regulated profession FCA etc.

[southLondon]

About two weeks ago after crashing in to an illegally parked car (parked next to a junction on a red route) on the way home, the police attended and I admitted to having a few, I was cuffed and taken to the station where I blew 58 and 59. No blood was taken.
I've been in banking and now own and run a small Financial Services firm, and as part of the FCA regs I am due to disclose any conviction, it may affect my "Fit and Proper" person status, which is livelihood threatening. I'm early 40's and need to put food on the table.

As I run the firm and its very small my duties encompass all the Senior Manager titles like CEO, AML etc.
Its the first ever offence and I have no cautions or anything else. I'm due to plead guilty at the local magistrates on Thursday, I'm expecting a ban 12months, maybe less and the conviction which will be a nightmare. I've only had the DBS check a few times as I have hardly ever changed jobs, and as far as I can tell there is no routine request from them, they expect the regulated individuals to self report. So in theory I could not report it.

I can't find much at all online for information for this kind of first time offence and what experience people had with disclosing it to the FCA or perhaps another regulator. So looking for some insight. Lawyer websites seem to mostly deal with much more "serious" crimes involving fraud and dishonesty.

Examples I know of are mixed:
I know of one person with multiple convictions for driving with out insurance, drink driving, driving whilst disqualified, and a few more. He was not granted FCA status (as recently as 2020)

I also know of one guy that had Bankruptcy, and DR30 driving ban, who was allowed to be regulated in a customer facing role. His case was made worse as he hid the disclosures from the FCA in a subsequent Long Form A, which they then challenged and the truth came out, the FCA still granted him CF30, provided that he was adequately supervised.

What are other peoples experiences with this..

 

[Jon1123]

Sorry to hear your ordeal, hope it goes ok in court. Im not sure about FCA, however as I am a chartered accountant I worried as well. I rang my proffessional body 2 weeks after the incident and they said, although it will need to be reviewed once/if I get convicted it shouldnt be enough to disqualify me from practicing. Hope this helps. I have read alot around professional bodies and disclosures, it seems they are more worried with incidents of theft, especially in financial services/accountancy. The best thing to do is be upfront and honest. They will value that.

 

[southLondon]

Sorry to hear your ordeal, hope it goes ok in court. Im not sure about FCA, however as I am a chartered accountant I worried as well. I rang my proffessional body 2 weeks after the incident and they said, although it will need to be reviewed once/if I get convicted it shouldnt be enough to disqualify me from practicing. Hope this helps. I have read alot around professional bodies and disclosures, it seems they are more worried with incidents of theft, especially in financial services/accountancy. The best thing to do is be upfront and honest. They will value that.

I agree (fraud and dishonesty) are the big no no, as most of the fitness to be regulated language goes on about the relevance of the conviction to your duties to either deal honestly with clients money or their investment decisions.

 

[Jon1123]

Yes agreed, and a family member is a manager in a hedge fund and has been caught DD twice in the past (although this was 20+ years ago), he also mentioned being honest about it helped him out!

 

[southLondon]

Yes agreed, and a family member is a manager in a hedge fund and has been caught DD twice in the past (although this was 20+ years ago), he also mentioned being honest about it helped him out!

Thanks thats the sort of area I am in. Its very nerve wracking and hardly any pages seem to talk about it, as opposed to the HGV driver etc.
Through my career i did get the feeling that the FCA is rather toothless/pragmatic and hardly bats an eyelid, I know of many complaints to them that have never been investigated.

 

[Recovered22]

About two weeks ago after crashing in to an illegally parked car (parked next to a junction on a red route) on the way home, the police attended and I admitted to having a few, I was cuffed and taken to the station where I blew 58 and 59. No blood was taken.
I've been in banking and now own and run a small Financial Services firm, and as part of the FCA regs I am due to disclose any conviction, it may affect my "Fit and Proper" person status, which is livelihood threatening. I'm early 40's and need to put food on the table.

