The media carried several articles, amongst others, on how many licences have been suspended. In correspondence with the FSB last week, several reasons for difficulty with drawing accurate statistics were highlighted. The means of identification used during the exams, as opposed to what is on record at the Regulator, proved to be the single biggest cause for discrepancies. The following examples are listed:
- There are candidates still registered at the FSB with their old ID numbers who arrive to write their exams with their new ID Books. The two numbers therefore do not link and it appears as if they never wrote.
- Passport numbers creates another huge problem. Passports might have expired or when full, replaced with a new passport, with a new number. This would obviously not correlate with what appears on the FSB records.
- The FSB cannot correct this – the FSP is required to inform them of the new details, within 15 days.
We read this week that the FSB is considering enforcing the penalty measures at its disposal: a fine of R300 per day for failure to inform profile changes to the FSB within the prescribed period.
Unlike TV licences, we believe that this IS the right thing to do.
We stressed the importance of being registered on the FSB website, which gives you access to your records, and the ability to update it. Feedback from readers suggested that it works very well. Testing is currently being conducted which will speed up the response period of around three weeks considerably.
