Category: Debt Management

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FCA urges consumers struggling with price rises to seek help

On 6 July 2022, the UK Financial Conduct Authority published a press release urging consumers struggling with rising prices to seek help from their lenders. This press release follows the publication of a recent ‘Dear CEO’ letter, and press release, to consumer lenders.

The FCA and MoneyHelper are urging consumers to:

– contact their lenders if they are struggling to make their payments;

– contact MoneyHelper if they are worried about money

The FCA and MoneyHelper have also published five top tops:

– open up and talk to someone about your challenges

– work out your debts

– prioritise your debts

– shop around for affordable credit

– set a budget

This press release is in a long line of financial difficulty communications from the FCA. The FCA is expected to publish its review of its final findings into firms’ provision of appropriate support to borrowers in financial difficulty both during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, and next steps. This publication is currently expected on Q3 2022.

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ASA publishes a ruling upholding four out of five grounds for a complaint against Money Advisor

On 5 May 2021, the Advertising Standards Authority published a ruling against Money Advisor Limited t/a Money Advisor. The complaints related to the claims made on how debts could be ‘written off’.

The ruling records that a TV advertisement for Money Advisor, seen in January 2021, included a voiceover stating “When you’re in debt it’s hard to know where to turn; you can feel trapped by it, you can’t see a way out. Call Money Advisor for help” (with the on-screen text giving examples of debts which had been ‘written off’) (called ‘ad (a)’). Money Advisor’s website also featured a banner with the logo and name of the Money Advice Service (called ‘ad (b)’).

The following complaints were upheld:

– The claim that “We could help you write-off 100 percent of your unaffordable debt” in ad (a) was misleading and could not be substantiated. No evidence was submitted to show that Money Advisor could provide such help.

– Ad (a) misleadingly implied Money Advisor could provide debt advice when it did not have permission from the FCA to do so.

– The claims “Call Money Advisor for help” and “We could help you write-off 100 per cent of your unaffordable debt” in ad (a) were misleading because they suggested Money Advisor provided the service and did not make clear that they passed on leads to third party insolvency practitioners.

– The use of the Money Advice Service name and logo in ad (b) misleadingly suggested an association with that service. The Money Advice Service logo appears “directly underneath a number of five start customer reviews” and this appeared to link the positive customer reviews with the Money Advice Service.

The ASA therefore decided that ad (a) must not be broadcast again, and ad (b) must not appear again in the form complained about.