Pensions - Articles - FCA and Royal London comment on cold-calling ban

 Steve Webb, Director of Policy at Royal London, the first major pension firm to back the campaign for a ban on cold-calling said:'Whilst this announcement is welcome, it is vital that this ban is implemented as a matter of urgency. Savers are being ripped off every day, and the official figures greatly understate the amount that is being lost. We cannot afford to wait months or even years before it is illegal to phone someone up out of the blue in this way, as a cold call is often the first step to a scam'.

 Commenting on other measures in the announcement, Steve Webb added:‘The tightening up of who can register a pension scheme is long overdue. The deregulation of pension scheme registration allowed all sorts of questionable people to register pension schemes and describe them as officially ‘approved’. Many people have lost money as a result. Royal London also welcomes the tightening of the rules on pension transfers. Where we have had concerns about a transfer in the past we have found that the existing law did not always give us the support we needed to act in the member’s interest. These changes are a step in the right direction’.

 In response to the Department for Work and Pensions announcement on pension scams today the Chief Executive of the FCA, Andrew Bailey said;“Pension scams can have a devastating impact on people’s lives and it’s a positive move by the Government to step in in this manner. We will continue to work with the Government, firms and consumer groups to stop pension scams where we can including through our ScamSmart campaign.”