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Several years ago when IFAP decided to try and get more money by offering enhanced advertising, I chose to stay with the standard package.

I have not had a lead for years and decided to revisit the Unbiased.co.uk website and was quite shocked to discover quite possibly why. A cheap, underhand trick to effectively prevent non-paying IFAs from getting any leads.

I searched on my own business postcode and nothing turned up. Strange I thought so I went back into the search criteria and found the problem. IFAP default the search to "only include IFAs who have a website or email links". This is a cheap, advertising trick and not what one would expect from an organisation which is meant to promote the professionalism of IFAs.

The reason this is a cheap trick is as follows:

1. It defaults to exclude non-paying IFAs rather than including all IFAs.

2. It should read "only include IFAs who have paid to have enhanced advertising" as this is effectively what website or email links means.

3. Consumers will read it to mean, exclude IFAs with no website or email at all and will clearly think such firms are dinosaurs.

I am indeed the nearest IFA to my own postcode and I have email and a website so if a consumer searches on my postcode, my details should appear first. If others wish to pay for a big blue advert rather than a small white one that is fine, but IFAP ensure that the default search is for all IFAs and not just those that pay.  Having done this, they should then change the wording to something more truthful such as  "only search for IFAs who have paid for an enhanced listing".

IFAP response:

IFAP/Unbiased remains a not for profit organisation whose sole purpose is to promote independent financial advice to consumers.

All 9,000 member IFAs benefit from IFAP/Unbiased generating around 6,000 pieces of consumer media coverage each year - positioning IFAs and the advice process in a positive light. This media coverage is instrumental in ensuring people continue to value the 'independent' proposition available from all IFAs.

All 9,000 member IFAs also benefit from being listed on Unbiased.co.uk (and the 62 white label versions of our 'Find an IFA' service running on partner websites). Over the last 12 months IFAP/Unbiased dealt with over half a million online enquiries from people looking for local IFAs.

IFAP/Unbiased has achieved the above media coverage and lead generation levels without any budget increases over the last eight years.

It is true that those member IFAs that are subscribing to IFAP's Online Marketing Package (a nominal £25O pounds a year) will get significantly more leads from IFAP/Unbiased than those that haven't. At the end of the day these subscribing IFAs are subsidising the promotion of those that have yet to support IFAP/Unbiased. It therefore seems fair that they (the 3,200 member IFAs that are actually putting something into the funding of their own 'independence' brand campaign) should get more out of it.

By subscribing your correspondent would be making a valuable contribution to their own brand campaign - oh, and they would get some leads. We would genuinely welcome their support.

David Elms

Chief executive, IFAP/Unbiased