EG 19.11 1Financial Services (Distance Marketing) Regulations 2004

1These Regulations give effect to the Distance Marketing Directive.²⁴ Under the Regulations, the FCA can enforce breaches of the Regulations concerning “specified contracts”. Specified contracts are certain contracts for the provision of financial services which are made at a distance and do not require the simultaneous physical presence of the parties to the contract.

²⁴ Directive 2002/65/EC

1The FCA may apply to the courts for an injunction or interim injunction against a person who appears to it to be responsible for a breach of the Regulations. The FCA may also accept undertakings from the person who committed the breach that he will comply with the Regulations. The FCA must publish details of any applications it makes for injunctions; the terms of any orders that the court subsequently makes; and the terms of any undertakings given to it or to the court.

1The FCA may also prosecute offences under the Regulations which relate to specified contracts. It will generally be appropriate for the FCA to seek to resolve the breach by obtaining an undertaking before it applies for an injunction or initiates a prosecution. Where a failure by a firm to meet the requirements of the Regulations also amounts to a breach of the FCA's rules, the FCA will consider all the circumstances of the case when deciding whether to take action for a breach of its rules or under the Regulations. This will include, amongst other things, having regard to appropriate factors set out in DEPP 6 and the considerations in EG 12.