| answer text |
<p>The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is responsible for regulating the consumer
credit market. It is part of a robust regulatory system which is helping to deliver
the government’s vision for a well-functioning and sustainable consumer credit market
which meets consumers’ needs.</p><p> </p><p>The FCA oversees firms through its supervision
strategy. In the <em>FCA Mission – Approach to Supervision April 2019</em>, the FCA
set out that to make the best use of its resources and deliver the greatest public
value, it takes a proportionate approach to supervising firms. It supervises most
firms as members of a portfolio of firms that share a common business model. It analyses
each portfolio and agrees a strategy to take action on firms posing the greatest harm.</p><p>
</p><p>Firms are required by FCA rules to include a representative APR in certain
circumstances. The FCA’s handbook (CONC 3.5) provides further rules and guidance on
when a representative APR must be shown, how it should be denoted and the level of
prominence it must be given.</p><p> </p><p>While not all consumers will get the advertised
APR, they should be told in advance of entering into the agreement what APR they have
been offered and this will be shown in the pre-contract information required to be
given under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.</p><p> </p><p>If a customer is concerned
that they may have been mis-sold a credit agreement, they may wish to consider making
a formal complaint to the firm in question in the first instance. If they then feel
that their complaint has not been dealt with satisfactorily, they are able to refer
the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) – an independent body set up to
provide arbitration in such cases.</p>
|
|
