This special TTF symposium has come about because of a development that will be of huge interest to those keen to keep a watchful eye on the conduct of the UK’s Financial Regulators.

The background is that the Financial Conduct Authority, the Bank of England and the Prudential regulatory Authority have recently issued a consultation about making changes to the system the public can use to complain and seek compensation if a Financial Regulator’s conduct has led to financial loss.

There has, for many years  been concern that the complaints scheme currently being operated is not effective, and in particular that constraints have been imposed on the Complaints Commissioner’s scope to recommend the payment of compensation in cases where regulatory actions and inactions have led to financial loss by consumers.

Interestingly, on the surface, and at first glance, the proposals in the new Consultation (CP 20/11) seem like a progressive and pro-consumer step forward by the regulators, but when you read the detail it is possible to look at it all very differently indeed.

To be precise, we think there is a risk that the consultation may actually lead to changes that:

• Restricts consumers’ right to have complaints considered by the Regulators
• Prevent investigators being free at all times to act independently of the Regulators
• Materially, and adversely reduce the scope of the complaints scheme
• Limit the scope for the amount of payment of compensation to complainants
• Discourage people with legitimate complaints from making a complaint
• Cause regulated firms to carry more than their fair share of the compensation burden
• Undermine the development of good governance within the financial regulatory framework itself

This issue is of great interest to the TTF because we want to do all we can to help protect consumers’ interests, hence our symposium and of course we’ll also be responding to the consultation itself.