Price comparison websites face regulation call
Consumer association Which? Has called for regulation of price comparison websites after finding that some were giving out misleading advice on insurance policies.
This was achieved by pre-selecting certain options to make initial prices appear artificially cheap, causing some customers to spend more than was necessary
Which? Editor Martyn Hocking said: “We do not think they are always fair, or very clear. Our research shows you will often get very cheap looking quotes from a price comparison website. When you click through to buy the insurance, you will get a far higher price from the insurer.
“They will assume that your car is always parked on the drive or in a locked garage. If you park on the street, when you go to click through to the insurer you will get a far higher quote than you would have done on that comparison website.”
Clare Francis, head of content at one such site, Moneysupermarket.com, defended their record however, saying: “Last year we saved our customers £800m, so there is clearly a lot of people out there who really value the benefit of using a price comparison site to find the best deal for them," she said, stressing that the website was free to use.”