The Isle of Man Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has identified two areas, namely Self Invested Personal Pension Schemes (SIPPs) and Insurance Intermediaries where it believes there are loopholes in the customer protection afforded by the Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme.

As a result, the OFT is proposing to use its powers under the Financial Services Act 2008 to extend the scope of the Scheme to include these two areas and before reaching a final decision on whether to make the necessary amendments to the legislation, would like to hear the views of both the financial services industry and consumers.

The Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme is a free, independent, dispute resolution service for customers with a complaint against a financial service provider operating in or from the Isle of Man.  It became fully operational in January 2002 and is now established under Schedule 4 of the Financial Services Act 2008.

The Office is seeking comments from members of the public and the industry on the proposals.  The full consultation can be found on the OFT website at www.gov.im/oft  and paper copies can be obtained from the undersigned.  The closing date for comments is Wednesday 10th September 2014.