Compliance articles

Getting Started

Introduction

Welcome to the T DOT UK Compliance Gateway.

Affiliates should visit this page regularly to solidify their understanding of the compliance expectations while part of the T DOT UK Affiliate Network. The Gateway is an excellent resource for affiliates looking to improve not only their compliance footprint, but also their traffic. Anecdotal evidence suggests that strong, consumer-friendly websites encourage user trust and improve rates of conversion.

Occasionally, your affiliate manager may recommend that you visit the Gateway to read a new or important article we provide to you. We have found that the affiliates who are most responsive to constructive commentary tend to have a longer, more fulfilling relationship with T DOT UK than those who take compliance into their own hands. T DOT UK is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. We take EU and international standards and regulations seriously.

Although you may always reach out to your affiliate manager with questions, you can find answers to the most common affiliate questions in the articles on the Gateway.

Interested in Joining the Network?

Registration with the Network begins when a prospective affiliate completes the affiliate questionnaire, which is then reviewed by a member of our Affiliate Relations team. During the onboarding process, a member of the Compliance team will review the affiliate’s website to ensure that it meets T DOT UK’s strict requirements. The affiliate must correct any potentially misleading content on his or her website before sending consumer traffic to T DOT UK.

A Note About Legal Advice

Please note that content of a legal nature is provided as guidance only, and does not constitute legal advice. You are not entitled to rely on the advice and description of complex legal matters found in the articles posted on this website. The articles are not exhaustive in nature, and the content might not be updated to reflect developments in the law. Exercise independent judgment when assessing the character of your own website content.

Have a question that isn’t answered in the articles found here? Contact compliance@t.uk and we’ll add your question to the list.

Contact your affiliate manager at the email address we provided you when you first joined the Network for fast, helpful answers to your questions. Not sure who your affiliate manager is? Please reach out to the Compliance Team at compliance@t.uk and we’ll point you in the right direction.

Our Compliance Expectations

Minimizing Affiliate Fraud

T DOT UK has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to affiliate fraud. Any affiliate found fabricating false consumer data, or misusing authentic data, will be summarily dismissed from the Affiliate Network.

Typical examples of affiliate fraud include:

using consumer data that the affiliate has no lawful right to possess
manually inserting consumer data into an application form, with or without approval from the consumer
attempting to pass off fabricated consumer data as authentic
sending lead data through the T DOT UK system multiple times in order to generate multiple sales
improper marketing language on an affiliate’s website(s)

T DOT UK holds exclusive authority to determine whether affiliate activity is fraudulent, or likely to result in harm to the consumer. Affiliates must modify their practices when instructed to do so by their affiliate manager. The affiliate manager might, but need not, grant the affiliate a reasonable time to correct non-compliant behavior. Depending on the nature and severity of the affiliate activity, immediate suspension, without appeal or time to cure a defect may result.

We comply with rules set out by the FCA and follow all applicable laws and regulations, we expect those working in our network to adhere to the same.

If you have a question about fraudulent activity, please contact your affiliate manager for guidance.

A Note About Legal Advice
Please note that content of a legal nature is provided as guidance only, and does not constitute legal advice. You are not entitled to rely on the advice and description of complex legal matters found in the articles posted on this website. The articles are not exhaustive in nature, and the content might not be updated to reflect developments in the law. Exercise independent judgment when assessing the character of your own website content.

Working with Your Affiliate Manager

You are assigned an Affiliate Manager when you sign up for the Affiliate Network. Your Affiliate Manager is your best resource for information and guidance at T DOT UK Limited. He or she can help you make positive changes to your website, explain the vagaries of consumer traffic, and keep you ahead of the curve in a volatile regulatory environment.

Regular communication with your Affiliate Manager not only helps keep you up to date with changes in the law and T DOT UK’s compliance expectations, but Affiliates with ongoing relationships are less likely to be banned from the Network.

