The FCA has confirmed a £91,000 fine on Manchester-based claims management company (CMC) Hall and Hanley Limited after the firm lost its appeal.

Hall and Hanley (HHL) has now gone into liquidation, the FCA said in its Final Notice published this week.

Hall and Hanley, based in Devonshire Street North, Manchester, is one of the first CMCs to be fined by the FCA since the regulator took over regulation of the CMC sector.

The company was punished for a number of breaches including copying client signatures.

After considering the appeal, the First-tier Tribunal upheld the fine of £91,000 imposed on Hall and Hanley Limited originally by the Claims Management Regulator (CMR), the previous regulator for claims management companies.

The tribunal dismissed HHL’s appeal after finding that HHL had breached the Conduct of Authorised Persons Rules 2014 by negligently failing to take “all reasonable measures” to avoid purchasing marketing leads generated in breach of the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003.

The tribunal also found HHL “negligently” failed to prevent one of its employees from copying customers’ signatures without their consent on documents submitted to financial institutions.

The hearing for the Tribunal was conducted by the FCA.

H&H was a CMC focused on claims for mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI).