Price comparison sites part of new crackdown

It has recently been reported that price comparison sites are now part of another regulatory crackdown, and tougher rules and regulations have been put into place to stop these sites from giving consumers confusing or misleading information.

This will include stopping them from passing on the personal details of consumers with their permission. A new voluntary code of conduct will require these price comparison sites to provide up to date information such as prices on loans and credit cards rather than just giving estimated costs.

The price comparison sites will no longer be able to mislead consumers into thinking that they have been given an accurate price if it is actually just an estimated price based on information that had not yet been completed or verified.

Sites will also have to ensure that they are exercising fairness under circumstances such as when they receive a fee for recommending a certain service or product to the consumer.

Over the past few years many different price comparison sites have sprung up, and have proven popular with those that like to use the Internet to make purchases and find special offers.

Whilst these sites have made it easy for consumers to compare different deals and prices, they have also caused confusion for some customers who thought they had been given one cost when in fact the end cost was something completely different.

The rules for the code of conduct have been compiled with the cooperation of the Financial Services Authority, and all sites that sign up to the code will have to ensure that they have a complaints procedure in place.

An official from one comparison site said: ‘We aim to make clear to consumers what they should expect and we will work tirelessly to improve standards in the sector by promoting best practice.’

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