The Financial Conduct Authority said it has spoken to nearly 1,000 former British Steel Pension Scheme members, many of whom have raised concerns about feeling pressured to accept unsolicited offers.
Speaking to FTAdviser, an FCA spokesperson said: “Some of the behaviour we have seen from firms is not acceptable and risks vulnerable BSPS customers getting lower redress than they deserve.
“We make no apologies for taking a tough stance and we’ll continue to take action where we see this kind of behaviour from firms.
“We committed to the calculator being ready in Q2 and that hasn’t changed.”
In January, the FCA said it was aware of four firms who are associated with the British Steel Action Group (BSAG) that may be engaged in this conduct.
However, in February, the regulator said it has identified 15 firms who are engaged in the misconduct.
Yet the BSAG said it has sought to engage constructively with the FCA, to understand the basis of the redress calculator.
It said it has also asked for permission for BSAG members to be able to go directly to redress calculation, should they wish to do so.
BSAG said the vast majority of its firms have sought to settle matters before the scheme started and have followed the approach taken by the Financial Ombudsman Service (Fos) in utilising the new PS22/13 approach to the calculation of redress.
It said: “Whilst PS22/13 is not to come into practice before April 1, 2023, the methodology behind the new approach has been published and is widely understood.
“Indeed, Fos offers this method to BSPS cases as a method of calculation.”
sonia.rach@ft.com
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