Lead generators who sell products such as insurance, mortgages and pensions must be directly authorized by the FCA (option) or be a designated representative (AR) or a representative appointed by the introducer (IAR) of another directly authorized company (option). Lead Tech, a Yorkshire-based lead generation company, has obtained authorization from the Financial Conduct Authority. Lead generating companies are looking for ways to obtain authorization from the FCA, including becoming AR for regulated advisory firms. Any company that advertises such services must be authorized by the FCA, unless it belongs to a limited number of exempt categories.
Lead Tech, a financial lead generation company based in Yorkshire, has obtained authorization from the Financial Conduct Authority. The Principles (in particular Principle 6 and the Principle) apply to the actions of a company dealing with a customer who has been referred through a lead generator. A Yorkshire-based lead generator is expanding its team by more than a third after becoming one of the first to receive approval from the Financial Conduct Authority before a major advertising crackdown. The many ways in which these websites promote consumers are restricted solely by the imagination of the leading marketers themselves.
Olley said that the worst-case scenario for lead generators is that they find themselves stuck between Google, which will not allow them to advertise without authorization from the FCA, and the FCA, which refuses to authorize them. It does not send, or cause it to be sent, an electronic communication to a customer (C) unless C has previously notified the lead generator that C currently consents to such communications being sent or causes them to be sent by the lead generator;. Lead Tech works with financial advisors regulated by the FCA, from small businesses to FTSE 100 companies, and connects advisors with approximately 10,000 potential clients each month. Therefore, a person who is contacted by a lead generator, or whose data is obtained by a lead generator and transmitted to another company, is a customer of both the lead generator and, where appropriate, of that other company.
Successful lead generation is the “secret to success” for many successful insurance companies in the UK and lead generation is a powerful marketing tool. Companies that receive lead generator complaints must take reasonable steps to determine all charges payable or paid in connection with a claim. The FCA expects companies that agree with lead generators to accept sales opportunities in connection with counseling or debt adjustment to be able to identify, upon request, all lead generators from whom they have received potential customers (with the FCA authorization number, where appropriate). Therefore, companies must ensure that any marketing done on their behalf by a lead generator complies with the rules.
To check if a lead generator has the appropriate systems and processes to ensure compliance with data protection legislation, the company must consider, in particular, the procedures by which the lead generator obtains the personal data of customers and the consent of the customers for the use (including the acquisition, storage and exchange) of that data and if there is consent to use them in the marketing intended by the company. Alain Desmier is the co-founder and CEO of Contact State, an advertising intelligence platform that helps insurance companies manage compliant lead generation activity. He said that these new rules were less about stopping fraudulent ads and much more about gathering information about Who bought the media and where were potential customers sent. .
