What is a wider implications issue?
- Factors the FSA, OFT and ombudsman service are likely to take into account include whether the issue is a new one and whether it affects:
- a large number of consumers;
- a large number of businesses;
- the financial integrity of a large business;
- interpretation of FSA rules or guidance from the FSA or OFT; or
- a common practice by businesses.
- By ‘business’ we mean either:
- a financial services firm regulated by the FSA; or
- a business with a standard consumer credit licence issued by the OFT.
- The wider implications process is not for concerns raised by parties to individual complaints about:
- the procedures of the FSA, OFT or ombudsman service; or
- the fairness of an individual decision.
The ombudsman service, FSA and OFT have separate arrangements for dealing with such concerns.
