The establishment of an Enforcement Conduct Authority has been announced in a report published by the Centre for Social Justice today (click here to view).
The enforcement and debt advice sectors worked collaboratively with the Centre for Social Justice to agree a framework for independent oversight of enforcement.
The Enforcement Conduct Authority will be up and running this year, and its objectives will be to:
- raise standards;
- improve accountability;
- adjudicate complaints;
- recognise vulnerability; and
- achieve fairness.
Marston supported the Centre for Social Justice in its efforts to drive reform for enforcement, sponsoring research and roundtable discussions to facilitate this landmark achievement.
Marston’s Chief Executive was invited to contribute his expertise as one of the architects of the 2014 enforcement reforms. These introduced greater protections for customers, including the introduction of a pre-visit Compliance Stage (at which over 50% of cases are now settled) and clear, fixed fee levels for each stage of activity. He states that:
“The Enforcement Conduct Authority, with its substantive scope and wide powers, represents the kind of breakthrough reform that happens once in a generation.
It will raise standards, spotlight good practice and improve safeguards. It will also ensure the integrity of key principles that underpin the Taking Control of Goods Regulations.”
Baroness Nicky Morgan wrote the report foreword, in which she states that:
“The ECA’s potential is unlimited. With a strong mandate to ensure the fair treatment of people in debt, it will provide the independent, fair and formal supervision of enforcement that has been strongly advocated by, among others, the House of Commons Justice Committee. In developing new protocols on vulnerability and affordable repayment, the ECA will ensure that people experiencing enforcement are put on a more sympathetic and sustainable path out of debt.
In fact, the mission of the ECA is closely aligned with ongoing efforts by the Government to improve debt collection practices, including the recently introduced Breathing Space scheme.”
Marston will continue to work with all stakeholders as the Enforcement Conduct Authority is established.
