Spring 2024

Published 25 March 2024

The agenda included the FCA’s Consumer Duty and the regulator’s investigation into discretionary commission arrangements in motor finance. TransUnion shared recent market insights and trends. CCTA provided an update on CMC charging and reform of the Consumer Credit Act. Addleshaw Goddard and Lantern were panel speakers.

The Budget: Do the sums add up for UK families?

Published 07 March 2024

Yesterday the Chancellor delivered the Spring Budget in Parliament. The purpose of the budget is to update Parliament on the state of the economy and to outline the Government’s proposals for changes to the tax system. This was arguably the last big economic event we will see from this Conservative government. The Prime Minister has told us to expect an election by the end of this year, so it is unlikely we would see another statement before then.

Board reports

Published 06 March 2024

This workshop looked at how firms can work towards building their annual board reports, the first of which was required by 31 July 2024. We provided insights into the type of data firms should be using to populate their board report and explained the level of data that should be included.

Home-collected credit update (2024-1)

Published 04 March 2024

The news that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is looking at the future of the home credit comparison website – www.lenderscompared.org.uk – prompted me to write out to our members in home-collected. I wanted to mention the CMA proposals on changes to their Order, driven by massive changes in the home credit market.

Is the cost-of-living crisis over?

Published 20 February 2024

Over the last few weeks, we have seen a lot of news pieces and data released about the country’s financial health and the associated impact on households. Inflation, recession, borrowing, spending, they have all been mentioned. Another phrase we have heard a lot in recent times is the ‘cost-of-living crisis’.

Motor finance – February 2024

Published 15 February 2024

The agenda covered an update of FOS motor finance/commission complaints. We also looked at relevant legal cases and two FOS interim decisions on test cases. We provided feedback on CMC activity and discussed the FCA temporary changes to complaint handling timeframes in motor finance.

Next steps on Consumer Duty

Published 09 February 2024

We are now into the seventh month since the implementation of the Consumer Duty. We know that many firms continue with their efforts and focus on meeting the requirements of the Duty and achieving improved consumer outcomes. No doubt firms will agree that it has been an intensive journey thus far. It was always meant to be about delivering continuous improvement in customer outcomes, but now is also an appropriate time to remind firms of the upcoming requirements as to the next steps in that journey.

Commissions in motor finance

Published 08 February 2024

In the FCA’s findings, published in March 2019, the regulator found that discretionary commission arrangements (DCAs) meant consumers were paying approximately £300million a year in higher interest rates, generating £165million a year towards commissions for brokers. This was evidence of consumer harm, leading to a consultation with industry on addressing the harm identified by the regulator. The consultation, published in October 2019, proposed to ban discretionary commission models that unnecessarily increased motor finance costs for consumers.

What’s happening with motor finance commissions?

Published 01 February 2024

The issue of disclosure commission complaints is something we have been following in recent times as part of our work on motor finance. On 11 January the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced that it would be undertaking work in the motor finance market – but on a different area- discretionary commission arrangements.

Claims Management Companies

Published 25 January 2024

This roundtable allowed members to share experiences of complaints involving CMCs. For many firms, CMCs have become part of everyday business. Some have targeted lenders in one sector and then moved on to others. As such, we regularly provide updates and recommend that firms talk to the FCA about poor experiences.

Changes in home credit

Published 22 January 2024

Back in the early noughties, the home credit market was under intense scrutiny for a lack of competition which led to the then Competition Commission investigating the sector. It was thought that it was difficult for consumers to compare products or switch between providers to find the best price. Following the investigation an order was passed that placed various conditions on the sector.

A look ahead at 2024

Published 09 January 2024

2023 was a busy year for the consumer credit sector and the CCTA. It saw the introduction of the FCA’s Consumer Duty, new research into the impact of illegal lending and further engagement with our key stakeholders- the FCA, the FOS and HM Treasury on a range of issues. Here we explore some of the developments we expect in 2024.