Financial health website reveals ‘worrying’ feedback

The health check gives customers a personalised action plan to help them identify their financial priorities and manage their money. More than half of all visits to the website resulted in an action plan.

Gerard Lemos, chairman of the service, said data from the health check has shown a worrying trend in people’s finances.

When asked how they would describe their attitude to managing money, 48 per cent of those who opted for an action plan said they kept on top of their finances.

However, less than a quarter said they felt equipped to cope with a change in their financial circumstances, and only 21 per cent knew how they would manage in retirement.

Mr Lemos said: “It is worrying to hear so many people do not feel equipped to cope with a change in their financial circumstances.

“It is understandable that people remain focused on making ends meet day to day but now, more than ever, it was vital people stay alert to how they would cope with a potential change in circumstances and keep a keen eye on preparing for the future.”

The service has come under criticism from IFAs. Its television advertisements came under fire from the advisory community as they stated that the service offers unbiased, independent advice that is free.

Advisers said this was hypocritical given that the value of paying for financial advice was being pushed as part of the retail distribution review.

The service has previously stated that it was working closely with advice service unbiased.co.uk to ensure that consumers were pushed to IFA services.

There is no clear link on the service’s home page to allow users to access unbiased’s find-an-IFA tool, but there are links on sub-pages throughout the website.

Christopher Wicks, director of Manchester-based 8 Financial Services, said: “The advertising is completely and utterly misleading. It suggests that Money Advice Service is a financial adviser and it is outrageous that we are paying, rather than the taxpayers.

“It is useful to have a central source of generic information on financial planning but if you call them up, they cannot actually do anything for you.”