What is Consumer Duty?

The New Consumer Duty is a very significant piece of UK regulation introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which comes into force on 31 July 2023. It sets high expectations for firms across the financial services industry on the standard of care to give consumers in retail financial markets.

It introduces a twelfth principle within the FCA’s Principles sourcebook and is the first addition since they were originally implemented.

At its simplest, Consumer Duty is aimed at providing better outcomes for our consumers (that’s our clients and members).

The exact Consumer Principle is; ‘A firm must act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers’ by specifically looking at four areas:

1. Products and Services 
2. Price and Value 
3. Consumer Understanding 
4. Consumer Support

What does Consumer Duty mean to Clients?

They don’t need to take any action. Consumer Duty means that Clients will see even higher standards from the products and services we provide to them. We will need to continue to ensure we provide value for money, meet our Clients needs and continuously improve outcomes. Therefore over time, clients can expect to see ongoing improvements as we constantly strive to do more. 

What has Mayfair Capital done to comply with Consumer Duty?

As you would expect, the implementation of the Consumer Duty Rules has been a key focus for Mayfair Capital and we have had a large project running for some months with engagement at very senior levels in the business and with the board. We set up key workstreams including Product and Services & Price and Value Assessment and, Client Communications & Understanding; below is a brief summary of the work carried out and how this may benefit you going forwards.

Product and Services & Price and Value

Under the Product and Services & Price and Value Assessment workstream we have assessed the performance of our products and services in delivering good client outcomes and value for money. We will continue to review this on an ongoing basis.

Member Communications and Understanding

Whilst we have always strived to ensure our communications are clear and not misleading to members, we want to do more to provide the best possible outcomes for our clients and members. We have therefore actioned the following.

• Updated our onboarding documents to ensure all are fees are clear and simple to understand.
• Created a Client Support Diary system where clients are able to allocate a time of their choosing to discuss any aspect of the service we offer.
• We will be sending out Anonymous client surveys to clients in order to receive feedback on our offerings and service. There is also a client survey which can be found on our website. www.mayfair-capital.co.uk

The new regulations come into effect after 31 July 2023. From this date, all our communications will need to be considered through a Consumer Duty lens, and it may make take a little longer for us to ensure all member comms are reviewed appropriately. 

Vulnerable Customers

Mayfair Capital has considered our vulnerable customers across every service under Consumer Duty. It’s worth highlighting that supporting vulnerable customers is not something new for us, we have been doing so long before Consumer Duty regulations were announced. Looking after all our customers is at the centre of our purpose and it’s something we are keen to continuously improve and further embed into our day-to-day processes across the business.

If your employees need any additional support, they can call us on +44 (0)203 795 4964 . Our lines are open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. Alternatively you can email us at info@mayfair-capital.co.uk

Next steps

After 31 July 2023, Mayfair Capital will be ensuring that Consumer Duty is fully embedded into all our processes and considered as part of our day-to-day business. This means: 

• continued specialist training across the business
• regular and consistent reviews of our On-Boarding process & content.
• monitoring of portfolio performance (which we have been doing prior to Consumer Duty)
• additional internal feedback mechanisms around the performance of our products and services

Please get in touch with your Relationship Director to discuss any additional questions you may have