iVendi offers dealer advice on new Consumer Duty rules

Compiling accurate and timely management information (MI) will be crucial for dealers and lenders in meeting the FCA’s new Consumer Duty responsibilities.

That’s the view of iVendi which said that proving customer needs were being put first could only be achieved by having systems and processes in place.

Rob Severs, Senior VP Product and Insight at the motor retail technology group, said: “Management information will play a key part in helping both lenders and retailers prove compliance and show continuous improvement when it comes to Consumer Duty.

“It provides the data and insight to help better understand how good vehicle buyer outcomes are being delivered and where improvements need to be made.”

Examples of MI which should be tracked for the motor retail sector included the volume of rejections, complaints, customer feedback and outcomes of sales reviews, he said.

“It’s a question of identifying the right metrics for your business and introducing processes that ensure they are accurately measured and regularly monitored, with clear lines of responsibility being created. Our advice is that dealers and lenders make a checklist to ensure that the MI they are compiling meets basic requirements.”

Rob concluded: “Tracking Consumer Duty MI could potentially be done manually but, as with any process of this kind, technology will deliver exponentially more effective results with greater accuracy and speed available in reporting formats that are easy to understand.

“We are already working with motor retailers and lenders to put these in place. Because of our systems and our experience, this has the added bonus of ensuring not just that the new FCA guidelines are being met but also data protection and consumer rights laws and regulations. All compliance needs are gathered in one place.”

A key outcome for dealers will be ensuring they have a fair and transparent panel of lender products to offer to customers, showing compliant processes and value to the end consumer. They will largely be reliant on IT system providers in both the showroom and digital space to provide data such as audit trails that capture and can demonstrate compliant selling across a panel of lenders; data on market finance rates to ensure dealer offerings remain competitive; and sufficient insight across all their lending partners to produce accurate representative examples.