Detailed below are our Terms of Service, and Terms and Conditions which form the contract between us if you decide you would like us to take on your claim to win you compensation. A hard copy will be sent to you in the post for your own records. If you have any questions please contact us.
Terms of Service
We will do the following:
1. We will assess the merits of your claim and, if appropriate, pursue a claim for compensation on your behalf.
2. We offer this service on a ‘No Win, No Fee’ basis – this means that if we are not successful in obtaining you compensation then you do not pay us a fee.
3. We will deal with all aspects of your claim including corresponding with the financial business you have complained about and/or the provider of the policy or service to which your claim relates – we will need your written authority so that the financial business, policy provider, or other 3rd party connected to your claim can release the information we require to successfully pursue your claim.
4. We will consider whether any compensation offered to you is fair and reasonable in the circumstances and confirm to you – in writing – whether you should accept or reject that offer.
5. If necessary, we will present and pursue your claim through the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme at no extra cost to you.
6. If you are making a claim in respect of mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) you should be aware that if your claim is successful, your PPI will be cancelled.
We will NOT do the following:
7. We will not accept an offer of compensation on your behalf without your written agreement.
8. We will not take your claim to the courts although we will advise you if we think you should – this, however, will be at your own cost.
9. We will not accept claims for compensation where we consider, in our opinion, that there is no reasonable prospect of winning or there are no grounds for a valid complaint, and we reserve the right to cancel this Agreement if we form that opinion after assessing the basis of your claim.
10. We will not advise you to accept an offer of compensation if we consider it insufficient, or to reject an offer if we consider it fair and reasonable. We reserve the right to cancel this Agreement if you decide to accept an offer of compensation which we consider to be insufficient or to reject an offer we consider to be fair and reasonable.
11. We will not give you any financial or legal advice.
What we expect from you in order that we can pursue your claim:
12. We expect you to fully co-operate with us at all times throughout your claim.
13. We expect you to be truthful and honest at all times.
14. We expect you not to mislead us or ask us to act in an improper or unreasonable way.
15. We expect you to provide us with all relevant information we request from you promptly so that we can pursue your claim quickly and efficiently.
16. We expect you to provide us with exclusive authority to receive all information and enter into all negotiations regarding compensation on your
behalf for the duration of the Agreement; to pursue your claim; to enter into correspondence and negotiations on your behalf; to receive, process and provide valid receipt for any remuneration made; to ask the financier of the cheque (for your compensation payment) to make it payable to Financial Complaints Bureau Limited so we can process it or, if the cheque is made payable to you, to pay it into a treasury account; to deduct our fee, as set out in this Agreement, before forwarding the balance to you.
17. If a compensation payment cheque is sent directly to you, you must forward the cheque to us immediately so we can process it, deduct our agreed fee and forward the remaining due balance to you.
18. If payment is made directly into your bank account, you must pay our fee immediately.
Our ‘No Win, No Fee’ fee structure:
19. Our fee for PPI claims is 20% of the total compensation payment you receive. For example, if you receive total compensation of £1,000 our total fee would be £200. You would receive the balance of £750. Our fee for all other claims, including mis-sold investments and pension mortgages, is 25% of the total compensation payment you receive. For example, if you receive total compensation of £1,000 our total fee would be £250. You would receive the balance of £750.
20. You should note that compensation can take a form other than a cash payment. For example, compensation could take the form of an enhancement to your investment or pension; or it could take the form of a reduction of an existing debt; or other form of redress. In such a situation, you are still required to pay our fee in accordance with this Agreement.
21. We will not charge a fee if you receive no compensation.
22. If you fail to pay our invoice we will take the necessary steps to recover all fees due to us under the terms of this Agreement. In addition to the unpaid fee, you will pay Financial Complaints Bureau Limited a recovery fee of £100. In addition, you will, at all times, keep Financial Complaints Bureau Limited indemnified against all costs and expenses including but not limited to court fees, interest and administration fees of recovering our fee from you.
