Mortgages Terms and Conditions

We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Our regulated activities comprise advising on and arranging pensions, savings and investment products, non-investment insurance contracts and mortgages. Our Financial Services registered number is 827170.

The FCA’s contact details are: 12 Endeavour Square, London, E20 1JN, United Kingdom. 

Tel: 0800 1116768 (Freephone)

We will treat you as a Retail Client unless we agree with you otherwise. Retail clients have the highest level of protection under the regulatory regime. We will communicate to you in English, both verbally and in writing.

We will hold all information about you in line with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018. In giving us personal information, you agree to us providing this information to third parties such as product providers and credit reference agencies. This is to allow us to meet the record-keeping and regulatory requirements of the Financial Conduct Authority. The aim is to protect you under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. You and your agents are able to see all information we hold relating to you at any time. Should we sell our business or company your information will be passed to the acquiring firm and they will become the new Data Controllers.

We will notify you in writing of any conflict of interest that may exist between the work we are doing for you and any of our other clients or ourselves. We will tell you about the extent of any conflict of interest that exists or that may arise and if necessary, make arrangements for another company to act as your agent.

Your agreement to appoint us as your advisers will apply from the date that you receive this document and ask us to act for you.

We may terminate this agreement by giving you at least 20 business days’ written notice. You may terminate this agreement at any time, without penalty. Notice of termination must be given in writing and will take effect from the date of receipt. Any transactions already initiated will be completed according to this agreement unless otherwise agreed in writing. Termination will not prejudice the completion of transactions already initiated on your behalf or any rights or obligations already arising. You will be liable to pay for any services we have provided before cancellation and any outstanding fees, if applicable.

We will give you written details of any mortgage recommendations that are suitable or appropriate to meet any needs identified, along with details of any special risks that may be associated with the product we have recommended. This is contained within our Suitability Report. You should let us know about any specific aims that you may have.

In order to provide you with the recommendation suitable for your particular circumstances we will undertake a ‘fact find’ to gather the appropriate information to assess your needs. We will then be able to set out clearly your objectives based on your stated objectives, acceptable level of risk and any restrictions you wish to place on the type of mortgage you are willing to consider.

You hereby acknowledge that in the event of the firm assisting you in the completion of any application or policy proposal forms that you will in any event continue to bear full responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the information entered on such forms. Therefore, you understand that inclusion of incorrect information or omission of any material facts may result in the insurance, investment or policy to which the application or proposal relates to being adversely adjusted, made void and/or any claim(s) made against it being refused. The advice we give you will be based on the information you have given us and your stated investment objectives including the degree of risk you will accept. It is your responsibility to advise us of any changes.

Please note that we may contact you in the future by means of an unsolicited promotion (by telephone, email or post) should we wish to discuss the relative merits of a particular product or service which we feel may be of interest to you.

To ensure we carry out your instructions accurately, to help us to continually improve our service and in the interests of security, we may record and may monitor your telephone communications or conversations with us. Copies of our telephone recordings will be available on request, for a period of 5 years after the recording was made.

You have the right to tell us not to make any particular recommendations or to exclude specific companies, products or market areas from our research where, for example, you have had a previous bad experience. You need to let us know about any specific restrictions that you want to place on us.

Where we send investment applications on your behalf to third parties (e.g. to put an investment into force), we’ll take all sufficient steps to ensure that we obtain the best possible result for you. This is referred to as ‘best execution’.

We are obliged to put in place systems and controls to prevent our business from being used for money laundering and other forms of financial crime. We will verify the identity of our clients to obtain information as to the purpose and nature of the business which we conduct on their behalf and to ensure that the information we hold is up-to-date. For this purpose, we may use electronic identity verification systems and we may conduct these checks from time to time throughout our relationship, not just at the beginning. This check may leave a ‘footprint’ on your credit file, but it will not affect your credit rating.

We are not permitted to handle client money and we cannot accept a cheque made out to us (unless it is in respect of an item for which we have sent you an invoice) or handle cash. We may accept a cash payment or cheque in respect of an annually renewable insurance contract on behalf of insurers and this payment will be held in a specifically designated trust bank account pending payment to the insurer.

Under the rules of our regulator, the FCA, as a firm providing independent advice we are unable to accept or retain payments or benefits from other firms (e.g. product providers) as this would conflict with our independent status.

From time to time we may attend training events funded and/or delivered by product providers, fund managers and investment platforms. These events are designed to enhance our knowledge and enhance the quality of service we provide to our clients. As such this does not affect our obligation to act in your best interests. Please ask us if you require further details.

We will tell you about your right to cancel or withdraw from a contract with a product provider before you fill in any application form. We will remind you of these rights to cancel or withdraw in writing before any transaction is completed. We will also let you know if this right to cancel does not exist for an application if, by law, the company has to complete the transaction as soon as they receive the application.

If you want to register a complaint, please write to us at the address given at the head of this document or telephone us on 020 3890 8211. A summary of our procedures for handling complaints is available on request.

If we are unable to settle your complaint to your satisfaction, you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service at:

Exchange Tower, London E14 9SR – Telephone: 0800 023 4567 or 0300 123 9123 (mobile). Website: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.

We are covered by the FSCS. You may be entitled to compensation from this scheme if this firm ceases to trade and as a result of our advice you have suffered a financial loss. This depends on the type of business and circumstances of the claim.

For Investments

Most types of business are covered up to a maximum limit of £85,000.

For Insurance

Insurance advising and arranging is covered for 90% of the claim, without any upper limit.

For Mortgage and Equity Release

Mortgage and Equity Release advising and arranging is covered up to a maximum limit of £85,000. Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS.

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect 25th May 2018. Please refer to our Privacy Notice which has been issued to you separately which details what data we collect and store and how we process it.

We are not qualified to provide legal or accounting advice or to prepare any legal or accounting documents. This means that the onus is on you to refer any point of law or accountancy that may arise during the course of discussions with us to a solicitor or accountant.

Mortgages and Equity Release

We will normally be remunerated by a procuration fee from the mortgage lender or equity release provider. Alternatively, you may pay us a fee based on the number of hours worked. We will always present you with a personalised illustration before undertaking any work that might be charged for. We may receive a procuration fee from the mortgage lender in addition to the fee charged to you which will be disclosed on the personal illustration you will receive relating to your chosen mortgage. We will not refund to you any fee paid to us by the lender or offset it with what we receive.

You will receive a key facts illustration when considering a particular mortgage or equity release product, which will tell you about any fees relating to it. You have the right to ask for information on the fee paid by different lenders.

If we charge you a separate fee and your mortgage or equity release does not go ahead, you will receive no refund.