Staff trained in ‘spin selling’ and knowingly ripped off customers
Dixons Carphone was fined £29m today for knowingly ripping off customers with mobile phone insurance and protection.
Staff were not properly trained and recommended to sell the product to customers who already had cover.
FCA enforcement chief Mark Steward said: ”The Carphone Warehouse and its staff persuaded customers to purchase the Geek Squad product which in some cases had little to no value because the customer already had insurance cover. The high-level of cancellations should have been a clear indicator to the management of mis-selling.’
“Without whistleblowers coming forward these practices may never have come to light. In the past few years, whistleblowers have contributed critical intelligence to the enforcement actions we have taken against firms and individuals.”
The Geek Squad mobile insurance program, backed by Aviva Plc, covers phone damage and theft protection. The service was recently rebranded as Team Knowhow.
The FCA investigation probed the years 2008 to 2015.
Dixons Carphone accepts it ‘fell short’ and has since changed practices.
Hosted by comedian and actor Tom Allen, 34 Gold, 23 Silver and 22 Bronze awards were handed out across an amazing 34 categories recognising brilliance and innovation right across the breadth of UK general insurance.
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