FSA slams financial services websites

Added by The Editor, 10 months ago.

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Attention, financial services providers: the Financial Services Authority (FSA) is watching your website with renewed attention, since recent research showed that misleading online promotions are still a serious problem for the sector.

In an investigation of 77 websites the FSA found that a quarter "failed to sign-post key information", and as a result "failed to present information in a fair, clear and not misleading way".

It's not all bad news: the FSA said standards have improved since similar reviews in 2005 and 2006. However, the regulatory body said its investigators will be carrying out a further review in March 2008, and will take action if it finds further failings.

"Although many firms' website-based promotions are meeting our requirements, we expect the senior management of all regulated firms to ensure their customers are treated fairly - and we will be looking at promotional websites again early next year to make sure that firms have taken our findings on board and are taking website design seriously," said Dan Waters, director of retail policy and themes at the FSA.

Poor information on websites puts consumers at risk, he added, as it tempts them to make instant purchases of accounts and policies without the full facts at their disposal.

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Victoria, 10 months ago

Despite the Web becoming such an integral part of our lives – at work and play – it's interesting to note how a lot of organisations seem to think special rules still apply online or – as in this case – that they can get away with claims on the web that they couldn't do offline. Interestingly, I was talking to a public sector organisation earlier who almost had the opposite problem in that Civil Service recruitment rules dictate that any jobs they want to advertise still have to be advertised in the press to be considered accessible to all. So even if they wanted to be more innovative and try to connect with audiences online through platforms like Second Life or Facebook, they'd have to spend money offline on advertising the same job in the press regardless. Surely these kinds of rules will have to change soon – in the same way that I hope some of the financial services providers thinking they can get away with misleading promotions on their website will realise that making these claims online is no different to making them on a poster or in a TV ad.