CONC 7.12 Lenders’ responsibilities in relation to debt

This section applies to a firm with respect to consumer credit lending or in respect to activity that would be consumer credit lending but for article 60C(4A) of the Regulated Activities Order1.

A firm must not:

1. (1)

   refuse to deal with a not-for-profit debt advice body, debt counsellor, debt adjuster or with another person acting on behalf of a customer, unless there is an objectively justifiable reason for doing so;

   [Note: paragraphs 3.9c of DCG and 3.48 of DMG]

2. (2)

   unless the credit agreement requires payments to be made to a third party, refuse to accept a payment tendered to the firm by the customer or by a person acting on behalf of the customer;

   [Note: paragraphs 3.8 of DCG and 3.49a of DMG]

3. (3)

   refuse to deal with a customer who is developing a repayment plan, a third party who is assisting a customer to develop a repayment plan or a third party who is developing a debt management plan for the customer's debts, unless there is an objectively justifiable reason for doing so;

   [Note: paragraphs 3.9c of DCG and 3.49b of DMG]

4. (4)

   where a person is acting on behalf of a customer, directly contact the customer without the customer's consent, unless there is an objectively justifiable reason for doing so;

   [Note: paragraph 3.9d of DCG]

5. (5)

   operate a policy:

   1. (a)

      of only negotiating the freezing of interest and charges on a customer's debts where the lender has an existing arrangement with a person acting on behalf of the customer; or

      [Note: paragraph 3.49e of DMG]

   2. (b)

      of refusing to negotiate with certain third parties or with a customer developing their own repayment plan; or

      [Note: paragraph 3.49c (box) of DMG]

6. (6)

   return or refuse a repayment or refuse to credit a repayment to a customer's account merely because the repayment is tendered by a debt management firm.

   [Note: paragraph 3.49a of DCG]