Adviser claims victory in FCA long-stop battle

Carmen Reichman
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A financial adviser has been permitted to include a complaints time bar in his client terms of business contracts, after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) conceded to his case.

Managing director of Ramsgate-based IFA Financial Escape, Phil Castle, claimed victory last week after a five-year battle with the regulator, which demanded he remove the 15-year long-stop clause he was asking his clients to sign. The regulator told Castle in September last year that he could make "no mention" of the long-stop but gave in following a series of "robust exchanges" with regulatory consultant Jonathan Purle, who acted for Financial Escape, Castle said. Castle, who based the long-stop on legal principles anchored in common law, said his experience of the regulator was "thr...

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