News Thought Leadership
23rd January 2018

The CSA revised Code of Practice

The Credit Services Association (CSA) have updated their Code of Practice to ensure that its members maintain best practice standards and that they are compliant with all legal and regulatory requirements.

The CSA represents 90% of the UK debt collection and debt purchase industry and has over 400 members, holding up to £60bn for collection at any one time.  Compliance with the Code of Practice is mandatory for members. The aim is to build confidence in debt collection by making the entire process clear, easy to understand and less stressful for those involved. The Code therefore covers activities common to all members such as fair and clear communication, dealing with vulnerable customers, complaints and data protection.  It also looks at more specialist areas including tracing, debt sale and debt purchase, field collections and litigation.

Link Financial were pioneers in taking a compliant and ethical approach to business, for example, since the foundation of the company we have always referred to our “customers” as such and put their interests at the centre of our activities. Treating Customers Fairly was therefore nothing new to us when the FCA introduced the concept and others in our industry began to follow our lead.

The revised Code of Practice is effective from January 2018 and continues to promote best practice in the collections industry in line with new regulations and standards from industry regulators. It contains greater detail about the potentially vulnerable situations which customers may be in, and there are updates to take into account changing data protection regulations with the upcoming GDPR, and the increased importance of  due diligence when purchasing debt.

We are proud not only to be early members of this trade association but to continue to demonstrate its ethos – strong financial stability, employing people with the right skills and training (2017 saw Link win the national CAI award for the third consecutive year) and, most importantly, working with customers, recognising their vulnerabilities and always treating them with respect in a professional and understanding way.