Credit
If a business offers credit or lends money to consumers, or allows customers time to pay for goods and services, it must be licensed with the Consumer Credit Licensing Bureau of the Office of Fair Trading under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.
The following types of business must be licensed with the Office of Fair Trading:
consumer credit
consumer hire
debit adjusting and debt counselling
debt
collecting
credit reference agencies
canvassing credit off trade premises
The Office of Fair Trading holds a public record of all licensed traders and of all those who have applied for a licence. They can provide details to the public about its licensed businesses, such as the type of activities they cover, their authorised trading names and main business address.
In December 2003, the government proposed changes to the consumer credit market - these include strengthening credit licence rules, giving the Office of Fair Trading the power to fine moneylenders and make surprise raids on debt companies, and making small print bigger on adverts for financial products.
Launch of new consumer credit forms
18th October 2005 saw the launch of new consumer credit licence applications forms as well as the re-launch of the ‘Do you need a credit licence?’ guidance booklet. The new forms are available downloadable as PDFs from the OFT website – http://www.oft.gov.uk/, this is in addition to being available the normal way from the licensing bureau. Any old forms were not acceptable from 18th November 2005, any old forms, if they haven’t been done so already, should have been destroyed/recycled. If a department wishes to hold stock of any consumer credit forms, the Consumer Credit Licensing Bureau can be contacted on 020 7211 8671.
Copyright © Bedfordshire County Council Trading Standards Service 2007