Credit Unions and Advertising

W

WizardDr

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The Central Bank identified that in a sample of advertisements by a number of Credit Unions they were apparently in breach of various parts of consumer credit regulations.

What is interesting is the Credit Union Handbook has as far as I can see ONE word on any advertising and nothing on what is the subject of the latest report.

Does this mean:

1. The Credit Union handbook - at 500 pages - does not after all contain all the matters that concern the Central Bank

2. That when an issue involving Credit Union is detected for the first time - there is no evidence the CBI or its predecessors reviewed CU advertising before for if they did this would have been sorted by now - that the first step is to make the story appear in the Media.

3. The Central Bank has such poor relations with the sector that it must use the megaphone of the media to communicate.

AND:

The Irish League response was the greatest cop out ever from the body that allegedly leads the sector.

Some leadership.
 
Central Bank publishes findings of Review of Compliance with the Advertising requirements of the Consumer Credit Regulations

Information release 14 July 2014

The Central Bank of Ireland today (14 July 2014) reports on the findings of its Review of the banking, moneylending and credit union sectors’ compliance with the Advertising Requirements of the European Communities (Consumer Credit Agreements) Regulations 2010 (the CCR)[1]. The Central Bank examined print, television, radio and online advertisements that were in circulation from November 2013 to March 2014 in a sample of 23 firms[2].

The Review found that overall approximately 30% of 291 advertisements did not contain all relevant information or display the information in a clear, concise and prominent way by means of a representative example as set out in the CCR. Non-compliance was more frequent in the sample of credit unions reviewed where only one-third of advertisements met the CCR requirements, compared to 99% and 88% compliance rates for the sample of banks and moneylenders respectively.

Director of Consumer Protection, Bernard Sheridan, said “Consumers must be confident that financial products and services, including loans, are advertised and marketed in a way that is clear, fair and not misleading. This is why advertising monitoring plays such an important role in our consumer protection work. The CCR has been put in place to protect consumers who borrow money from firms, and all firms are required to have the appropriate arrangements in place to ensure compliance with them.”

The Central Bank has written to all the firms in each sector highlighting the findings of the Review. Where issues have been identified, firms have been asked to withdraw and amend the advertisements to ensure that they meet with the requirements of the CCR. Further regulatory action may be considered where the issues are not dealt with satisfactorily.

In addition to this specific Review, the Central Bank regularly reviews regulated firms’ compliance with the Advertising Requirements of the Consumer Protection Code 2012. During 2013, we investigated 182 general advertising issues. 154 advertisements were either withdrawn or amended (26 of which were withdrawn immediately), while no further action was deemed necessary on the remaining 28. The Central Bank will continue to monitor advertisements for compliance with various regulatory requirements, to ensure that they work in the best interests of consumers.

Should a consumer feel that any regulated firms’ advertisement or promotion (this includes TV, radio, print, online, buses, flyers etc.) is unclear, inaccurate or misleading, they can report the advertisement to the Advertising Unit in the Central Bank at advertising@centralbank.ie

Further information: Press Office 01 224 6299, press@centralbank.ie
 
The Consumer Protection Code : Ha!.
This Code freely uses words like suppliers of credit MUST do this and MUST do that .
One {slight} problem with the Consumer Protection Code is;
that since the MUSTS in the Code do NOT have legal standing ,these Musts,mean very little.
If any case ends up in court for compensation on the Consumer Code ,unless you have very compelling evidence Mr Bank will squash you!
 
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