Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to extend to the purchase of all financial products the 14-day cooling-off period applicable to some of those products.

Various laws give consumers rights to cooling off periods, including the Consumer Credit Act 1974 which provides a 14 day cooling off period in which to cancel a credit agreement, such as a personal loan. In addition, the Financial Services (Distance Marketing) Regulations 2004 set out that for most financial services sold at a distance, consumers generally have 14 days to cancel the contract. For some products, such as certain pension products, the period is 30 days.

There are some financial products where the right to cancel doesn't apply, for example where the price of that service depends on fluctuations in the financial markets beyond the control of the product provider, or where the service purchased has been used in full.

The Government keeps all legislation under review, working closely with the financial services regulators as appropriate.