The more responsive you are to your Affiliate Manager’s questions, the better your experience on the Network will be. Because of time limitations, Affiliate Managers rarely give unresponsive Affiliates the benefit of the doubt. It is not uncommon for Affiliate managers to suspend Affiliates who fail to respond to inquiries in a reasonable time---particularly if the Affiliate manager has asked the Affiliate to make certain changes or explain the source of their traffic.

The lesson for today: reach out to your Affiliate Manager!

Contact your Affiliate Manager at the email address we provided you when you first joined the Network for fast, helpful answers to your questions. Not sure who your Affiliate Manager is? Please reach out to the Compliance Team at compliance@t.uk, and we’ll send you in the right direction.

A Note About Legal Advice Please note that content of a legal nature is provided as guidance only, and does not constitute legal advice. You are not entitled to rely on the advice and description of complex legal matters found in the articles posted on this website. The articles are not exhaustive in nature, and the content might not be updated to reflect developments in the law. Exercise independent judgment when assessing the character of your own website content.

Affiliate Expectations

T DOT UK prides itself upon operating among the most compliant affiliate networks in the industry. To preserve this sterling reputation, we expect our affiliates to meet certain basic levels of quality, responsiveness, and professionalism.

Your website is your introduction to the consumer community; it should represent your best efforts, both in terms of grammar and spelling, but in terms of shrewd and compliant marketing.

Your site should include the following:

Prominent and accurate Representative APR and Example;
Proper disclosure of the FCA and ICO registration numbers for your company, along with trading name, address, and company number;
Proper Consumer Authorization Tick Boxes and Policies (including a qualifying Privacy Policy, Terms & Conditions of Use for the website, and Complaints Policy);
Proper content without misleading, abusive, or false language.

As an affiliate you should also:

Respond in a timely fashion to your affiliate manager. If they’re contacting you, it’s for a good reason.
Read the compliance articles we provide within this site regularly. Staying informed is the best way to stay ahead of regulators.

How We Monitor Affiliates

T DOT UK takes an active role in ensuring that its affiliates are marketing their lead generation activities in a legal, compliant, and responsible manner. From the moment the onboarding process begins, your affiliate manager will provide you the guidance, tools and knowledge to craft an attractive, consumer-friendly website.

Our top priority is consumer protection. If your marketing material tends to mislead consumers, or if you mishandle sensitive consumer information, your affiliate manager will, at a minimum, recommend fundamental changes to your behavior. Serious or continued non-compliant activities will result in your suspension from the Affiliate Network.

We comply with rules set out by the FCA, ICO, and follow industry regulations. We expect those working in our network to adhere to the same.

Your affiliate manager monitors your activity in several ways:

Regular review of your website. T DOT UK not only retains a dedicated Compliance team, but we also use a web crawler to hunt for misleading and inappropriate content on our affiliates’ websites.
As the result of Consumer Complaints. T DOT UK maintains a file for complaints it receives from consumers about our affiliates’ actions. A single complaint is enough to trigger scrutiny of your websites or other marketing practices.
Quality of leads. If an inordinate number of consumer leads an affiliate generates appears to be fraudulent, that affiliate’s activities will be paused. The affiliate manager will attempt to work with the affiliate to find a solution to the problem. If the problem cannot be resolved to T DOT UK’s satisfaction, the affiliate will be suspended from the Network.

Email Marketing: An Overview

The Data Protection Act and the Privacy & Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), overseen by the ICO responsible for enforcing the electronic communications regulations in the UK, gives guidance to the compliance obligations when conducting email marketing. The laws and list indicated are not all inclusive, but can serve as an overview.

