Credit hire firms cannot contribute to the running of IFED

The credit hire industry does not have the resources to contribute to the running of the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED), according to Credit Hire Organisation director general Martin Andrews.

Andrews told politicians at a meeting of the All Party Group for insurance and financial services that credit hire firms simply did not make enough money.

“The Competition Commission (now the Competition and Markets Authority) identified we (the credit hire industry) don’t make profits, let alone exceptional profits,” he said. “So I’m not sure how far we would get if, in order for us to get the phone answered, we had to provide X% of IFED’s current budget. I’m not sure that that’s practical.”

The remark came after Heather Wheeler MP questioned why the credit hire industry was not contributing to the funding of IFED given that the insurance industry was providing £4m a year for the running of the department.

Credit Hire Organisation chairman Steve Evans, who despite Andrews’ comments had previously stated credit hire firms would be willing to fund IFED, said the credit hire industry had not been invited to provide funding.

“We have not been invited to and we have not been allowed to [provide funding],” he said. “We sit here as victims more than anything else.”

In response, outgoing IFED lead Dave Wood said: “We haven’t been approached [by the credit hire industry] either. It is not up to us to go begging for money. If you (the credit hire industry) did make an approach we would listen.”

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