The Financial Services Consumer Panel welcomes the FSA's proposals to reduce the risk that consumers who were mis-sold endowment policies will miss the opportunity to complain because they failed to act in time.

Colin Brown, Panel Chairman, said, "The Panel has been conscious of the potential impact of the statutory time bar and we have been urging the FSA to clarify the position so that mis-sold consumers are clear about the deadline by which they need to register a complaint. The proposals the FSA has announced today do just that. I am particularly pleased that, where a second red letter is sent, consumers will not be held out of time until at least 6 months later.

"We would like the rules on the time barring of complaints explained clearly to consumers at the time they receive red re-projection letters. We have also suggested that, by way of an early warning, the same explanation should be given to consumers receiving an amber re-projection letter. Consumers who believe that they were mis-sold an endowment policy need to be crystal clear about the deadline applicable to them for making any claim for compensation."

The Panel will respond formally to the FSA's consultation in the course of the next month.

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Notes to editors