Research from the Consumer Panel has revealed a perception that there has been a decline in fairness in financial services.

Financial services compared poorly to the retail sector, with consumers considering financial services as less fair, being insufficiently competitive or accessible.

Products that were seen as unfair included some ‘complex’ insurance deals, or those with disproportionate charges, such as store cards.

Issues highlighted by the research include concern over the loss of the personalised individual service, personified by “old fashioned bank managers””