The Office of Fair Trading’s updated guidance on debt collection
Posted: Wednesday 30 November 2011
Those involved in recovering consumer credit debt should all be aware of the Office of Fair Trading’s updated guidance on debt collection (published 19 October 2011).
The guidance sets out the overarching principles of fairness which must be applied and goes on to set out examples of what might constitute unfair or improper business practices. It also explores what the OFT can do in the event that it considers that a business is falling short of the guidelines – from imposing “requirements” on the business (and a fine of up to £50k for failure to implement a requirement) to revoking or restricting a licence.
Since the guidelines were issued on 19 October there have been a number of reports in the press.
The guidance is far reaching and failure to adhere to it has potentially serious consequences for a licence holder. Now is probably a good time for businesses to renew its processes, standard letters and ensure that staff are aware of and adhere to the guidelines.
You can read a detailed article by our Debt Recovery expert Partner Maggie Moodie about this including examples here.
If you’d like to know more about the OFT Guidance published on 19 October 2011, please contact Maggie Moodie.
