FCA investigating unsolicited marketing calls

Lenders that are contacting consumers when not requested too will be investigated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The regulatory agency is now taking on a review of unsolicited forms of communications for all credit firms, ranging from payday lenders to credit card companies and others. Any companies that are calling on individuals who don’t want to be contacted are at risk from this new FCA investigation.

The review will take place during the summer of 2015. The results will take a few months to be known, but it could have a wide ranging impact on the consumer credit industry. In fact, the agency may decide to entirely prohibit this form of communication under new stricter regulations that could be developed.

All forms of communication will be assessed. There have been an increasing number of complaints from people from across the UK. There are individuals saying that the communication from the consumer credit firms is not clear. There are also instances in which the purpose of the call or the identity of the firm is not being stated to them.

As far as emails, the Financial Conduct Authority as well as PECR prohibit them unless consent was given by the recipient. What this means is that payday lenders or other companies can’t “spam” a consumer or send emails or texts without them agreeing to receive them first. In many cases, the consumer also needs to have some form of relationship with the potential recipient.

Whether a firm use emails or text messages, or maybe they are calling a potential borrower over the phone, nothing is off limits from the FCA review. While it is too early to know what the decision may be, there has been some discussion of banning the communication as per Mr. O’Neil from the FCA.

Some people are claiming that these unsolicited calls or email are leading them to substantial distress on their finances as the may enter into a loan without fully understanding the impact of it. In these cases, it is a direct violation of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR). In more extreme cases a fine can be assessed to a payday company or other lender if the breach of any regulations was deliberate.

This review by the Financial Conduct Authority will also be done in partnership with other agencies, including the Information Commissioner’s Office and others. This is done as those regulatory agencies also have the ability to fine businesses per the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations.

If there are new rules put into place, they will only be effective for this year and going forward. If the FCA were to fine any lenders, then this can only take place for calls made after April 2015 or later. This means that consumers can’t go back and file a complaint for unsolicited calls from 2014 or earlier.