Today I had the pleasure of interviewing Nigel Cates, the Deputy Director of the Credit Group with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in England.

The issue at hand was one that had been raised previously here. The allegations going around was that a law firm/marketing company was trying to recruit affiliates and possibly lawyers to join them in the establishment of a London based solicitor firm. The purpose was to then to sell debt settlement services back into the U.S. with the hope of avoiding the reach of the Federal Trade Commission telemarketing sales rules which as of September 27, 2010 will regulate the debt relief industry.

Mr. Cates and I chatted about the OFT position and approach if an entity tried to setup shop in the UK and carry out this plan. Here is what he had to say.

FYI: In the UK a solicitor and barrister fall under what we in the U.S. generally call lawyers or attorneys.

It appears from the communications between the OFT and the FTC that in the UK or elsewhere, setting up shop offshore is not a wise idea.

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