Unlicensed Credit Broker/agent advice please

[andrew1]

I was recommended to a financial adviser by an insurance broker when I was looking for a loan. Chap came around, discussed my loan requirements for a 50k loan he said he'd need to go to a broker and I thought no more of it. He came back with the paperwork from xyz loan company and he filled in all the application form himself and we signed it, he sent them off, spoke to the brokerage, came back for copies of passports etc and the loan was approved. Before the paperwork came back he phoned and said to me " I have built into the figures a further 10k if you need it so you can have 60k if you want - I said okay, he came back with new loan company paperwork sent it all off witnessed our signatures on the legal charge and we got the loan.

Now, as I'm taking the loan company to Appeal over the agreement shortly as a multiple agreement I needed to do what I do best and gather all the documentation regarding broker fees and secret commissions etc and I emailed this guy asking for the paperwork he had and I asked him how much he received as a fee. His email said " I didn't have anything to do with your loan, I just introduced you to the broker and any paperwork I had we only keep for 3 yrs and then it's destroyed.

Keeping this as short as I can here, I emailed back saying that's not true and you know it, (the brokers had by this time gone bust) so if you don't supply what I need I will call you as a witness in the high court at the appeal as I need to know. That brought him to life and he wrote me a letter saying he didn't advise me (he did) as he was not authorised to do so. With his name all over my paperwork, the copy of the Application form in his own hand and now this letter I have enough to sasy this guy was not actually licensed by the OFT for arranging, selling or introducing Loans. His headed paper states that :

xxxxx is the trading style of Mr A. Gent and xxxxx is an appointed representative of ABC Network Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the FSA in respect of mortgage and insurance mediation activities only.

So, it appears he is licensed only to undertake Mortgages and insurance, but not loans.

The OFT Booklet page 9 and page 18 http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/bus...ces/oft147.pdf states that it appears he would at least require a Category C license and that it is a criminal offense to do what he did and that the loan agreement would be deemed unenforceable as a result. :tinysmile_grin_t:

My question here is:

The OFT cannot give advice, so how does one go about approaching the loan company to tell them about this, do we need a solicitor? (I've already got myself to an appeal court thus far with only a direct access barrister, done all the ground work myself) and how might this all pan out once I have told the loan company. What might the remedies be for me?

I don't rightly care about this agent fellow, I couldn't care if he was prosecuted or not, I doubt I would pursue him myself, having the loan agreement sorted would be good enough for me on the lines I have been following to date, but has anyone any experience of how I handle this at all?

Thank you

[maruvian]

Re: Unlicensed Credit Broker/agent advice please

You say that you are appealing about this being a multiple agreement, with it being £60,000 are you sure that it is covered by the CCA. If not then it is unregulated.

[andrew1]

Re: Unlicensed Credit Broker/agent advice please

You say that you are appealing about this being a multiple agreement, with it being £60,000 are you sure that it is covered by the CCA. If not then it is unregulated.

All items under 25k and already deemed as a multiple agreement in 3 parts by a circuit judge. Therefore should be regulated in part at least and he said it, in his opinion is an unenforceable agreement and would have found for me if it were not for Heath. I got caught by the Heath case which b*ggered up the final throwing out because Heath was already decided in the appeal court. My case is very different to heath and at appeal will blow the socks off the finance industry hiding behind Heath on anything 'multiple agreement'. Thank you for the input, but that's not my issue, I need to know about the broker/agent part because that might chuck it out anyway. Nice to have 2 smoking barrels than one and will force the lender to settle before appeal which is in their interest anyway given the millions their company will lose if I win. I can live with losing, they can't.

[andrew1]

Re: Unlicensed Credit Broker/agent advice please

Is there anyone who can tell me the answer to this question in the first post at all?....Does a person need an OFT license to advise and organise an Unregulated loan over 25k which is then processed through a licensed broker and then onto a loan company?

The OFT states this is a criminal offence on regulated credit agreements, but is this so for Unregulated agreements taken out in Feb 06?

Thanks

[cul8rm8e]

Re: Unlicensed Credit Broker/agent advice please

I cant help with your exact question but read below for a view!

After going back and forth to the FCA they have now put it in writing to confirm where they stand when dealing with these BarStewards who conn everyone into unregulated secured loans for business purposes!

Below was angry last email to the FCA lost the plot. and also their reply.

SOMEONE TELL ME WHY THEY EXIST! WHAT IS THEIR PURPOSE?




Dear Name Removed,

Thank you for your quick response.

I would appreciate it if you could clarify a couple of points in your reply regarding to Unregulated Commercial secured loans.

From what i gather, and i would appreciate it if you could correct me if i am wrong, What you are saying is that, If i were to establish a limited company under companies house and use the line of business as a Mortgage Broker:

1, I can provide contracts for loans and as long as it is stipulated within the contract that it is for commercial use, unregulated and first charge secured, without notifying FCA to register for any type of permission.?

2, If i were to decide to breach this contract for any reason then there will be no remit by the borrower to complain through the FCA or any other organisation and the only method the borrower would have against me to resolve the matter would be that of taking legal action against me.?

3, Hypothetically, should it be the case that i have provided the funds to the borrower by means of illegal activities (which i would never do and would never have any intentions on doing) then i could potentially use that business for money laundering, again without having any concern that the FCA or any other regulatory authorisation would or can investigate it should you receive a complaint from the borrower about the company they borrowed the money from?.

4, As mentioned in my response a (Name Removed) who is an individual from (place removed) has been stated as the lender and is an individual, Are you saying that i dont even have to establish a company to be able to lend money to anyone and the FCA cannot intervene at any stage as long as it is stipulated in the agreement that it is a loan for commercial use, first charge and unregulated?

4, The loan can be classed as a commercial loan whether the borrower is stated on the loan agreement as an individual or a company name.

I would very much appreciate a response to each point made.


Kind regards,

Name Removed



REPLY FROM FCA


Dear Name Removed

Thank you for your further email dated 13 August 2014 in respect of commercial loans. I shall respond to each of your points in turn.

If you are setting up a business as a mortgage broker and are only carrying out commercial business, then you will not be required to be authorised. More information about this can be found in Chapter 2.7.19A of the Perimeter Guidance Manual (PERG), which forms part of the Financial Services Handbook (the Handbook). I have attached a link to this for your kind attention:

http://fshandbook.info/FS/html/handbook/PERG/2/7

In response to your second question, the answer to this is yes.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) does not respond to hypothetical questions. For the purposes of this response fraud is a matter for the police. If you were involved in money laundering this would be for the police to investigate.

In response to your fourth question, I would refer you again to PERG and confirm that we do not regulate commercial loans.

The nature of the loan will determine what the loan is for, irrespective of the borrower type.

I hope this is helpful to you.

Yours sincerely

Name Removed
Associate | Customer Contact Centre
Financial Conduct Authority | www.fca.org.uk
Consumer Helpline: 0800 111 6768