Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to protect consumers from continuous payment authority abuses.

There are two sets of regulations that protect consumers from abuses of continuous payment authorities (CPAs) – the Payment Services Regulations 2009, and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

In June 2013, the Financial Conduct Authority issued a warning to banks, reminding them of their obligation to cancel CPAs immediately at the customer’s request. Banks are also required to refund consumers if companies continue to take money without the account-holder’s permission.

In addition, the FCA has introduced tough new rules limiting payday lenders’ use of CPAs to two unsuccessful attempts. These rules also prevent payday lenders from using CPAs to take partial payment – a lender can only take payment if the entire amount owed by the customer is available in their account.