Where's the FSCS when needed?

Published:
07 October 2008
Topic:
News,Money,Savings

For many years now working for the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has been a dull job.  Dull, but important.  As an offshoot of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) it has been a sleepy place, diligently following the rules to pay consumers compensation, for example, when they have been miss-sold an endowment and their financial adviser has gone bust.

All that changed last year with the crisis at Northern Rock. Suddenly the FSCS was thrust into the limelight. Overnight, it wasn't just a sleepy safety net, but a vital part of the UK's banking system.

Faced with this new challenge the FSCS has not risen to the task. With an unprecedented crisis hitting the UK savings market where has the FSCS been? Has it run full page adverts in every newspaper to explain the scheme and re-assure? Has its chief executive been interviewed by dozens of TV and radio bulletins?

And today, when it is thrust centre stage, what happens? Well, the FSCS call centre turns out not to be up to the job, and failed this morning.

With today's news that Heritable Bank has gone into administration, its UK savings customers will be looking to make a claim from the FSCS.  We need to see the Scheme work with the administrators, Ernst & Young, the FSA and the Treasury to ensure that savers are paid their compensation with a matter of days, rather than weeks or months.

A hotline has been set up for Heritable Bank customers, the number is 0845 730 0131. Anyone who rings this number will hear a recorded message which addresses concerned Icesave customers. At the end of the message there is the option to press '0' which will put you through to an adviser.

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Clare Francis

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