The FCA has announced that it is conducting a Consumer Duty preparedness survey.

The survey is being sent to a sample of small and medium-sized firms to understand the progress they are making in implementing the Duty.

The survey is being carried out on  behalf of the FCA by Ipsos Mori. The results are anonymous and the FCA will not be told what any individual firms say.

Firms that are selected to complete the survey are encouraged to take the time to provide feedback. The FCA will use the survey results to understand how prepared firms are in meeting the implementation deadline of 31 July 2023, and how firms can best be supported to embed the Duty effectively.

The email

A copy of the email that is being sent is shown below.

I would like to invite you to take part in an important survey commissioned by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK financial regulator.

The survey will help the FCA understand what preparations small and medium sized businesses such as yours are making for a new financial regulation called the Consumer Duty, how ready they are for implementation, and what information and support they are finding useful.

The FCA has commissioned Ipsos, an independent market research company, to carry out the survey and have provided us with your details as the appropriate contact for your business, XXXXXXXXX Ltd.

If XXXXXXX Ltd has appointed you as its compliance consultant or similar role, please complete the survey on its behalf.

Why take part?

1. The survey should take you no more than 10 minutes to complete and requires no special or technical knowledge.
2. By learning about whether and how businesses are preparing for the Consumer Duty, the FCA can identify further opportunities to help businesses like yours to get ready.

One of our telephone interviewers will call you in the next few weeks to invite you to take part in the survey. If you would prefer to take part online please click on the link below:

… DUMMY LINK …

or paste it into your browser.

If you do not want to be contacted again to take part in this survey, please let us know by emailing Ipsos at uk-pa-fcaconsumerdutyresearch@ipsosresearch.com quoting your reference number at the beginning of this email.

Strictly confidential

Everything you share in the survey is treated in the strictest confidence and it will not be possible for the FCA to identify your organisation’s response. You can find out more about how Ipsos protects your privacy and data by reading our privacy notice.

The information you provide for this study will be used to inform the FCA’s future communications and the support the FCA provides to firms. Ipsos is bound by the Market Research Society Code of Conduct and the Data Protection Act. Your contact details will be held securely at all times and your responses will be

treated confidentially. You can also find the FCA’s privacy policy on its website.

Queries

If you are not the most appropriate person for this email, please forward it on to the relevant person. The person most appropriate for this survey would be someone responsible for decisions about communications, products and services, the support your organisation offers customers or the organisation’s regulatory compliance. If you have any other queries, please call the Ipsos freephone number 0800 157 7797 or contact the FCA’s Supervision Hub on firm.queries@fca.org.uk.

Taking part in the survey is voluntary and requires your consent. Your participation will help the FCA support businesses like yours.

Yours sincerely,

Joanna Crossfield
Research Director

Ipsos