As I run the firm and its very small my duties encompass all the Senior Manager titles like CEO, AML etc.
Its the first ever offence and I have no cautions or anything else. I'm due to plead guilty at the local magistrates on Thursday, I'm expecting a ban 12months, maybe less and the conviction which will be a nightmare. I've only had the DBS check a few times as I have hardly ever changed jobs, and as far as I can tell there is no routine request from them, they expect the regulated individuals to self report. So in theory I could not report it.

I can't find much at all online for information for this kind of first time offence and what experience people had with disclosing it to the FCA or perhaps another regulator. So looking for some insight. Lawyer websites seem to mostly deal with much more "serious" crimes involving fraud and dishonesty.

Examples I know of are mixed:
I know of one person with multiple convictions for driving with out insurance, drink driving, driving whilst disqualified, and a few more. He was not granted FCA status (as recently as 2020)

I also know of one guy that had Bankruptcy, and DR30 driving ban, who was allowed to be regulated in a customer facing role. His case was made worse as he hid the disclosures from the FCA in a subsequent Long Form A, which they then challenged and the truth came out, the FCA still granted him CF30, provided that he was adequately supervised.

What are other peoples experiences with this..

Due to your breath reading being between 36-59 you find yourself in the lowest sentencing bracket which is a ban in the range of 12-16 months. Due to your crash being an aggravating factor and your breath reading being at the top of that scale you will more than likely find you will be handed a ban of 16 months.

You can request that the judge allows you to complete the drink driving awareness course that will reduce your ban by up to 25% bringing your 16 month ban down to around 12 months. As for your work, tell them as soon as you can as it is a matter of professional integrity. You would be treated harsher for not disclosing it than you will be for disclosing it.

 

[southLondon]

Due to your breath reading being between 36-59 you find yourself in the lowest sentencing bracket which is a ban in the range of 12-16 months. Due to your crash being an aggravating factor and your breath reading being at the top of that scale you will more than likely find you will be handed a ban of 16 months.

You can request that the judge allows you to complete the drink driving awareness course that will reduce your ban by up to 25% bringing your 16 month ban down to around 12 months. As for your work, tell them as soon as you can as it is a matter of professional integrity. You would be treated harsher for not disclosing it than you will be for disclosing it.

Thanks for your reply.
As I own and run the firm the responsibility sits with me to report myself to the regulator.

On the sentencing, whether its 9 , 12 or sadly more they are all fairly terrible. Fingers crossed

 

[BigTom]

Thanks thats the sort of area I am in. Its very nerve wracking and hardly any pages seem to talk about it, as opposed to the HGV driver etc.
Through my career i did get the feeling that the FCA is rather toothless/pragmatic and hardly bats an eyelid, I know of many complaints to them that have never been investigated.

Generally the FCA will be toothless and there will be no issues with someone declaring a criminal record, IF it is seen as a one off. If there are other factors such as fraud, theft, multiple charges etc. then they may decide to take things further. The idea is that as an authorised person you are above suspicion when it comes to things such as money laundering, being blackmailed into doing things etc.

Yes, you may be lucky by hiding the facts, yet if it ever does come out then you are more than likely royally screwed. Slaps on the wrist for being a naughty boy, or major investigation for lying/fraudulently declaring, those are your choices....

Honestly, I can say that in many years of working at high levels in FSA/FCA authorised firms, there was probably only one occasion when I saw someone being upfront and having issues, there were however numerous issues with people not being upfront and trying to bury things under the table.

 

[Recovered22]

Thanks for your reply.
As I own and run the firm the responsibility sits with me to report myself to the regulator.

On the sentencing, whether its 9 , 12 or sadly more they are all fairly terrible. Fingers crossed

There is no 9 month ban for DD, it is a minimum of a 12 month ban. That can be reduced to 9 months if the course is granted upon request.

Sorry I meant it's better informing the regualtor rather than to your own firm.

 

[southLondon]

Generally the FCA will be toothless and there will be no issues with someone declaring a criminal record, IF it is seen as a one off. If there are other factors such as fraud, theft, multiple charges etc. then they may decide to take things further. The idea is that as an authorised person you are above suspicion when it comes to things such as money laundering, being blackmailed into doing things etc.

