All the aggregators reviewed amended or withdrew advertising after they were notified by the FCA

Many price comparison sites had misleading financial promotions that were in breach of FCA rules, a thematic review found.

Alongside the regulator’s thematic review into price comparison sites, the FCA looked into financial promotions made by price comparison sites.

But the regulator found many sites were in breach of its rules, which says that when a firm communicates information, including a financial promotion, to a customer or other policyholder, it must take reasonable steps to communicate it in a way that is clear, fair and not misleading.

After they were notified of the breaches by the FCA, all the price comparison sites reacted promptly to withdraw or amend their advertising.

The review looked at 14 price comparison websites between December 2013 and April 2014 and also included in-depth consumer research with 50 participants.