Car finance provider Alphera Financial Services has urged motor retailers to organise themselves in response to the Consultation Paper (CP13/7) published in March regarding the transfer of consumer credit regulation to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

The period for initial responses to the paper ended at the start of May and a final policy statement is expected in September.

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As such, Alphera has advised each of its partner companies which sell finance to check their credit license details currently held by the Office of Fair Trading, the present regulator of consumer credit, and ensure they are correct ahead of the 1 April transfer.

Workshops

Alphera, which is owned by the BMW Group and provides loans on all marques except BMW, will be hosting a series of workshops with its partners, such as dealers, brokers and legal experts, to discuss any initial draft of rules under the FCA.

Andy Gruber, director of Alphera, said: "The challenge at the moment is that it is relatively vague what the exact requirements are.

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"A strong link between lenders and brokers and dealers is going to be essential in preparing for this change."

Timetable

Gruber echoed the concern expressed by Stephen Sklaroff, director general of the Finance & Leasing Association, over the tight timeframe for regulation to begin and motor finance companies – including dealers and brokers – to be processed under the interim permission scheme.

"This tougher regulatory regime is due to be introduced by 1 April, 2014," said Gruber, "but is no joke for hard pressed dealers who have little time to ensure they are operating within the new regulatory requirements."

As Gruber recently told Motor Finance, by the time the latest rules are digested, "the launch of the new regime will only be six months away, which doesn’t leave a lot of time to prepare".

A full interview with Andy Gruber, as well as comment from the FCA, FLA and others regarding the transfer of regulation, will be published in the August issue of Motor Finance magazine.