Chiefly, all commercial emails must comply with the following requirements:

Header information cannot be false. This includes sender and recipient information, including the person’s name, affiliation, and email address.
Subject lines cannot be deceptive. They must accurately communicate the context of the body of the email.
Identification as an advertisement. If the email is commercial in nature, you must disclosure, in a conspicuous manner, that the email is an advertisement. This can be done in either the subject line or the body of the email.
Include an address. Your recipients have to know how to reach you, with a physical address as well as an email address. You are also encouraged to include a telephone number.
Explain your opt-out procedures, in a clear and conspicuous manner. We encourage affiliates to use a hyperlink for the opt-out process.
Process opt-outs in a timely manner, update your suppression list frequently, and ensure the opt-out hyperlink in emails is active for any future opt-out requests. You’re not allowed to condition the opt-out in any way (such as requiring the consumer to pay a fee). Once a consumer has requested to be removed from the list, you are not permitted to sell that consumer’s information to a third party. Here is a reference to the ICO marketing guidance for more information: https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisations/documents/1555/direct-marketing-guidance.pdf

Consumer Complaints: General

Are you the recipient of a consumer complaint, whether or not the complaint is directed squarely at you?<.p>

Regardless of the content, please promptly forward the complaint (along with all identifying information, including full name, email address, and phone number of the consumer) to your affiliate manager. In many instances, we will be able to determine the source of the complaint and reach out to the consumer to rectify the problem.

If you are required to contact the consumer again in order to gather more information, please do so in a respectful manner, without guaranteeing a positive outcome. Although, T DOT UK will provide a timely response to the consumer and aim for successful closure, we can’t guarantee consumer’s full satisfaction with the response.

Please be aware that we reserve the right to forward complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) if we feel that consumers are inordinately harmed by your activities, or the activities of a third party. Also, please keep in mind, consumer has a right to go directly to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Our principal focus is ensuring a safe and enjoyable consumer experience.

T DOT UK will forward the results of any consumer complaint investigation we undertake to you, as appropriate.

Incentivised Traffic

Affiliates are not permitted to encourage consumers to register for a loan by incentivising the process, either by promising consumers money, split commissions, goods in kind, or any other benefit in exchange for their information.

Offering consumers payment of any kind in exchange for their lead information raises legal questions under lending rules that Affiliates should strenuously try to avoid. In the event T DOT UK learns that an Affiliate is incentivising offers, the Affiliate will be immediately banned from the Network.

This is also true for testimonials for your site. If you must use testimonials (which T DOT UK discourages; see Testimonials), solicit the opinions of your consumers without offering payment in return. You have to disclose any compensation paid for testimonials, which might do more harm than good to your company image.

Consumer Complaints: Maintaining a Record

Just as T DOT UK Limited does, Affiliates are expected to maintain accurate records of the consumer complaints they receive, whether or not those complaints are addressed to the Affiliate. Proper recordkeeping allows us, as well as regulators and consumer advocates, to identify bad actors in the industry, mitigate damages, and provide resolutions.

Perhaps the best reason to keep accurate records is that it protects you. A quick response time to even legitimate concerns says more about your diligence and thoroughness than about the underlying practice that the consumer found troubling (within reason, of course).

As T DOT UK Limited is regulated by the FCA, we will report any consumer complaint. We ensure consistency with Treating Consumers Fairly (TCF) and keep consumers at the heart of our business model. We expect Affiliates in our network to also strive to achieve consumer fair treatment.

We advise our Affiliates to create spreadsheets and databases of consumer complaints to identify potential trends and remedy possible weak areas. For example, if you recently launched a new campaign and witnessed a spike in consumer complaints shortly thereafter, it stands to reason that some aspect of the campaign may be causing problems. Maintaining good records can help you track, assess, and try to prevent complaints.

Things Affiliates Should Know

Who is the FCA?

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulates financial firms providing services to consumers and maintains the integrity of the UK's financial markets. It focuses on the regulation of conduct by both retail and wholesale financial services firms. The work and purpose of the FCA is defined by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA).

The FCA works with consumer groups, trade associations and professional bodies, domestic regulators, EU legislators and a wide range of other stakeholders. Regulated firms are expected to meet the standards set out in the FCA’s Handbook of Rules and Guidance (see https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/handbook).

TdotUK Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and is entered on the Financial Services Register. To ensure we remain compliant, we will monitor our affiliates to ensure compliance to the FCA’s rules and guidance.

Who is the ICO?

The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) is set up to uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals. Learn more about the ICO at https://ico.org.uk/.

It is our obligation under the Data Protection Act to protect the information consumers provide when submitting a form for our referral service.

