UCL Centre for Ethics & Law response the FCA's consultation (CP21/13)

The Consumer Duty would require financial services firms to: 

• ask themselves what outcomes consumers should be able to expect from their products and services
• act to enable rather than hinder these outcomes
• assess the effectiveness of their actions.'

The FCA wants 'to see firms putting themselves in their customers’ shoes, asking themselves questions such as ‘would I be happy to be treated in the way my firm treats its customers?’, or ‘would I recommend my firm’s products and services to my friends and family?’.'

The Centre's response questions whether this approach will be any more successful than the existing requirement to 'treat customers fairly' and whether specific areas of concern are best addressed by precise rules and adequate supervision and enforcement action.'

You can download the Centre's response as a PDF copy.