OFT blames system delay on consumer credit rules

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) says that delays in replacing a 15-year old computer system are due to lengthy government reviews of consumer credit rules.

A National Audit Office report this month said that the inflexibility of the OFT's computer system is causing 'a further obstacle to the checking of consumer credit licence applications.'

The OFT licenses traders to provide customer credit using a system that went live in 1998. A decade later, its upgrade plans were shelved when the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) launched a long-term review of the Consumer Credit Act (CCA).

Four years later, the review is not finished and the OFT is still waiting.

The trade watchdog says it wants to avoid investing in a new system before it's clear what it will need to do.

'It's not a case of battling with decrepit old systems,' said an OFT spokeswoman.

The DTI says it aims to have the bulk of the changes in place within the next 12 months, but timescales will be dependent on the results of the consultations.

The NAO report also said that that OFT cannot access information about applicants' past convictions from the Police National Computer, increasing the risk of licences being issued to unsuitable traders. The OFT is continuing to pursue the issue, said a spokeswoman.