Yes, you may be lucky by hiding the facts, yet if it ever does come out then you are more than likely royally screwed. Slaps on the wrist for being a naughty boy, or major investigation for lying/fraudulently declaring, those are your choices....

Honestly, I can say that in many years of working at high levels in FSA/FCA authorised firms, there was probably only one occasion when I saw someone being upfront and having issues, there were however numerous issues with people not being upfront and trying to bury things under the table.

Hi BigTom, thanks for your input. It sounds like you have been around the area and seen a few cases.

 

[TPR]

Hi. I can confirm that I am in a very similar situation to you. I decided not to report until the date of my conviction and this caused me problems. I cannot advise strongly enough just being open from the get go.

 

[southLondon]

I thought I post a follow up as its been some time now. I've completed the Drink awareness course and my DVLA record shows the reduced ban.

On the date of my hearing at the magistrates I called the FCA and they were very understanding about it, they told me to fill in the form D for update/notice of changes. I put about a one page write up of the circumstances and my remorse and sent it off, that was 22 July On the 27th of August I was notified that the Form D had been processed and from what I can tell no further action is being taken.

On the phone the FCA were helpful and asked if it was a one off, and if it would impact me preforming any duties to the firm or clients, which it doesn't as its a office based job. So overall was not as painful as i imagined.

 

[BigTom]

I thought I post a follow up as its been some time now. I've completed the Drink awareness course and my DVLA record shows the reduced ban.

On the date of my hearing at the magistrates I called the FCA and they were very understanding about it, they told me to fill in the form D for update/notice of changes. I put about a one page write up of the circumstances and my remorse and sent it off, that was 22 July On the 27th of August I was notified that the Form D had been processed and from what I can tell no further action is being taken.

On the phone the FCA were helpful and asked if it was a one off, and if it would impact me preforming any duties to the firm or clients, which it doesn't as its a office based job. So overall was not as painful as i imagined.

Glad to hear it has been pretty painless for you. At the end of the day, regulators are there to ensure standards are adhered to. A mistake that is out of character is just that, a mistake. The FCA make loads of mistakes so if they were to punish you it would be pretty hypocritical

 

[southLondon]

Glad to hear it has been pretty painless for you. At the end of the day, regulators are there to ensure standards are adhered to. A mistake that is out of character is just that, a mistake. The FCA make loads of mistakes so if they were to punish you it would be pretty hypocritical

Indeed, FCA could do an awful lot more right! having said that, I would hate to be at a large firm unless you have a very good manager, running my own place means at least I didn't have to explain to anyone

 

[Luna2000]

Great that the FCA takes this approach. I know of Chartered Surveyors who have reported the DUI convictions to the RICS and have been struck off the register for conduct unbecoming a Professional. This wouldn't necessarily preclude you from practising as a surveyor, but you would not be able to call yourself Chartered.

Seems it depends very much on the Professional body you are a member of.

 

[southLondon]

Great that the FCA takes this approach. I know of Chartered Surveyors who have reported the DUI convictions to the RICS and have been struck off the register for conduct unbecoming a Professional. This wouldn't necessarily preclude you from practising as a surveyor, but you would not be able to call yourself Chartered.

Seems it depends very much on the Professional body you are a member of.

Maybe circumstances affect it too, not impacting other people ( driving alone ) 1st time offence etc. But I am very relieved as it would have caused a major rethink in terms of what I do career wise !

 

[southLondon]

Just a little update from me.

I had been drinking all evening and driving home, then crashed in to a parked car.
Passing police car stopped and asked me if I had been drinking.
I blew about 61 at the station and spent the next twelve hours in the cells as they were busy!

I got a 15m ban last year, reduced to 12m with the drink awareness course. about £400 costs
Work in the financial services area at a senior level in a small company.
FCA absolutely fine about everything - didn't involve dishonesty and I was forthcoming

I arranged insurance at the end of July.
On my classic sports car, the premium doubled but is a still very low <£500
for the family size volvo its now £1500 with esure, whereas I was paying c. £400 last year.

