Which? calls price comparison sites “misleading”
by Gill Montia
Which? is asserting that financial comparison websites are misleading Britons.
The consumer watchdog has carried out a study which revealed that “best buy” quotes obtained across various financial comparison sites can vary by hundreds of pounds, despite that fact that exactly the same information has been entered into each site.
Checks were run on three of the UK’s largest price comparison websites: confused.com, moneysupermarket.com and gocompare.com.
Which? is now urging consumers to search across a number of comparison sites to ensure they get the best deal.
According to Martyn Hocking, the editor of Which? Money, two or three sites should be checked.
He also recommends that “best buy” products receive close scrutiny to avoid the danger of buying insufficient cover, or having to pay a large excess on a claim.
Research by consumer organisations and trade bodies has already highlighted a lack of clarity on policy exclusions for insurance bought via comparison sites.
In addition, concerns have been raised that some financial product providers pay comparison websites for referrals and that this weights results.
The Financial Services Authority is currently conducting an enquiry into financial comparison sites, having so far resisted calls for them to be regulated.
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