Adviser support group Tenet's petition asking the government for a long-stop for financial advice complaints has reached 2,098 signatures in only ten days.
The petition, which was started on 2 August and is entitled 'Fair liability for financial advice', is asking the department for Business, Innovation and Skills to remove a legislative tool in the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) rules which allows the ombudsman to consider claims against advisers for an indefinite period after the advice was given.
Tenet aims to secure 10,000 signatures in six months, which would ensure the petition is submitted directly to the government's petitions committee.
The committee can then suggest options such as holding its own inquiry, referring it to a departmental select committee, seeking a response from the relevant minister or holding a seminar on the issue.
Tenet distribution and development director Helen Turner said: "The time has come to again address the current unfairness regarding liability for financial advisers when compared to other professions.
"Despite the FCA arguing that it is ‘not in the interests of the consumer' to bring in a long-stop, that is not an acceptable reason for departing from the rules which apply for other professions whose work also has long term implications.
"The situation we find ourselves in is patently unfair on IFAs. No other profession is being penalised in such a selective, unjustifiable manner."
Other bodies campaigning for a long-stop include the Association of Professional Financial Advisers (APFA), which has asked advisers via its Twitter feed to sign the petition, and insurer Zurich UK.
As a result of APFA and Zurich's joint 2012 Fair Liability 4 Advice campaign, an amendment was tabled on long-stop as part of the on-going House of Lords scrutiny of the Financial Services Bill, calling for a rule requiring claims to be brought within 15 years of an advice given.
However, the FCA (then the Financial Services Authority) refused to give a firm commitment to a review of the issue and instead only promised that it would consider whether to investigate the case for a long-stop as part of its business planning for 2014/15, something APFA has now pledged to press the FCA on.
