The Financial Conduct Authority has updated guidance warning consumers to check advisers’ credentials and watch for misleading promotions, including questionnaires circulated through social media.
Around 3.5 million people in financial difficulty — 78 per cent of those who needed help — did not access any debt support in the 12 months to May 2024, the figures show. Of those who did seek help, 22 per cent used a debt-advice or debt-management service, according to the UK Government Financial Inclusion Strategy. The FCA’s updated guidance, published on 20 March 2025, targets the gap between people needing debt help and the risk of them landing with an unauthorised or unsuitable provider.
The regulator’s central warning is about social media. Questionnaires completed through social-media platforms will generally come from a lead generator — a firm that collects basic information and passes it on — rather than a regulated debt adviser. Lead generators are not authorised to provide debt advice, and the FCA says consumers should confirm that any adviser or firm they deal with appears on the FCA Financial Services Register and holds the relevant permissions.
Anyone considering an individual voluntary arrangement faces an additional check: the insolvency practitioner they are referred to must hold a licence. The FCA Warning List, separately, names firms and individuals suspected of operating without authorisation or running scams outright.
The conduct rules are clear on what authorised firms must not do. They cannot recommend a debt solution they know, believe or ought to suspect is unaffordable for the customer. They cannot discourage customers from considering alternatives. And they must tell customers that free debt counselling, debt adjusting and credit-information services are available through MoneyHelper.
The referral-fee ban matters here too. From 2 October 2023, debt-packager firms — which previously earned fees for referring clients to insolvency practitioners — were required to change their business model or face regulatory action. That shift reshaped part of the sector.
The FCA asks anyone who has been approached by or dealt with an unauthorised firm to report it to the regulator directly.
Key information
- Check the FCA Financial Services Register to confirm any debt adviser or firm is authorised and permitted to provide the service offered
- Check the FCA Warning List for firms and individuals suspected of operating without authorisation
- Free debt advice is available through MoneyHelper, and authorised firms are required to tell you this
- Report unauthorised firms to the FCA at fca.org.uk
Source: @TheFCA
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