In a report today by the FCA Practitioner Panel, firms were highly critical of the Financial Services Authority's approach during its tenure.
The FCA Practitioner Panel surveyed almost 1,500 firms with 83 per cent of responses coming from the chief executive or managing director.
The report said respondents affected by RDR felt it "was pushed through with no real thinking about how it would work in practice; the timescales and costs of implementation were unclear, and this resulted in the industry being hit with higher costs."
Even when it was implemented, firms were unsure of the benefits of it due to the so-called 'advice gap'.
The report said: "There is a strong underlying belief that RDR does not benefit customers as a large proportion of the population is now excluded from receiving advice; the implementation 'on the ground' has been poor and firms feel that there has been a lack of practical assistance and guidance."
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They felt FSA staff were inexperienced and lacked knowledge of the sectors they were regulating.
Regarding costs, financial advisers in particular felt "over-burdened with regulation" and "treated unfairly" compared to other firms.
Respondents believed the FSA "didn't do their job properly" when it came to preventing scandals such as Arch Cru and Keydata. This meant smaller firms had to pick up costs for issues they had not been involved in and felt their fees were out of proportion to those paid by larger firms.
Looking towards the FCA, smaller firms hoped there would be more engagement and understanding from the regulator.
Martin Wheatley, chief executive of the FCA, said: "From this last survey undertaken at the FSA, it is clear that firms believed there are some areas which could be improved.
"As the FCA, we have changed our approach and the way we regulate, and we are becoming a more forward-looking, predictable and engaged regulator which acts from a position of greater understanding of the industry."

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