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Appeals Under the Consumer Credit Act
The Consumer Credit Act 1974 provides for a licensing regime, administered by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), for traders in the consumer credit and consumer hire businesses. This includes where credit is arranged to finance the purchase of goods or services. Those wishing to conduct regulated business require a licence from the OFT. Trading without one is an offence.
The OFT grants consumer credit licences to those it considers fit to hold one, on the basis of criteria set out in the Consumer Credit Act 1974 as amended by the Consumer Credit Act 2006 (CCA 2006). In assessing fitness, the OFT has to consider, amongst other things, the competence of the person in the relevant business and any evidence of unfair or illegal business practices. The OFT has published guidance on its approach to assessing fitness.
The CCA 2006 amends the 1974 Act and provides for the establishment of an independent tribunal - the Consumer Credit Appeals Tribunal (CCAT). The CCAT hears appeals arising from licensing decisions of the OFT, including decisions to suspend or revoke a consumer credit licence, where the OFT's decision was made on or after 6 April 2008.
The CCAT also hears appeals from decisions of the OFT under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007.
Appeals in respect of licensing decisions made by the OFT before 6 April 2008 are made to the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR). Such appeals are heard on behalf of the Secretary of State by a panel of independent persons appointed for that purpose. It is the Secretary of State's policy that he will, save in exceptional cases, follow the recommendations of the panel and will not depart from these without first inviting the parties to make representations. Hearings of appeals are generally public, in which case notices giving their time and place are published in the local press and on this website.
From 1 April 2008 all appeals under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, including where the appeal is to the BERR Secretary of State, are administered by the Tribunals Service, an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice.