IFAs have called for debt management to be regulated on a par with advice, after a series of firm failures which they say damage the reputation of the wider financial services industry.
The latest to go bust is debtDr, the high-profile firm founded by Jeremy Hockley which folded quietly last Thursday, with no details available about the whereabouts of client money. Now, debt regulator the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has warned IFAs who referred clients to bust firms could be legally liable for losses. It would depend on the advice given and on what basis they recommended the particular firm, but an OFT spokesperson warned affected advisers to seek legal counsel. debtDr's business came from 60 nationwide consultants, IFAs and mortgage brokers who had opened up a s...
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