Monday, March 31, 2014
FCA CHANGES TAKE EFFECT THIS WEEK
Tuesday, April 1, sees the Financial Conduct Authority take charge of a raft of consumer regulation associated with car retailing. It takes over from the Office of Fair Trading, but is much more than a swap from one regulator to another.
Retailers will be obliged to ensure that customers are not put at a disadvantage by any sales reward scheme operating on products they may be offered. Auto Retail Networkand Black Horse recently held a webinar on the subject, which you can view.
Christopher Woolard, the FCA’s director of policy, said the evolution of the UK consumer credit industry has outpaced its current regulation. “That is why we find ourselves where we are today - with the FCA on the cusp of taking responsibility for some 50,000 consumer credit firms."
While the changes have understandably caused concern for some, the view of industry experts, Compliancy Services, is that car retailers aren’t a priority for FCA attention, so long as they are in compliance with previous OFT rules. The new regulator’s focus is more towards payday lenders and debt collectors.
DATED: 31.03.14
FEED: ARN
