This event will be a discussion on the recent reforms proposed by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) concerning Claims Management Companies (CMCs). We’ll be delving into the potentially very serious adverse implications to consumer rights and access to justice.

In short, there’s good reason for concern.

In particular it is vital that we stop and think about whether “under-the-radar” regulation is being introduced without adequate scrutiny and challenge, by organisations that have a great deal of unaccountable power, and a woeful lack of transparency.

It’s clear that they see CMCs as soft targets, and it’s clearer still that their proposed reforms could lead to a long list of undesirable outcomes for ordinary people; but whether those undesirable outcomes are intended or not is a matter for debate. 

And yes, we will be debating that awkward issue too. 

The reforms, which are seemingly aimed at reducing the number of complaints to the FOS, may undermine consumer protection, especially for vulnerable individuals who need to rely on professional representation to navigate complex financial disputes.

The key discussion points during this event will be:

1. The Proposed Reforms:
   • Overview of the FOS’s proposed changes and the stated rationale behind them; but is the stated agenda the real driver for what’s proposed?
   • How the reforms could disadvantage consumers, particularly those who struggle to represent themselves
   • Analysis of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) survey findings that reveal 67% of claimants would not pursue a claim without representation
2. Regulatory Capture and Conflicts of Interest:
   • Discussion on the possible conflicts of interest within the FOS board, given the heavy representation from the financial services sector
   • Examination of whether the FOS is truly independent of the FCA and whether the reforms reflect industry interests ahead of consumer projections, safeguards and rights
3. Consumer Advocacy and Representation:
   • The vital role of CMCs in ensuring consumers can access justice quickly and efficiently
   • The dangers of reducing the ability of CMCs to operate, particularly in light of increasing APP fraud cases and other complex financial disputes
4. The Bigger Picture:
   • Broader implications of these reforms on the financial services industry’s accountability
   • The need for a balanced approach that ensures both consumer protection and fair play within the industry.

This event will be of particular interest to:

• Parliamentarians with an interest in consumer protection, especially those that have concerns about whether the FCA and the FOS may not be doing a sufficiently effective job protecting consumer interests
• Journalists and broadcasters that cover consumer protection issues; whether specialising in the financial sector or not
• Leaders of relevant campaign groups, NGOs, civil society organisations and so on
• Any individual involved with the leadership of a CMC firm
• Any individual in a law firm that may also be impacted by the proposed reforms
• Any individual who has had a dispute – whether historic or current; and whether resolved or not

And all of this needs to be seen in the context that the data in Violation Tracker UK (which comes from the FCA itself) shows the financial services sector to be the most violating of all the industries in our economy based on the amount of fines since 2010; see the hard and verifiable evidence here; and even worse, a dive into the detail shows real signs of recidivism, which in turn suggests the regulatory framework is failing to drive improvements in market conduct that are so desperately needed.

One can’t help but wonder if the real agenda is to make things look better than they really are by engineering a way to reduce the amount of complaints, when in fact it is the underlying causes of the problems that should be tackled.

And we believe it’s easy to argue that the FOS/FCA proposals are a very interesting case study of the imbalance between consumer and producer interests, where the producers look rather as though they are being allowed to mark their own homework.

Surely, no good will come of it?

There’s obviously lots to discuss and think about – please do join us at this important, free-to-attend event.