There is now less than 1 month to go until the Consumer Duty comes into force for all new and existing products and services available.
The FCA said last month that they will prioritise the most serious of breaches, and act swiftly and assertively where it finds evidence of harm, or risk of harm to consumers, so it is imperative to act accordingly.
A recent FCA survey showed that a lot of the firms in the sections covered believed they were on track to fully implement the new Consumer Duty on time. However, there was still work to be done for 23% of the firms surveyed.
The results also showed that retail finance providers and debt advice firms scored significantly lower than other firms on engagement, understanding, and implementation progress. Due to these findings, the FCA have issued further direct communications to these firms and is working with industry bodies to help amplify messages.
The FCA has also stated that Firms that have not been taking the Duty seriously and are a long way from meeting its requirements must make strenuous efforts in the next month to accelerate their implementation work. These firms must prioritise work that is likely to have the greatest impact on consumer outcomes.
If your firm still needs to identify gaps in your Consumer Duty, then take ComplyPortal’s Consumer Duty Readiness Assessment where our regulatory consultants have prepared questions and scoring to guide you through assessing your readiness. Our assessment is broken up into 7 scoring questionnaires covering the following:
- Corporate Governance
- Customer Identification
- Existing Products and Services
- New Products and Services
- Price and Value
- Consumer Understanding and Support
- Staff Training
Our readiness assessment is just the start though. Our expert consultants at Complyport are helping to make sure that firms are ready for the July 31st 2023 deadline, with support including:
- High-level Consumer Duty Readiness Report- Using our online assessment tool, Complyport will undertake a review of your firm and provide a report of where it is with its Vulnerable Customer Management (“VCM”) and Consumer Duty implementation.
- PS22/9 – A new Consumer Duty Impact Assessment- Complyport can undertake a Consumer Duty Impact Assessment (CDIA). Following this review, we will provide a report that will act as a roadmap, outlining what needs to be completed and by when to ensure compliance with the new rules.
- Ongoing support- Complyport can also provide firms with support now, and on an ongoing basis, to ensure full compliance with PS22/9. Our ongoing support services including Policy review and authoring, SM&CR advice, reviews of product offerings and Financial Promotions and more
Find out more by visiting our website or book a demo today.
