CCTA View

I spoke last week at an event exploring the FCA’s proposed ‘Consumer Duty’. The Duty is positioned as asking firms to put themselves in the shoes of the customer and consider if they would like to be treated how their firm treats customers. We are concerned that it is a much more radical change in the relationship between consumer and …

This week is Talk Money Week run by the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS). Set up by government, MaPS exists to ensure every person feels more in control of their finances throughout their lives. Talk Money Week is a campaign designed to increase people’s sense of financial wellbeing by encouraging them to open up about personal finance. People in the UK …

“Unfortunately, the FOS has missed out on an opportunity to deal with the backlog of complaints it faces”. “At such an early stage, where the decision still rests with the customer, ask the lender to take one more look. The customer can accept an improved offer, with the comfort that if they have any concerns, they can carry on with …

We are being told that there is a rise in the ‘cost of living’ but what does this mean? Simply that the necessary costs we all face are going up, but what is driving this rise now? September saw a slight drop in inflation, but economists predict this is likely to only be a temporary dip before the rate continues …

CCTA commenting on HM Treasury consultation on the regulation of BNPL said: “The consultation on BNPL is welcome, but it highlights that the current regulation of consumer credit is complex and unwieldy. These products should already be regulated by the FCA, but the system takes too long to change.” “We support BNPL regulation, including checks on a customer’s ability to …

This week the Conservative Party Conference is taking place in Manchester. This will bring this year’s major conference season to an end, following the Labour Party Conference in Brighton last week. Both parties seem to be facing big questions about the unity of membership. Keir Starmer’s first conference speech as Labour was well received but there is still a clear …

Local and national partners sought to deliver No Interest Loan Scheme pilot with Fair4All Finance, Toynbee Hall and Fair by Design Pilot will test whether this scheme can be scaled to make resources go further to improve financial wellbeing for customers in vulnerable circumstances Millions more people have become financially vulnerable during Covid, requiring urgent support – the pilot will …

The Treasury Select Committee has today published its report on the Future Regulatory Framework of Financial Services. It is good to see that the committee has recommended that the Treasury consider how the decision-making processes of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) would interact with the future regulatory framework for the FCA, something we called for in our written evidence to …

The FOS has released its annual complaints data today. From a quick glance, what jumps out is the high upload rates for complaints about home credit and guarantor loans. Uphold rates for both of these are currently over 80%, compared with the average uphold rate of 31% across all products. However, there is more to this when the detail is …

It has been a busy time period for alternative lending sector. In recent years it has faced many challenges including a constantly changing approach from the Financial Ombudsman Service and the impact of the ‘claims culture’ driven by Claims Management Companies. Many firms have already left the market. Since 2016 the number of firms offering HCSTC has more than halved. …

Commenting on the decision by Provident Financial to close down their home-collected credit and Satsuma brands, Jason Wassell, Chief Executive of the CCTA said: “This news is shocking and yet not a surprise to those watching alternative lending. We have long been concerned that the current regulatory framework does not work for the market, or its customers. The result in …

We are now more than a year into the Covid-19 pandemic, and I think it is safe to say that none of us predicted the impact it would still be having on our lives. With lockdown easing in the UK, on the back of the vaccine rollout, we are all starting to think about making plans about how we move …