CCL change from OFT to FCA
As you will be aware from 1st April 2014 the FCA takes over, as the new consumer regulator, from the OFT and therefore will be responsible for the issuing of consumer credit licenses (CCL).
Some of you may have already received a joint letter from the FCA and the OFT requesting that you should check if your license details are currently correct and cover all the activities you require, before the license is transferred over to the FCA.
The transfer will require you to apply online, to the FCA, for interim permissions from September 2013. Interim permissions are in effect a temporary licence prior to the FCA deciding on what application they will require for a full licence, from April 2014. We would not be surprised if they will come up with an in-depth application that will require you to explain all the systems and controls you have in place.
Unfortunately the FCA will not do the transfer for free and so will charge £150 for sole traders and £350 for companies to apply for this interim licence. There is no way around this because if you currently have a CCL you will still need one to trade legally.
We have had several enquiries already from firms who have only just renewed their licences or paid the maintenance charge to the OFT. There unfortunately, is no good news with this as there will be no refunds. We have examined the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section of the FCA website in relation to the CCL changes and produced a copy of these which are attached with this Bulletin. It is well worth a read to get a good understanding what is going on and what it will cost you.
