Retail Finance Retailer Awareness Handbook: A quick guide to your duties to the customer
Posted on in Business News , Cycles News
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Association of Cycle Trader's retail finance partner V12 have created a document that outlines a third party finance provider's (TPFP) duty to the customer.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have a duty to protect consumers. In doing this, they pay very close attention to industry standards and the role lenders and retailers play in making it a safe, informed space for consumers to shop using credit.
It is important that retailers read the document and familiarise themselves with industry standards.
Download the V12 Retailer Awareness Handbook now
The document contains information on the following areas:
- Oversight & accountability; To ensure that they provide the best service and have the best retail partners, it's vital that V12 have a clear understanding of your business and its framework.
- Competency of staff; Providing a compliant finance service means all retailer staff who deal with our product must be fully informed of their responsibilities.
- Section 75; Section 75 states both the lender and retailer are jointly liable for any breach of contract or misrepresentation.
- Complaints; When customers make a finance related complaint, both V12 and its retailers have a responsibility to take appropriate measures to handle the issue.
- Affordability; Understanding the amount or having a reasonable estimate of a customer’s current income (and non-discretionary income) is essential to determining if they can afford to make repayments.
- Fees; The FCA has found that, in some cases, consumers were unaware of the early settlement fee they would be charged on regulated Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) products.
- Exempt Products; While some of your products are exempt from FCA regulation, they still remain subject to the unfair contract terms provisions of the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
- Vulnerable Customers; Protecting vulnerable customers is a key priority for the FCA, and for V12 and its retailers. Being able to identify possible vulnerability should be at the forefront of each application.
The document also contains useful inks, such as information on the V12 system, information on the fair treatment of customers and a V12 training video.
Download the V12 Retailer Awareness Handbook now
Train your staff effectively
To train your staff to the standards expected by the FCA, the ACT recommend the Retail Finance Training course.
Retail Finance Training, brought to you by Indie Retail Training, is an online learning course delivering an informed insight into Retail finance that can be completed anywhere, in your own time.
The course will teach you how to legally promote and use retail finance in-store, online and in all other forms of media.
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