The Financial Services (Distance Marketing) Regulations 2004

Enforcement authorities

17.—(1) For the purposes of regulations 18 to 21—

(a) in relation to any alleged breach concerning a specified contract, the Authority is the enforcement authority;

(b) in relation to any alleged breach concerning a contract under which the supplier is a local authority, but which is not a specified contract, the OFT is the enforcement authority;

(c) in relation to any other alleged breach—

(i) the OFT, and

(ii) in Great Britain every local weights and measures authority, and in Northern Ireland the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment,

is an enforcement authority.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1) and regulation 22(6), each of the following is a specified contract—

(a) a contract the making or performance of which constitutes or is part of a regulated activity carried on by the supplier;

(b) a contract for the provision of a debit card;

(c) a contract relating to the issuing of electronic money by a supplier to whom the Authority has given a certificate under article 9C of the Regulated Activities Order (persons certified as small issuers etc.)(1);

(d) a contract the effecting or carrying out of which is excluded from article 10(1) or (2) of the Regulated Activities Order (effecting and carrying out contracts of insurance) by article 12 of that order (breakdown insurance), where the supplier is a person who does not otherwise carry on an activity of the kind specified by article 10 of that order;

(e) a contract under which a supplier provides credit to a consumer and the obligation of the consumer to repay is secured by a first legal mortgage on land;

(f) a contract, made before 14th January 2005, for insurance mediation activity other than in respect of a contract of long-term care insurance.

(3) For the purposes of the application of this regulation and regulations 18 to 22 in relation to breaches of, and offences under, regulation 15, “contract”—

(a) wherever it appears in this regulation other than in the expression “contract of long-term care insurance”, and

(b) in regulation 22(6),

is to be taken to mean “supply of financial services”.

(4) For the purposes of this regulation—

“contract of long-term care insurance” has the same meaning as in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2003(2);

“insurance mediation activity” means any activity which is not a regulated activity at the time the contract is made but will be a regulated activity of the kind specified by article 21, 25(1) or (2), 39A or 53 of the Regulated Activities Order when the amendments to that order made by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2003 come into force(3);

“local authority” means—

(a)

in England and Wales, a local authority within the meaning of the Local Government Act 1972(4), the Greater London Authority, the Common Council of the City of London or the Council of the Isles of Scilly,

(b)

in Scotland, a council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994(5), and

(c)

in Northern Ireland, a district council within the meaning of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972(6).

(1)

Article 9C was inserted by article 4 of S.I. 2002/682.

(2)

S.I. 2003/1476, as amended by S.I. 2004/1610.

(3)

Articles 4(1), 5(1), 7 and 9(1) of S.I. 2003/1476 amend articles 21 and 25(1), insert article 39A, and amend article 53 of the Regulated Activities Order with effect from 31st October 2004 for certain purposes and from 14th January 2005 for other purposes: see article 1(3).

(4)

1972 c. 70; the definition of “local authority” in section 270 has been repealed in part by section 102(2) of and Schedule 17 to the Local Government Act 1985 (c. 51) and amended by section 1(5) of the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 (c. 19).

(5)

1994 c. 39.

(6)

1972 c. 9 (N.I.).