Risky business - can you afford not to get help with your FCA application?

If you have never encountered the FCA application process before or it’s been a while since you have previously, any attempt at explanation about how much time and resource it can demand can at times can sound like scaremongering.   Therefore, I’ll let the plain and simple facts speak for themselves; principals of businesses who are already through the FCA application process have said that on average it took them three weeks to prepare their application.

Just for clarity, this isn’t the amount of time that it took them to get their application done and dusted end-to-end including approval, three weeks is the amount of time it took them just to establish what was needed, gather the right information, complete the online form and submit it to the regulator.  Once submitted, time frames are in the hands of the FCA if you’ve chosen to complete the application without any assistance from a specialist, it’s very likely that your case officer will require further or amended information and, depending upon how long the whole thing has taken, you may well need to re-submit some information, plans and reports from scratch.  If I’ve made it sound like the whole thing can prove hellishly frustrating, then there are those we have spoken to who have, in their own words, “suffered” the process who will stand as testament to the fact that you’ve got the right idea!

Of course, the length of time that can be swallowed up by the process is just one side of the coin.  The other is the amount of worker-hours you will lose as a consequence and, of course, the inevitable resultant loss of income.  If you are the principal of a firm and plan to undertake the process yourself, what would the impact be to your business if you effectively lost three weeks work and income?  If you plan to hand it over to a key member of your team, you need to consider who you would trust to ably handle such an important task versus whether you can absorb the strain of them not being fully focussed on their key role during the lengthy application period.

Have you even assessed the risk of not being granted permission and no longer being able to conduct the same level of business you did prior to regulation?  Business continuity and your approach to it, you will find, is of great interest to the FCA

The alternative to all this hassle is simply to engage a specialist provider to work with you to compile your application with you.  The Consumer Credit Centre, which is part of the SimplyBiz Group, has a 100% success rate in getting consumer credit applications and changes in permissions approved first time by the FCA and it the cost for this service is less than an average two day’s earnings.  

The SimplyBiz Group has twelve years of experience in this area and a highly skilled specialist team, and that’s just one of the reasons why AOBP has chosen to partner with us.  If you want help with applying for permissions or changing your application date for consumer credit authorisation, please get in touch with us urgently on 01484 443424.

David Golder
Managing Director 
Consumer Credit Centre
SimplyBiz Group