§ Mr. Win GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list for each of the last 10 years, the number of(a) complaints the Office of Fair Trading has received against debt collection agencies, (b) agencies whose licences have been revoked and (c) agencies which were found to be trading without a licence. [140975]
§ Dr. HowellsThe Office of Fair Trading does not have records in the form specified and this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
However, figures relating to the number of consumer credit licences for debt collectors and investigators which the Director General was minded to revoke, suspend or vary compulsorily are set out in his Annual Reports to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. These are available in the Library of the House.
The Office of Fair Trading Annual Report also contains figures on the number of consumer complaints reported by trading standards departments and advice agencies in the financial services and related industries, although debt collectors are not specifically identified.