Consumer Credit License and Data Protection Number for Affiliates

[damion]

I'm trying to get a grasp on what is needed for affiliates dealing with financial offers, which circumstances require a specific license, and what the best way would be to get things sorted out.

As an affiliate (Non UK Individual) I promote and plan to promote various type of financial products.

Promotion is done or will be done in the following way:

Promotion Types:

1: Affiliate tracking, redirect visitor to landing page.
2: Use on-site lead forms to collect lead data and push to merchant/client.
3: Use email optin forms to create subscriber lists and promote offers via email.

So far I'm aware of:

Licensing Types:

1: Consumer Credit License
2: FCA Number
3: Data Protection Number

Questions I have:

1: For each of the three promotion types, which licensing types would apply for me and are required?

2: Anyone here that has already gone through the steps to get things sorted out, in order to be able to as an affiliate promote/compare financial products and or host their own lead forms?

Did you went through the needed steps on your own, or did you use a barrister/solicitor or company?

Thanks!

 

[bonusmedia]

http://www.fca.org.uk/firms/about-authorisation/do-i-need-to-be-authorised

http://ico.org.uk/for_organisations/data_protection/registration/self-assessment

A lot of financial comparison sites seem to be regulated by the FCA as 'credit intermediaries'.

ICO (data protection) registration is simple and costs £35, but make sure you're aware of your responsibilities!

I'd be interested too if anyone else has better info on the FCA side of this...

 

[damion]

Unfortunately the FCA doesn't really offer helpful information on their website, in relation to affiliate marketing, and the part below shows me that they are not that cooperative either to provide information that can provide clarity in respect to affiliate marketing.

Please be aware that we can only refer you to the relevant sections of the FCA Handbook that you need to consider. For a definitive answer on whether you need to be authorised you should seek independent legal or compliance advice.

Anyone know where to find good legal advice in respect to FCA compliance and affiliate marketing?

The Data Protection number seems to be a requirement when hosting your own lead forms, so that will require a UK company registration number most likely in my case.

 

[Skinner]

Have you tried speaking to the affiliate platform ? i.e. Awin or whoever ?

 

[damion]

Through OMG I learned about FCA and Data Protection Number requirements, I asked them for advice, but they are not allowed to advise on these matters.

I'm thinking of getting in touch with this firm:
http://www.adlexsolicitors.co.uk/

Not sure yet if they would be the right people to talk to, but on first glance it does like it.

 

[Skinner]

I would have thought they would be able to say "Yes you need X, Y and Z for this program" ? MoreNiche hassle me all the time over compliance and rules, I assumed others would too.

 

[Retired_Member38]

Through OMG I learned about FCA and Data Protection Number requirements, I asked them for advice, but they are not allowed to advise on these matters.

I'm thinking of getting in touch with this firm:
http://www.adlexsolicitors.co.uk/

Not sure yet if they would be the right people to talk to, but on first glance it does like it.

Adlex will charge you £250 an hour. You really don't need to be paying someone that, some very basic research and Googling will give you the info you need.

 

[damion]

Well, either Google is really doing a bad job returning relevant results for what I need to know, or I'm just bad at using Google to find the clarification I'm looking for.

The FCA website says in their own words they can't help you other then to direct you to the answers already pointed out in the handbook, which is not helpful for clearing things up in respect to affiliate marketing.

So for now, at this point I'm only positive that a Data Protection Number is needed for lead gen forms collecting personal information.

And I'm still unsure if the FCA is of any relevance for affiliate sites that promote various financial offers. My initial thought is that the FCA would not apply for the typical affiliate business model.

 

[mojoco]

Since responsibility transferred from the OFT to the FCA it is quite a grey area.

However, broadly speaking, if your site offers anything that can be deemed as advice then you will need to be licensed.

 

[murph]

You should be registered with ICO if you handle personal information on your lead gen forms.

 

[damion]

Thank you for your input guys, much appreciated,

 

[mally]

I've recieved an email asking for details for a pay day loan lender I use. The question they ask are below.

Registered on FCA (Please provide FCA Interim Permission Number)

If you wished to continue the activities you had an Office of Fair Trading licence for after 1 April 2014 you needed to register with the FCA for 'interim permission'. It was essential for you to do this to continue these activities: if you did not do this, you are likely to be operating illegally. Your interim permission number should have been issued when you registered with the FCA.

Details/confirmation of Interim Permission License Number (Interim Certifcate)

If you have registered with the FCA as stated above you would have been issued with an Interim certificate. Please provide a copy of this.

Website displays appropriate FCA disclosure (Provide screenshots)

Please see example below of the FCA disclosure that should be included on all of your lead generation websites. The example below if WDA's FCA disclosure.
Companies House Registered (Provide Company House Number) Please provide your company house number. This can be retrieved from the following website when you have registered: http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/