£22k payout after FCA register errors

Tens of thousands of pounds were paid out to people who had been misled by incorrect information on the City watchdog’s financial industry register last year.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) paid almost double the amount of compensation to victims of mistakes on its register in 2018 than the previous year.

Complainants were left facing losses after making decisions based on the FCA’s database of financial firms, only to later discover that the register was littered with mistakes.

After a Freedom of Information request from Telegraph Money, the regulator said it paid £22,487.50 to victims of register mistakes during 2018, up from £12,359 the year before. The £22,487.50 was shared between three complainants.

The overall number of complaints also increased significantly year-onyear. In 2018 the regulator received 92 letters about incorrect information on its register. This represents a sixfold increase on the 15 complaints recorded in 2017.

Due to the slow nature of its complaints process, these 92 issues are unlikely to have been resolved in the calendar year. Each of the three complainants paid compensation in 2018 had initially contacted the FCA in 2016 or 2017.

Last September, Telegraph Money reported on the case of Gilbert West, who lost £44,275 to scammers after they exploited a mistake in the register to pose as a legitimate firm.

Due to the publication of the article, Andrew Bailey, the chief executive of the FCA, was questioned by the Treasury Committee, the group of influential MPs. Mr Bailey promised to overhaul the register and reduce the number of mistakes.