Consumer Credit Licence - Will it be a compulsory requirement for affiliates?

**Qui Gon Jinn** · 08-06-05

Just had a generic email from a merchnat.

XYZ merchant has announced that they require all their affiliates to be in possession of a Consumer Credit Licence as of 1st August 2005. XYZ merchant has stated that law requires this as an affiliate as you are introducing loans business to them.

A CCL can be obtained by applying on the Office Of Fair Trading Website at www.oft.gov.uk for an information pack and application form. The licence costs around £110 and lasts for 5 years.

How far reaching will this be?

A fellow affiliate mentioned:

According to this:

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg...mId=1073792329

You don't need one... and that could mean people wasting their time trying to get one?

So what is the score as there are mixed signals out there?

**stevenm** · 08-06-05

Edit: It's ok you just edited the point i had mentioned.

Steven

**loquax** · 08-06-05

Surely you're only introducing loans to them if you're providing a customers details (i.e. you have the name/address etc etc using a form on your site for example)?

If you're advertising XYZ Merchant with a button or their requested blurb then you afaik only need to be working within the new advertising regulations as stated at The OFT

http://www.oft.gov.uk/Business/Legal...dvertising.htm

But be interested to know 100% either way.

Jason

**Qui Gon Jinn** · 08-06-05

Steve...Quickly changed..after someone else pointed it out too...but cheers anyhow for kindly spotting it.

Didn't really matter if the merchant name was in there or not..as it may crop up in another thread, but was also wondering would this could be a prelude to a prerequisite requirement for all affiliates promoting finance related programs.

**Steve Jennings** · 08-06-05

IMO the merchant in question may be trying to cover their backs so as if anything an affiliate was doing was found to be in breach of guidelines then in theory it could be kept "at arms length". If you are promoting a program via links supplied by a merchant then I can't see why you would need to have a CCL as the merchant is responsible for the advertisement. However if you do not have a CCL and you are promoting a merchant and on your site you give, false, inaccurate or otherwise misleading information then the merchant is liable and their CCL could be at risk.

Equally in theory even if you do not have a CCL and you advertise using a merchants creative that does not comply with OFT advertising guidelines both the merchant and you are liable (even though you do not have a CCL and are just using creative given to you, in theory it is your responsibility to ensure that the merchant has done their job in terms of compliance, this would also be true in the case of a non-compliant press advert).

If a large part of your business is in unsecured/secured loan lead generation then I suppose it wouldn't hurt to get a CCL. If in doubt contact the OFT http://www.oft.gov.uk and your local trading standards office. The links below will also give more information

Consumer Credit (Advertisements) Regulations FAQ's (pdf 449 kb).
http://www.oft.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/3...9/0/oft746.pdf

Credit Advertising Consultation Draft (pdf 423kb).
http://www.oft.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/9...8/0/oft016.pdf

**Stolichnaya** · 09-06-05

I'm lead to believe that if you're just showing dynamically served creative then you're basically an advertiser and don't need a CCL - the same way as a TV channel doesn't need a licence to show financial adverts.

However, once you start getting into reviews, comparisons, or anything else that could be construed as providing added value or advice then you're entering into a grey area where you may well need one.

I agree though that the merchant is probably doing a CYA - making sure there's another licence to be revoked lower down the chain if there's any problems.

(FWIW I did decide to get licenced a few years ago)

**frazer987** · 09-06-05

Whats the best way to go about getting one? I'm registered on someone elses license but want to get me own. Went on the website but couldnt find much about applying. Is it just a case of ringing them up?

**charlton** · 10-06-05

I rang them up and apparently the leaftlet called "do I need a licence" isn't available online so they are sending one in the post. If you need to apply you have to pay about £110 or £275 for a limited company. They don't give you much advice (usual call centre drones) - the onus is on you to decide if you need one - and the fee is non refundable. Great service, i'd like to see a loan adviser get away with that - they'd have their ccl revoked

**Middleman** · 10-06-05

[QUOTE=loquax]Surely you're only introducing loans to them if you're providing a customers details (i.e. you have the name/address etc etc using a form on your site for example)?

Jason

That's exactly what an introducer is (a broker is different in that more work is done on behalf of the lender).

To be an introducer, you need a CCL (and, for that matter, a Data Protection Certificate as well). However - if you introduce clients to one broker/lender exclusively, you can be an agent of that company and work under their CCL. As soon as you introduce to more than one company, you need a CCL - no exceptions.

Hope that helps !