The FSA continued its crackdown on the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI) by penalising two more firms for breaking the rules.
Home shopping company Redcats, a sister company to Gucci and Yves St Laurent, was fined £270,000 for failing to treat its customers fairly. Weaknesses were found in Redcats' systems and controls, staff training and sales processes.
Customers were provided with insufficient information about the PPI policy features, terms, exclusions and limitations through its telephone sales channel.
About 160,000 customers were sold PPI that might not have been suitable for their needs, the FSA concluded.
Margaret Cole, FSA director for enforcement, said that PPI was a "priority" for the FSA and warned that further enforcement actions would follow.
"Firms offering PPI must operate in a way that treats their customers fairly and meets regulatory requirements," she said.
Reports said that Redcats was one of a dozen PPI cases being investigated by the FSA's enforcement division.
Meanwhile, Edinburgh-based franchise car dealership, Eastern Western Motor Group, was censured by the FSA for failures relating to its sale of PPI. It failed to keep adequate records or clearly state prices when selling PPI for vehicle finance agreements.
The FSA's campaign against PPI mis-selling has been gathering pace in recent months.
In October Loans.co.uk was fined £455,000 for deficient PPI selling practices, and in November mortgage broker Mortgage Connections received a £17,500 fine.