TdotUK Limited is registered with the Information Commissioners Office and found within the Data Protection Public Register. To ensure we remain compliant, we will monitor our affiliates to ensure compliance with the ICO’s rules and guidance.

Reinstatement on the Network

Once you have been suspended from the Affiliate Network, reinstatement can be difficult to achieve. As with any interactions between an affiliate and his or her affiliate manager, the longer and more productive the business relationship, the more likely T DOT UK will reinstate a suspended affiliate.

T DOT UK weighs a multitude of factors in considering reinstatement, including the nature and duration of the misconduct, the responsiveness of the affiliate to T dot UK correspondence, the likelihood that the improper behavior will continue in the future, and the difficulty with which T DOT UK can discover the misconduct.

T DOT UK is under no obligation to give affiliate second chances. The best way to ensure reinstatement is to keep good records, make genuine efforts at complying with legal and Network requirements, and be proactive with potential pitfalls. If your affiliate manager perceives you to be a good citizen in the industry, they are more likely to give you a chance to rectify problems with your website.

To request reinstatement, please contact your affiliate manager.

Updating your Records

Have a change of address, either for billing or correspondence purposes? Contact your affiliate manager and they’ll guide you through the simple process of updating your records.

Remember: you have to maintain accurate billing and contact information at all times in order to receive prompt payment. Although T DOT UK tries to work with its affiliates in the event of billing difficulties, unresponsive affiliates might find their share of revenue forfeited after an extended period of time.

In other words, make sure you check your emails regularly, and updated your contact information appropriately.

Who Are You? Misrepresenting Your Role

Consumers are generally not savvy about the workings of the referral process. As such, they might have certain misconceptions---reasonable or unreasonable---about your role in the lending process. Few people naturally understand what an affiliate is, what a lead generator is, or how they interact with lenders.

As an affiliate, you must clearly explain to consumers that you are a broker, not a lender. In fact, FCA requires that you state expressly and prominently in your disclosures that you are not a lender.

Always state that you do not make credit decisions. As an affiliate operating in a revenue sharing environment, you are not permitted to charge a commission to consumers, and you should emphasize this point.

Avoiding confusion is one of the reasons why we expect affiliates to ensure compliance with regulators, and also why we may provide compliance feedback after reviewing your websites. Being clear about your role to consumers is important in order to remain part of our network.

How We Monitor Lenders

Compliance shouldn’t just be a concern for affiliates; lenders are an essential part of the Network, as well. If consumers aren’t confident that lenders are treating their confidential information properly, the system cannot function.

The relationship between a lender and T DOT UK is laid out in the Advertising Agreement. This agreement spells out how consumer information is to be protected throughout the process, including during transmission and storage. Furthermore, the Agreement will determine how the lender is permitted to market or exploit consumer information commercially once the consumer has been granted or denied a loan.

We monitor lender compliance in two main ways: through routine lender questionnaires, and through responding to consumer complaints. T DOT UK sends questionnaires to its network of lenders on an annual basis, or as part of the onboarding process. The questionnaire includes an inquiry into, among other things, the lender’s entity type, scope of lending, and compliance infrastructure.

If a lender does not return a questionnaire in a timely fashion, T DOT UK reserves the right to terminate its relationship with the lender in accordance to the Advertising Agreement between the parties. Regrettably, T DOT UK cannot continue relationships with a lender unless we are confident that the lender is meeting our basic compliance expectations.

General Data Protection Regulation

Are you taking steps to prepare for the new legal framework of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)?

The upcoming GDPR will apply in May of 2018. The GDPR provides more protections for consumers, and more privacy considerations for organisations.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is helping organisations to meet the GDPR upcoming requirements. You may find a few steps to start getting prepared as provided by the ICO via a link on their website: https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisations/documents/1624219/preparing-for-the-gdpr-12-steps.pdf

Similar to Data Protection Act (DPA), the GDPR applies to personal data. However, the GDPR will include new components and improvements, the data protections principles set out the main responsibilities for organizations, and the GDPR will hold organisations accountable.

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