Regulator to investigate complaints or suspicions of unprofessional conduct
35.—(1) If a person complains to the Regulator about the professional conduct of an authorised person, the Regulator may investigate the complaint.
(2) The Regulator may also investigate the professional conduct of an authorised person if the Regulator is satisfied, otherwise than as a result of a complaint, that—
(a)there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the authorised person has failed to comply with a condition of authorisation; and
(b)the alleged or suspected breach is serious enough to justify investigation.
(3) In making the decision whether or not to investigate, the Regulator must take into account—
(a)the source of any allegation made against the authorised person, and whether the allegation is credible;
(b)if the grounds for the suspicion are not an allegation or allegations against the person, what those grounds are and the credibility of their source;
(c)whether the person also engages in another business activity and, if so, what that activity is and its relationship to the business of the provision of claims management services;
(d)whether there have been other credible allegations against, or suspicions about, the person of failure to comply with a condition of authorisation;
(e)anything in the Regulator’s records about the person that is relevant to the person’s conduct as an authorised person, including, in particular—
(i)the person’s application to become an authorised person;
(ii)any statements by the person under regulation 12(5)(f) to the effect that he has complied with conditions of the authorisation;
(iii)any audit and inspection reports held by the Regulator; and
(iv)any previous allegations against, or suspicions about, the person that the Regulator reasonably considers to have been well founded, even if no action was taken against the person;
(f)any report in the media;
(g)any advertising by the person;
(h)any other publicly available information about the person; and
(i)any information or documents provided by the person in answer to a requirement under regulation 36.