Open call for evidence: Opt-out collective actions regime review
From: Department for Business and Trade
Published: 6 August 2025
Deadline for responses: 11:59pm on 14 October 2025
Why This Matters for Get SAFE
For too long, victims of financial exploitation have been forced to battle alone. Individual complaints to regulators, ombudsmen, or the courts can be exhausting, expensive, and often ineffective when facing powerful financial institutions.
Now the government is reviewing the opt-out collective actions regime—currently available only for competition law claims. This review is a chance to push for expansion into other areas, including financial services and consumer protection, where systemic harm affects thousands.
This is not just a technical review. It’s a signal that Westminster is recognising the limits of individual redress and considering collective remedies that could finally level the playing field for victims.
What the Call for Evidence Covers
The government is seeking views and evidence on:
- Funding: How to ensure collective actions are viable, including litigation funding and cost recovery.
- Scope & Certification: What types of cases should qualify for opt-out treatment.
- ADR, Settlement, and Damages: How claims are resolved and damages distributed fairly.
- Distribution of Funds: Making sure compensation reaches those who deserve it, not swallowed by process costs.
Lessons for Our Community
- Our voices matter. Evidence from victims of systemic financial harm is exactly what this consultation needs.
- Document everything. Timelines, correspondence, and testimonies showing collective patterns of exploitation can strengthen the case for reform.
- Think collective, not just individual. Many of us share common experiences—pension scams, mis-selling, cover-ups—that demonstrate why opt-out remedies are essential.
- Be wary of industry lobbying. Banks and insurers will argue for limits to protect themselves. We must argue for safeguards that protect consumers, not enablers.
- Organise for the future. If the regime is expanded, groups like Get SAFE could play a vital role in mobilising victims into test cases for justice.
How to Respond
- Online submission: Respond here
- By email: collectiveactions@businessandtrade.gov.uk
Deadline: 14 October 2025, 11:59pm
Our Next Step
Get SAFE will continue to monitor this review and support our community in making submissions. This is an opportunity to shift from isolated struggles to collective empowerment.
📢 Call to Action:
If you have a story, evidence, or experience that highlights why individuals need collective remedies, now is the time to speak up. Together, we can shape a system that delivers real redress to victims of financial exploitation.
About Get SAFE
Get SAFE (Support After Financial Exploitation) was born from a simple truth: too many victims of financial abuse are left to suffer in silence.
We exist for people like Ian Davis—for the ones who did everything right, only to be failed by the systems they trusted. We know that behind every vanished pension, every ignored complaint, and every stonewalled letter is a person—frightened, exhausted, and too often alone.
Get SAFE offers more than sympathy. We offer structure, support, and solidarity.
We provide a voice where there’s been silence, and clarity where there’s been confusion.
We stand beside those who have been exploited, not just to help them recover—but to help them reclaim their story and rebuild their future.
Because financial justice is not a luxury.
It’s a human right.
If you or someone you know has been affected by financial exploitation, we are here.
You are not alone.
Learn more at: Get SAFE (Support After Financial Exploitation).
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