The New Consumer Duty Act

Carparison continues to act in compliance with the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) expectations concerning fair treatment of our customers. This includes applying the New Consumer Duty Act rules due to take effect from 31st July 2023.

What is the new Consumer Duty? 

In 2022, the FCA found that consumers are being asked to make an increasing number of complex and important financial decisions, in a faster and more complex environment than ever before. It is therefore crucial that consumers can continue to make informed and effective choices in these conditions.

With this aim in mind, the FCA is implementing a new Consumer Duty, which is due to take effect from 31st July for any existing products and services.

This strategy is intended to set higher standards, put consumer’s needs first and enable a higher level of consumer protection in retail financial markets. Specifically, it is aimed to support four outcomes:

1. Fair value – consumers receive fair prices and quality

2. Suitability and treatment – consumers receive suitable products and services, along with good service

3. Confidence – consumers have strong confidence and levels of market participation

4. Access – diverse consumer needs are met

You can read the rules from the new consumer duty act in full below.

How Carparison will apply the new rules

With a greater focus on delivering good outcomes for retail customers, we wanted to outline what the new Consumer Duty means for you – and what you can expect from Carparison (and all associated brands) once these new rules come into effect.

Under the new Consumer Duty, Carparison will assess and evidence how we act to deliver these good outcomes as part of your leasing journey. We remain committed to consumer protection and ensuring that all customers are treated fairly in the day-to-day running of our business.

We will continue to act in good faith in any dealings with, and on behalf of, our customers.

We will continue to avoid causing foreseeable harm to our customers.

We will continue to enable and support retail customers in pursuit of their financial objectives.

Every admin agent and customer-facing employee has been trained on the FCA guiding principles, from Data Protection to Complaints Handling to Treating Customers Fairly. We work closely with Product Partnerships, who monitor our handling of regulated finance agreements to ensure we follow the FCA’s guidelines.

Carparison's Sales Administration Manager, Kate Champion explains, "I believe all customer service elements between us and our customers should be a five-star level of service at all times.

"From the moment a new order arrives with my team, our Sales Administrators adhere to a series of strict service level agreements (SLAs) to ensure that all steps in the process are dealt with in a timely and efficient manner and that every single communication is given the same care and attention.

"I believe it’s what sets us apart from other brokers.

"On the very rare occasion a customer encounters an issue we take every step to ensure that they are supported and guided by us to gain the very best possible outcome for them."

Why is customer experience important to us? 

Treating customers fairly is at the heart of everything we do. We want to provide customers with a quality service that complies with the FCA’s guiding principles.

However, we are always looking for ways we can improve and streamline our customer service. Customer feedback is a crucial part of the process, allowing us to measure our success and monitor our compliance with the FCA’s guidance. This will be equally important with the implementation of the new consumer duty act.

Carparison reviews are available for public viewing on our website; every customer should have confidence in us when they place an order and have the opportunity to feed back their experience.