'Regulation on the never-never'

The clock is ticking. A year after we launched our Fair Fees campaign to protest against the iniquities of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, the FSA and its paymasters in Whitehall have failed to take any action.

Worse – they’ve kicked it into the long grass, claiming they can’t do anything about the outrageously unfair system until a bunch of bureaucrats in Brussels have conducted a review. How long will that take? How long is a piece of string?

It’s not good enough. Brokers are paying through the nose for the sins of others (namely, credit brokers and other parties that sold PPI). The FSA and FSCS need to understand that while they dally and dither, people suffer and businesses go under.

What are they waiting for? This European review could take years, and the UK has the right, and might, to determine its own compensation scheme. Claims to the contrary are mere flimsy excuses.

As the FSA is disbanded and replaced with a new regulatory system, ministers have a golden opportunity to sort this mess out once and for all. Perhaps that would be worth the extra money the new body is likely to cost?

Rest assured: Insurance Times will keep on fighting your corner. Watch out for the Fair Fees campaign over the coming weeks and months: we’ll make your voice heard. Sign our petition now at insurancetimes.co.uk/backfairfees

n It’s not just brokers that suffer at the hands of the regulators. The Solvency II saga staggers on as European regulators struggle to get to grips with their own fiendishly complicated legislation. The Knowledge is the need-to-know guide, and our interview with Eiopa chairman Gabriel Bernardino highlights the relaxed attitude to further delay.