Section 29: Issue of standard licences
60.Section 29(2) amends section 25 of the 1974 Act specifically to require OFT in determining fitness to have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience (in relation to consumer credit, consumer hire or ancillary credit business) of the applicant and anyone who will work for him under that licence, and the practices and procedures that will be implemented in connection with the business, in addition to other matters that are currently set out in the section. Those matters include evidence that the applicant or an associate:
has committed an offence involving fraud, other dishonesty or violence;
has contravened provisions of the 1974 Act, Part 16 of FSMA (so far as it relates to the new consumer credit jurisdiction of FOS) and any other laws relating to consumer credit (or the equivalent in another EEA state);
has practised discrimination; or
has engaged in business practices, which appear to OFT to be deceitful, oppressive, unfair or improper (whether unlawful or not).
Section 29(2) also inserts a new subsection 25(2B) which makes it clear that the business practices which the OFT may consider to be deceitful, oppressive, unfair or improper include practices which appear to the OFT to involve irresponsible lending.
