Ivendi offers step-by-step guide to Consumer Duty regulations

Ivendi has taken the experience of 8,000 retailers, manufacturers and finance partners to create a free step-by-step guide to the new Consumer Duty regulations.

The new “Navigating Consumer Duty Regulations in the Automotive Sector” white paper sets out the responsibilities that the new regulations create, explanations of what dealers and lenders need to do to show that they are being met and an analysis of how the right IT systems can resolve these needs.

The Financial Conducty Authority's (FCA) expectations of finance firms and dealers has shifted from the old "treating customers fairly" principle to now an adage of "put their customers' needs first" with the Duty’s implementation from July 31.

The FCA said the Consumer Duty will mean that consumers should receive communications they can understand, products and services that meet their needs and offer fair value, and they get the customer support they need, when they need it.

It also wants to ensure products and services are sold at a fair price that reflects their value.

James Tew, Ivendi chief executive, said: “Since the FCA first announced Consumer Duty, we’ve been working to understand its implications as fully as possible, together with a wide range of our customers.

“We now feel that we’re in a place where we have a huge amount of expertise, especially when it comes to how technology interfaces with the new regulations.

“Our feeling is that Consumer Duty is not just something that needs to be accepted as a fait accompli by lenders and dealers but can be an opportunity to rethink key aspects of your business in order to enhance not just customer outcomes but the entire buying journey and by doing so, creating more effective business processes.”

Tew said iVendi has distilled what it has learnt into the new white paper with the view that this knowledge should be shared as widely as possible.

Ivendi is planning to follow up this white paper with a further document later this year looking at the future implications of Consumer Duty.

Tew added: “After the July deadline, when everything is fully in place, we’ll be able to start gathering management information on a large scale and quickly build up a picture of the areas where Consumer Duty is working in terms of continuous improvement.”

The FCA recently warned of "swift action" for those that ignore its new standard.

Sheldon Mills, executive director of consumers and competition at the FCA, said: “Our supervisory and enforcement approach will be proportionate to the harm – or risk of harm - to consumers, with a sharp focus on outcomes.

“We will prioritise the most serious breaches and act swiftly and assertively where we find evidence of harm or risk of harm to consumers."