Overall drinking much more often 0 alcohol beer , no DD and have told the group of friends I hang out with so they can check me if I am tempted.

Life goes on, still potentially lots of consequences to having the conviction but so far so good.

 

[Mortifiedlady]

Just a little update from me.

I had been drinking all evening and driving home, then crashed in to a parked car.
Passing police car stopped and asked me if I had been drinking.
I blew about 61 at the station and spent the next twelve hours in the cells as they were busy!

I got a 15m ban last year, reduced to 12m with the drink awareness course. about £400 costs
Work in the financial services area at a senior level in a small company.
FCA absolutely fine about everything - didn't involve dishonesty and I was forthcoming

I arranged insurance at the end of July.
On my classic sports car, the premium doubled but is a still very low <£500
for the family size volvo its now £1500 with esure, whereas I was paying c. £400 last year.

Overall drinking much more often 0 alcohol beer , no DD and have told the group of friends I hang out with so they can check me if I am tempted.

Life goes on, still potentially lots of consequences to having the conviction but so far so good.

 

[Luna2000]

About two weeks ago after crashing in to an illegally parked car (parked next to a junction on a red route) on the way home, the police attended and I admitted to having a few, I was cuffed and taken to the station where I blew 58 and 59. No blood was taken.
I've been in banking and now own and run a small Financial Services firm, and as part of the FCA regs I am due to disclose any conviction, it may affect my "Fit and Proper" person status, which is livelihood threatening. I'm early 40's and need to put food on the table.

As I run the firm and its very small my duties encompass all the Senior Manager titles like CEO, AML etc.
Its the first ever offence and I have no cautions or anything else. I'm due to plead guilty at the local magistrates on Thursday, I'm expecting a ban 12months, maybe less and the conviction which will be a nightmare. I've only had the DBS check a few times as I have hardly ever changed jobs, and as far as I can tell there is no routine request from them, they expect the regulated individuals to self report. So in theory I could not report it.

I can't find much at all online for information for this kind of first time offence and what experience people had with disclosing it to the FCA or perhaps another regulator. So looking for some insight. Lawyer websites seem to mostly deal with much more "serious" crimes involving fraud and dishonesty.

Examples I know of are mixed:
I know of one person with multiple convictions for driving with out insurance, drink driving, driving whilst disqualified, and a few more. He was not granted FCA status (as recently as 2020)

I also know of one guy that had Bankruptcy, and DR30 driving ban, who was allowed to be regulated in a customer facing role. His case was made worse as he hid the disclosures from the FCA in a subsequent Long Form A, which they then challenged and the truth came out, the FCA still granted him CF30, provided that he was adequately supervised.

What are other peoples experiences with this..

You're lucky you are not a Chartered Surveyor. I remember reading a few years ago in the RICS Professional Magazine of a member being expelled from the institution because of a Drink Driving conviction. Not sure if he reported it himself or if he was reported, but when it happened to me I just didn't bother as they have no way of finding out unless someone tells them. Plus I was nearing retirment age anyway.

I think the reason was 'Unprofessional Conduct,' but given how much I've seen some of them drink at functions, it's more than a bit two faced.

The problem arises when you get an Enhanced Disclosure. It always shows up on that and can, as it is doing just now in may case, prevent you from getting a job.

 

[Mortifiedlady]

Sorry I reposted the above in error I meant to reply to it I am a Paraplanner in financial services industry with a drink driving charge not yet convicted. I am relocating and will be looking for a new job in new city. Will all companies do dbs checks for a Paraplanner? I note some companies list that they do on their job advertisements. It’s first offence and clean licence for nearly 40 years. I don’t want this to ruin my career. If I disclose an unspent conviction at interview stage, what would the likely outcome be. If DBS check done prior to conviction and get a job would I need to then disclose it , would regular checks be done ? In my career to date I have only had dbs check done in my current job, a national company. Sorry for all the questions, I am just so confused as to how to play it. This was a stupid one off lack of judgement which is haunting me. Would really appreciate an advice from anyone working in IFA industry that can help me. Thanks in advance.