On 26 January we set out concerns about an emerging practice where some firms were making unsolicited offers to former BSPS members, ahead of the redress scheme which begins on 28 February.

Under the scheme, firms will have to review the advice they gave and pay redress to those who lost money because of unsuitable advice.

We have now identified more firms – 15 – who are engaged in this misconduct, most of which are associated with the British Steel Action Group.

We are concerned that this is a deliberate attempt to exclude former BSPS members from the scheme, binding them to receive less money than they might be entitled to under the scheme.

This type of behavior will not be tolerated and we will take firm action to put a stop to this sharp practice.

Expectations for firms
Our news story on 26 January clearly outlines our expectations of firms and our view on this behavior. In addition to the expectations we set out in that news story, firms should:

withdraw any existing unsolicited settlement offers pending any consumer agreement
stop making further unsolicited offers to former BSPS members who have not made complaints
treat any pending unsolicited settlement offers as withdrawn