A man whose struggles with addiction made him vulnerable to high-risk investment strategies and frequent withdrawals from his Hargreaves Lansdown Sipp has written to the regulators to urge them to do more to put preventative measures in place.
At a time when the government's House of Commons is debating increasing barriers to gambling through affordability checks, consumer Fintan Moran has urged financial regulators to make sure the companies they regulate also do the same.
In the letter, sent to Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority, and to Abby Thomas, chief executive of the Financial Ombudsman Service, Moran reminded the regulators their purpose was to support people, vulnerable people, including those with mental ill-health and problem addictions.
The letter, seen by FT Adviser, said: "The organisations you lead were put there not to support commercial organisations, but to help ordinary British people. Especially the most vulnerable people, those people with mental problems.
"People whose brain functioning is broken. People who are unable to think in the same way as normal functioning people. They are also people who have paid into the system for decades, as I have."
Referring to the near-total loss of his original £200,000 Sipp, he said it was "sickening" that he should have found himself in "a terrible situation of absolutely no fault of my own because of a brain distinction".
He said that the organisations set up to regulate financial services had failed him completely.
"I have written over, and over, and over again to simply now be ignored, silenced, and shut down."
The letter added: "I'm one person who has been pummelled beyond belief by both your organisations with zero recourse to a fair hearing.
"It's happening to the most vulnerable, people like me with mental health problems, the very people you say you do your utmost to protect."
He urged them: "Tell me now, today what you are going to do to rectify this?"
Regulatory responses
Responding to the letter, a spokesperson for the Fos - which is funded by industry levy, not taxpayers - said treating vulnerable people with "fairness and compassion" was an "absolute priority for our service".
They said Fos has helped "many thousands of consumers" seek redress for their complaints.
The spokesperson said: “All staff are carefully trained to identify signs of vulnerability at the earliest opportunity.
"It doesn’t matter if it’s financial difficulties, a tough life event, illness or disability – we’re here to listen to people’s concerns, support them with their complaint, and provide a fair and impartial view on their case.
“We’re also committed to always learning and finding new ways to make our service as accessible as possible. Ultimately consumer protection must be at the heart of everything we do.”
Fos has provided training and support to staff who are handling particularly sensitive cases, such as problem gambling, domestic and economic abuse, financial difficulties, and discrimination.
