It is a requirement of membership of DEMSA that members adhere to the DEMSA Code of Conduct in its entirety and DEMSA is charged by its members to:

• Establish the required standards and incorporate them into the DEMSA Code of Conduct
• Ensure that all members are fully aware of the requirements of the Code
• To regularly review and, where appropriate to modify and amend the Code
• To monitor, on a regular basis, adherence to the Code by members, by the means set out below
• To investigate any actual or potential breaches of the Code brought to its attention by any client of a member either by way of a formal complaint.
• To investigate any actual or potential breaches of the Code brought to its attention by any other means
• By the means of an independent panel to rule on any reported breaches and to impose sanctions as outlined below on members in the event of breaches being proven
• To ensure that reasonable time limits are set, and met, for the correction of any non ‚Äì compliance issues

Independent Compliance & Disciplinary Panel

An independent panel will be convened as and when appropriate to consider and rule on any perceived compliance breaches and to issue sanctions against any offending member. It is a condition of DEMSA membership that members accept the binding nature of any decisions reached by the panel. The panel will comprise of the Code Administrator and two other members both of whom will be fully independent of the Debt Management industry.

Regular Compliance Review

DEMSA will undertake, either by using its own resources, or by the engagement of outside,
independent professionals, regular reviews of members’ compliance specifically covering the
key points of the Code and the OFT Guidance Notes. The independent panel will rule on any
compliance breaches revealed by this review.

Notification of potential breaches of the Code

The independent panel will be convened as a consequence of acquiring information from various different sources:

• A consumer complaint
• As a result of a compliance audit
• Information obtained from a mystery shopping exercise or a consumer satisfaction survey
• A complaint from another member
• A complaint from any other source, including lenders.

Disciplinary Action

Disciplinary action may be taken by the independent panel in the event of the following:

• Material and/or persistent breach of the Code
• Failure by a member to respond to complaints and investigations within a time scale specified by DEMSA
• A complaint against a member which is justified under the Complaints Handling and Independent Redress Procedures
• Bringing DEMSA into disrepute, or conduct which is prejudicial to the reputation, membership and/or objectives of DEMSA

Sanctions

Sanctions against a DEMSA member may be imposed by the Independent Panel in the event of disciplinary action being taken. These may take the form of:

• Written warnings as to the members future conduct
• Undertakings to be given by members to improve/change procedures, documentation or behaviour
• Follow up inspections/audits of offending members
• Fines levied for repeated serious breaches
• Suspension of DEMSA membership until the panel is satisfied that the Code is being properly observed
• Expulsion from DEMSA. In this serious event any such expulsion may be notified to members, lenders, the media, the OFT and any other parties who may have an interest.

Timescales

It is the policy of DEMSA that any breaches of compliance be dealt with and rectified in as short a timescale as possible. The following framework for the rectification of breaches has been adopted:

• On receiving evidence of a likely breach the Code Administrator will contact the member within 5 working days to request full details surrounding the alleged breach
• The member must respond within 10 working days of the request
• The member, in partnership with the Code Administrator, will have 10 working days from any instruction from the Code Administrator to rectify the breach.
• The discipline panel will be convened in the event of a material breach of the Code and when called the panel will study the details of the case, and may grant a further 10 days for any breach to be rectified or impose sanctions on the member
• Failure to meet any of these timescales will lead to the imposition of sanctions against the member as set out above.

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