Related provisions for CONC 6.7.24
1 - 7 of 7 items.
The obtaining, recording, holding and passing on of information about individuals for the purposes of tracing a customer and/or recovering a debt due under a credit agreement or a consumer hire agreement or a P2P agreement will involve the processing of personal data. Accordingly, firms processing such data are data controllers or data processors and are obliged to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 and, in particular, to adhere to the eight data protection principles.[Note:
A firm must take reasonable steps to ensure that it maintains accurate and adequate data (including in respect of debt and repayment history) so as to avoid the risk that: (1) an individual who is not the true borrower or hirer is pursued for the repayment of a debt; and(2) the borrower or hirer is pursued for an incorrect amount.[Note: paragraphs 3.19 of DCG and 7.11 (box) of ILG]
A firm must endeavour to ensure that the information it passes on to its agent or to a debt collector or to a tracing agent (a person1 that carries on the activity in article 54 of the Exemption Order), whether for the firm's or another person’s1 business, or to any other person involved in recovering the debt or, where appropriate, to a credit reference agency is accurate and adequate so as to facilitate the tracing and identification of the true borrower or hirer.[Note: paragraphs
A firm should ensure (subject to any legal requirements) that adequate and accurate information it holds about a customer in relation to a debt is made available to persons involved on its behalf in the debt recovery process. Information relating to the customer which should be made available to agents or employees includes, for example:(1) being in financial difficulties;(2) being particularly vulnerable;(3) disputing the debt;(4) a repayment plan or forbearance being in place;(5)
Whether exercising rights under a continuous payment authority is reasonable, proportionate and not excessive (as regards the frequency or period of collection attempts), will depend on the circumstances, including:(1) whether the firm is aware or has reason to believe that the customer is in actual or potential financial difficulties which the exercise of rights under a continuous payment authority may exacerbate; and(2) whether the customer has been notified of the failure to
(1) If a firm becomes aware that a customer is in financial difficulties, the firm should reassess the payment arrangement and should consider reasonable proposals to revise the payment schedule and alternative repayment arrangements.[Note: paragraph 3.9mii (box) of DCG](2) Where a customer informs a firm of being in financial difficulties, pending receipt of evidence to that effect, a firm should consider suspending exercise of its rights under a continuous payment authority
A firm must not by any means improperly or unfairly inhibit or discourage a customer from cancelling a continuous payment authority including by:(1) misleading the customer, expressly or by omission, regarding the right to cancel and how it may be exercised; or(2) failing to respond promptly to requests by or on behalf of the customer to amend or cancel the continuous payment authority; or(3) intimidating a customer who wishes to cancel the continuous payment authority; or(4)
A firm must suspend the active pursuit of recovery of a debt from a customer for a reasonable period where the customer informs the firm that a debt counsellor or another person acting on the customer's behalf or the customer is developing a repayment plan.[Note: paragraphs 7.12 of ILG and 3.7m of DCG]
CONC 6.7.24 R does not preclude the firm from: (1) making amendments pursuant to a variation clause to which the customer has previously given consent, after it was fully explained to the customer the reason for the amendment; or(2) reducing or waiving payments unilaterally, for example, under a repayment plan, provided that this is explained to the customer. [Note: paragraph 3.9miii of DCG]