Recommendation 19

This committee’s 2016 report on financial services mis-selling similarly concluded that the Financial Conduct Authority was not doing enough to ensure that consumers understand the financial products they are buying. The report found that even the most knowledgeable consumers can find financial services too complex to understand, which emphasises the importance of providing adequate support to consumers making financial decisions.39 While not a financial product, this committee also saw similar themes in its 2018 inquiry into the higher education market. The report found that young people taking out student loans were not properly supported to make decisions on higher education that affected their future careers, in large part due to insufficient and inconsistent careers advice.40