The FCA has published Thematic Review 15/10: Fair treatment for consumers who suffer unauthorised transactions (TR15/10).

In TR15/10 the FCA presents the findings from its thematic review into whether consumers are being treated fairly in relation to unauthorised transactions. In its review the FCA assessed 10 firms which provide current accounts and / or credit cards to assess whether the consumer protections in place are effective and whether firms are delivering fair outcomes for their customers.

The findings in TR15/10 include:

  • firms are generally meeting their legal requirements and are making a good effort to deliver fair outcomes for their customers;
  • no evidence of firms declining claims on the basis of customer ‘non-compliance’ with prescriptive security requirements in the terms and conditions;
  • identified issues with some of the content of account terms and conditions and found some fairly minor problems around how some firms organise their decision making, for example a lack of clear policies for complex cases and a heavy reliance in a small number of firms on experienced staff; and
  • in each of the following areas the FCA saw a range of behaviours with many positive findings and some areas where performance was more mixed:
    • customer communications and awareness, including how firms educate their customers on fraud risk;
    • prevention and detection of unauthorised transactions;
    • customer experience, including whether the processes in place are likely to act as a barrier to customers making claims for unauthorised transactions; and
    • governance, oversight and measuring outcomes.

TR15/10 also includes some examples of good practice as well as the results of independent consumer research. Based on the findings in TR15/10, the FCA does not believe further thematic work is required at this stage. Relevant firms should consider the findings and how they apply to their own approach to dealing with unauthorised transactions, taking action where needed.

View TR15/10: Fair treatment for consumers who suffer unauthorised transactions, 28 July 2015