Research On Legal System Of Financial Consumer Protection In The United Kingdom

After the crisis, the financial consumers’ protection became one of the core issues of the maintenance of global financial stability. The developed countries represented by The Great Britain responded rapidly, and introduced relevant policies which laid the legal basis for financial consumers’ protection. In terms of our country, the government began to focus on financial consumer rights after the crisis,and the financial regulatory agencies have carried out a number of financial consumer rights protection activities. However, compared with the increasing number of financial dispute situation, these efforts is not enough.In addition to,China has no specific legislation on financial consumer protection,and the theory and practice has not reached a consensus on the concept of financial consumer, consumer rights and other problems about financial consumer protection.Therefore,it is necessary for our country to learn from the advanced experience of developed financial consumer protection on improving our financial consumer protection legal system to preserve our financial stability and promoting the sustainable and healthy development of the financial sector.This article will be on the premise of clear financial consumer concept and right, literature analysis, comparative method and value analysis, in the developed countries such as Britain, on the basis of financial consumer protection legal system research, summed up China’s financial consumer protection of the existing problems, and puts forward corresponding legal countermeasure, in order to improve the legal system of financial consumer protection in China, according to the legislation, protection agency,the dispute settlement mechanism and consumer education four aspects fully grasp the issues of financial consumer protection.Besides preface and conclusion, the full text is divided into four parts.The first part is the basic theory of financial consumer protection legal system, which explores the definition of the financial consumers and the theory basis of the consumers’ protection.Financial consumers are the natural and legal persons, who accept financial products and services provided by financial institutions.with the professional investment institutions and professionals excluded. Constrained by a lack of specialized financial knowledge and the invisibility and complexity of financial products, financial consumers are always vulnerable in the financial contractions. Therefore special protection system, different from the ordinary consumer protection rules, should be formulated.The second part discusses the content of financial consumer protection legal system in the Untied Kingdom. Financial Services Authority (FSA), Britain’s financial regulator, bear the main duties and responsibilities of a consumer financial protection; Driven by the FSA "fair to consumers" project, aimed at changing financial institutions the attitude of consumers. Information disclosure system is not only emphasize the FSA in to perform the duties of disclosure obligation, also rules for financial institutions to the content of the disclosure of information for consumers. Financial Ombudsman Services(FOS), the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and Office of the Complaints Commissioner (OCC) constitute the financial dispute handling and compensation system. Complete financial consumer education system is not only reflected in the British government will consumer financial education as a national strategy, and in the wake of the financial crisis established a dedicated Consumer Financial Education Institutions (CFEB), responsible for the implementation of financial consumer education programs.The third part introduces the characteristics of the financial consumers’ protection law, the main content which includes the legislative system is complete, and it sets up special financial consumers’ protection agency, the developed dispute processing mechanism and financial compensation mechanism and perfect financial consumers education system.The fourth part is the enlightenment to our country consumer financial legal system. The suggestions of perfecting our country’s financial consumers’protection are put forward. We will accelerate the development of China’s financial consumers’ protection legal system, increase People’s Bank of China and other financial regulatory agencies perform financial consumers’protection function of punishment and independence,and strengthen that the self-discipline organizations play a financial consumer protection role;Constructing perfect financial consumer disputes settlement mechanism, and encourage financial disputes in accusing the way; The consumers’ financial education into the national education system, set up special financial consumer education institutions.