Thread: Who needs a credit licence ?

The OFT says:

You are likely to need a licence if you want to:

sell on credit
hire or lease out goods for more than three months
lend money
issue credit cards or trading checks
arrange credit for others
offer hire purchase terms
collect debts
help people with debt problems
advise on people's credit standing
administer agreements (but do not collect debts) for creditors or assignees
help individuals to locate and correct records about their financial standing.
You are not likely to need a licence if:

you only deal with limited companies (or,in the case of credit reference agencies, you only furnish information about limited companies)
you are just accepting credit cards or trading checks issued by someone else (and you didn't introduce the borrower to them)
you are just allowing customers to pay their bills in four or fewer instalments within a year beginning on the date of the arrangement.
Your licence must cover all the categories of credit activities that you plan to carry out. It is a criminal offence to carry out any activities that are not covered by your licence.

All professions or trades are 'businesses' for licensing purposes. Even if you make no charge for services or are non profit-making, you may still need a licence.

I have answered this on another thread.

bailiff companies will argue that they are NOT enforcing Consumer Debt and they are enforcing an order of the court.