clients, again, another regulated firm, that in effect has thousands of policyholders but has not taken on any new clients for many years? 
• Why didn’t my pension company write to me and tell me they have a new, much cheaper, lower charges pension scheme than the one that I have today?
• Why do new client quotation calls get answered in minutes and a quote issued in seconds, yet if I am an existing client and I call, I am hold for a long time, if I get through, and then it takes weeks to send me the paperwork?

In this latest update, the FCA has confirmed that it has concluded its review of Police Mutual with no further action but is still reviewing fairness to long standing clients with Scottish Widows, Prudential, Countrywide Assured, Old Mutual and Abbey Life are continuing and no decisions regarding these firms have been reached by the FCA at this stage.