Ive just been reading an article on msn about comparison sites and the Financial Services Authority this doesnt make for pleasent reading.
Here's an excerpt
Understanding the problems
First things first, it's useful to understand how comparison sites work. They're not charities offering this service out of the good of their hearts - they are commercial organisations.
They'll take information from a range of providers (but importantly, not all of them - we'll come to that in a moment). You input your requirements, and they attempt to find the best match for you.
You then click through to the website of the insurer (or other financial service provider) in question and buy your product. The comparison site gets commission on the sales, or sometimes even just on the number of people clicking on an insurer (known as "click-throughs"), in return. That's how they make their money.
It's worth bearing this in mind. Comparison sites don't keep this a secret, but they don't exactly flag it up either - and neither, for perfectly valid commercial reasons, do they reveal how much commission they're getting from different companies.
Objective analysis
So remember that there is a big incentive for them to push you in a certain way.
That doesn't mean that their comparison service is skewed - but you should be wary of all the other bumph that appears on sites, such as guides to buying various types of insurance or credit cards, or banners suggesting "our best buys" or "best personal loans" which may be nothing of the sort.
If it's decent information on financial products you're looking for, you'd be far better going to a genuine news site or flicking through the financial section of your daily paper than relying on a comparison site's content.
Here's a link to the article
Are comparison sites a good thing?Â*-Â*MSN Money Consumer Centre | Money saving tips | Consumer advice | Scams exposed