AXA Wealth believes any delay to banning legacy commission will cause consumer detriment.

The Financial Services Authority is proposing to delay the ban after providers commented that their customers could suffer if they were forced to close all legacy products to increments.

This would be because, the providers say, they have not had time to get ready for the RDR which is to be implemented in January 2013.

But Mike Kellard, chief executive of AXA Wealth, says this should not be the case as providers have had ample time to prepare for the RDR.

He said: “I would argue that the principles of removing commission bias have been at the heart of the RDR since it was launched in 2006 and that the FSA has been clear about the need for transparency ever since.

“Therefore, you could argue that providers and advisers have had long enough to adapt to a model which has no dependence on commission.”

He said that running a “twin-track system” would erode the benefits of the RDR and cause confusion for consumers.

It would also mean there still was a potential for commission-bias, something the RDR is trying to remove.

He said: “I believe therefore that the longer we continue with this optionality, the more detrimental it will be for customers, far more than the perceived impact of traditional providers being able to take increments on legacy products.

“The fact remains that the sooner we move to a system free of commission, upfront, legacy or trail, the better the overall outcomes will be for consumers.”