Citizens Advice today submitted a super-complaint to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) calling on it to identify remedies and recommendations to put an end to the penalty paid by loyal and disengaged consumers. The super-complaint covers several markets, including insurance, cash savings and mortgages.
The FCA has been concerned about the issue of long-standing customers being charged more for some financial products than new customers for some time. This has informed our earlier work on cash savings and mortgages.
In the FCA’s 2018/2019 Business Plan we announced that we were looking at the pricing practices of general insurance firms. As part of that work we will launch a market study looking at how general insurance firms charge their customers for home and motor insurance. The terms of reference for this market study will be published in a few weeks’ time.
Andrew Bailey, Chief Executive of the FCA commented:
'Citizens Advice has raised a number of important issues and we will work closely with the CMA as it investigates this super-complaint.
'We expect firms to look after the interests of all customers and treat them fairly, whether they are new or long-standing. It is important to get the balance right so that existing customers do not miss out on the benefits of competition and innovation, including when they purchase or renew their general insurance products.
'The general insurance market study we have announced today will help us examine the issues we have already identified in the market in more detail.'
Notes to Editors
- The super-complaint also raises concerns about competition in the mortgages and cash savings markets. The FCA has already undertaken work in both these areas looking at the treatment of long-standing customers. This includes a cash savings market study[1] which reported in 2015, a discussion paper[2] in July 2018 on price discrimination in the cash savings market, and a mortgages market study[3] launched in December 2016 which published its interim report in May 2018.
- On 1 April 2013, the FCA became responsible for the conduct supervision of all regulated financial firms and the prudential supervision of those not supervised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).
- The FCA has an overarching strategic objective of ensuring the relevant markets function well. To support this, it has three operational objectives: to secure an appropriate degree of protection for consumers; to protect and enhance the integrity of the UK financial system; and to promote effective competition in the interests of consumers.
- Find out more information about the FCA[4].