Financial advisers attacked by Which?

Fewer than one third of the UK's financial advisers meet best-practice standards set by the UK's largest consumer association Which?, with standards of advice on the high street exposed as the worst of all.

Just 16 per cent of financial advisers working for banks and building societies met all of Which?'s minimum standard tests, the consumer group said yesterday, while almost half regularly misinformed customers about the range of products they were allowed to sell.

Which? said a Bradford & Bingley adviser told one of its mystery shoppers he was able to recommend products from the whole market, when in fact B&B has a tie-up with Legal & General which restricts B&B to recommending its products. The consumer association said similar inconsistencies were identified in the marketing literature of companies such as NatWest, Yorkshire Bank and Halifax.

Although independent financial advisers came off slightly better than bank advisers, only 48 per cent passed all of Which?'s benchmarks for good advice.

Which? said it had forwarded the results of its mystery-shopping exercise to the Financial Services Authority. Neil Fowler, editor of Which? magazine, said: "Which? has been testing financial advisers for over 20 years and our results have been consistent through that time. Our latest investigation leads us to believe the industry has failed consumers in the provision of this crucial service, and is still failing."

He added: "There are some good advisers out there, but they take a bit of finding."

Which? said consumers should avoid the high street and opt instead for independent advisers who charge fees rather than take commissions.

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