Treasury select sub-committee chair George Mudie accused MAS of behaving like the “playground bully” by insisting Citizens’ Advice Bureau take on 50% more consumers in its debt clinics without any extra money.
Meanwhile MAS chairman Gerard Lemos was forced to admit the service had failed to engage properly with the industry on its money advice strategy because it was so focused on getting up and running.
He humbly added: “For future business plans we will certainly consult more than we did in the past, we have certainly learned that lesson.”
Lemos defended the service against accusations it is “crap” but conceded MAS could do a lot better.
He claimed most people using the site were satisfied but that the website was due a makeover.
He said: “I do not accept that our services are crap, 90% of people using our services say they would come back, 60% say they would recommend them to other people but we feel we could make them a lot better.
“We are transforming the service in order to reach far more people and the way the service is communicated; over the next few months starting in July you will see a very different Money Advice Service. It will be more focused on encouraging decision making and taking action.”
Also at yesterday’s committee hearing Financial Services Authority chairman Lord Adair Turner was forced to admit “in retrospect” that MAS executive pay was “a bit too high”.
MAS chief executive Tony Hobman is paid £350,000 in remuneration - in line with salaries of other FSA satellite organisations including the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and Financial Ombudsman Service.
