Who is on the Panel?
The members of the Financial Services Consumer Panel are drawn from various backgrounds and experiences, and are appointed by the FSA to bring together a broad consumer perspective to the Panel's discussions.

How does the Panel work?
The Panel has been set up and funded by the FSA and is supported by a small secretariat within the FSA's offices. However, the Panel is independent of the FSA.

Members of the Panel meet about once a month, both in working groups and as a full Panel. The Panel's terms of reference require that they review the policies and practices of the FSA as they affect consumers, and provide feedback and advice on getting a better deal for consumers of financial services.

The Panel also has statutory powers under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA 2000).

FSMA also gave the FSA the responsibility to set up a parallel Practitioner Panel, to represent the views of the industry. Further information on the Practitioner Panel can be found on their website.

What are the Panel's views?
The Panel is an independent voice for consumers of financial services. We provide advice to the FSA on the interests and concerns of consumers and we assess the FSA's effectiveness in meeting its objectives to protect consumers' interests and promote public understanding of the financial system. As well as being consulted by the FSA on its policy proposals, the Panel also raises its own concerns and initiates its own research. The Panel's work is published in print form and also on this website, and an Annual Report of its activities is published each year.

A leaflet (in PDF format) about the Consumer Panel is also available for download.

Would you like to send us your comments?
We represent consumers, and the more we hear from people about their concerns to do with financial services, the better we'll be able to do our job. So please tell us what you think about the work we are doing and of the issues you think we should be considering. We'd also welcome your views on our web site. Please, contact us with your views at any time.

Please note that we are not able to deal with individual or specific complaints from the public about financial services. If you are a consumer with a specific issue about a particular firm or product, there are other organisations which may be able to help you.