ARTICLE...
Another Busy Year
2011 looks set to be an important one for the industry, with the discussion of key issues set to help to shape how businesses will work in the future.
At the CSA AGM in September, members passed an ordinary resolution in support of mandatory data collection and we hope to formalise those principles in the 'Articles of the Association', ahead of the launch of the data request from a third party.
One of the real challenges at the moment is the lack of industry specific statistics. Much of what is presented is anecdotal and – although this is useful – it has less impact than cold, hard facts.
Members are therefore being asked to consider approval for data – including company size, volume of debt, number of employees, number of collectors, number of complaints and the number of mistraces - to be collected on a quarterly basis by an external independent third party.
Data would be collected and held by an independent third party appointed by the CSA, with the Association only getting the refined summary figures. The quarterly collection of data would be mandatory, with sanctions in place if information was missing or supplied late.
Meanwhile, the software solution for the Collector Accreditation Initiative has been installed, with the pilot scheme set to launch very soon.
The scheme aims to raise the standards of both compliance and professionalism, as well as demonstrating to the regulators and customers that high standards are in place for all collectors. A collector would be accredited by passing an online test, with their 'licence' expiring on an annual basis.
Similarly, the newly introduced 'foundation memberships' are being piloted with five potential members. Once complete, these will be able to come 'foundation members' as soon as they start trading and are granted a consumer credit licence by the OFT.
These members would be subject to more focused scrutiny in their first two years of trading, after which – if they have behaved in a suitable manner – they would become full members. This will help protect new members, but also ensure the reputation of the industry of the whole is maintained.
Another potential change could be the introduction of a late renewal fee for CSA membership. Again, this will help to maintain standards in the industry and ensure those companies that use the CSA logo are operating up to the highest standards and maintaining compliance with all relevant principles.
Original article, by Peter Wallwork, courtesy of CCR.
