What's wrong with the Money Advice Service?

CRITICS

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A year into its existence, the Money Advice Service is taking heat from advisers and is under the microscope of MPs. But is the criticism justified?

Launched just over a year ago, the Money Advice Service (MAS) – a better-funded version of the Consumer Financial Education Body (CFEB) with a wider remit – has not exactly had the transformative impact the FSA hoped it would. As they were with the CFEB, advisers have been critical of the service all along, with its perceived lax (and misleading) use of the word ‘advice’ and its claim to be free. “It would be very useful if it were explained that it is not free as it’s paid for by the industry and it is not really advice – it is information,” said Robert Forbes, partner at Plutus Weal...

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