The call led to assurances from the regulator that it would “crack down” on any firms who were found to be flouting the rules.
Adrian Childs, chief operations officer of The Black & White Group, said that fee disclosure on adverts was having a major impact on the market, with his firm noticing a 40 per cent drop in response since September last year.
“It is frustrating for those of us who have chosen to play by the rules, and even more frustrating when you spend tens of thousands a week on advertising, only to find your advert next to a competitor who has little or no fee disclosure,” said Childs.
Tony Cardiff, associate director at London-based brokerage Alexander Hall, agreed that leads generated from consumer press adverts had dropped substantially.
“Advertising responses are well down. We usually use The Evening Standard and responses are nowhere near where they were. We are fortunate in that we have the Foxtons connection which generates a lot of leads for us.”
However, Cardiff said he would prefer the regulator to tackle bad advice than concentrate its efforts on adverts.
FSA spokesperson Robin Gordon-Walker commented: “We have said we intend to maintain a strong focus on Financial Promotions. The FSA has special team of 30 people whose sole job is to focus on mortgage, general insurance as well as other financial services advertisements.
“We will crack down on adverts that which don’t meet our standards as an ongoing priority.”