23. We make no representation or warranty that compensation will be obtained or is in any way guaranteed.
Cancelling this agreement:
24. If, after assessing the merits of your claim, we consider it is unlikely to succeed, we reserve the right to cancel this Agreement at any time and no fee will be payable by you.
25. You can cancel this Agreement at any time: (a) If you cancel this agreement within 14 days of signing it, you will not pay us a fee. (b) If you cancel this agreement after 14 days of signing it then we reserve the right to charge you a reasonable cancellation charge at the rate of £100 per hour, or part thereof, to reflect the work carried out by us in pursuing your claim up to the point of cancellation.
26. If you cancel this Agreement after an offer of compensation has been made, we reserve the right to enforce our fee of 20% (for PPI claims) or 25% (for mis-sold investment and pension mortgage claims) of the amount of compensation you receive, plus any fees which may have been incurred by us in seeking payment of our fee.
27. Cancellation of the Agreement by either party must be done in writing. If you wish to cancel the Agreement we recommend that you send written confirmation by recorded delivery to ensure it reaches us.
28. Data Protection Statement:
Financial Complaints Bureau Limited will process personal information in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1988. We use the personal information you provide us with to assess your position and carry out the claims management service we provide. We may disclose your information to other companies if appropriate in the pursuit of your claim. By providing us with your personal information you explicitly authorise us to process your personal information. If you provide us with information about another party you confirm they consent to us processing their personal information and that you collected that information on their behalf. You can request a copy of the personal information we hold about you at any time. Financial Complaints Bureau Limited is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office to ensure compliance with the Data Protection Act 1988. Our registration number is Z2069785.
Terms and Conditions
1. Financial Complaints Bureau Limited trading as The Financial Complaints Bureau is instructed to act as my/our representative in the pursuit and settlement of my/our claim for compensation.
2. I/We agree that no agency other than Financial Complaints Bureau Limited is currently acting for me/us in the pursuit and settlement of my claim and that Financial Complaints Bureau Limited is appointed as my/our sole representative in relation to this/these matter(s).
3. Information relating to my/our claim will be provided to Financial Complaints Bureau Limited upon commencement of this instruction.
4. Financial Complaints Bureau Limited will advise me/us of any further information required to pursue my/our claim and I/we will provide this information as soon as possible.
5. Upon receipt of the information from me/us and (where relevant), any additional information requested from the financial business being complained about, Financial Complaints Bureau Limited may calculate the level of financial loss I/we may have suffered (plus interest where due). However, Financial Complaints Bureau Limited accepts no liability whatsoever for any errors or omissions should the amount of the compensation be miscalculated or disputed.
6. Financial Complaints Bureau Limited will not be liable for any losses in the event that either the financial business being complained about or the Financial Ombudsman Service concludes the claim was not made in time and therefore falls outside the jurisdiction of the Financial Ombudsman Service.
7. Financial Complaints Bureau Limited shall not be liable for any financial loss resulting from failures or delays outside its control including, but not limited to, postal delays or postal delivery failures.
8. Should I/we have any direct communication regarding my claim with the financial business being complained about (including letters, emails, fax, telephone calls, or in personal conversations), I/we will report this to Financial Complaints Bureau Limited within 3 days from receipt and forward all relevant documentation directly to Financial Complaints Bureau Limited for its attention.
9. Financial Complaints Bureau Limited will submit all necessary correspondence to the financial business being complained about and negotiate with it for the recovery of my/our financial losses. I/We will not accept any compensation offer made by the financial business being complained about unless agreed in advance and in writing with Financial Complaints Bureau Limited.
10. Where requested, I/we will pay the £10 fee necessary to access my file (Data Subject Access Request) and/or the £1.00 fee for the Section 77 request in respect of a complaint about Payment Protection Insurance, Bank Charges and Unfair Credit Card Charges.
11. I/We understand that should I/we provide any information to Financial Complaints Bureau Limited which I/we know is untrue or misleading and results in an unsuccessful claim that I/we will be liable for all fees and disbursements (including court and solicitors costs) which will be payable within 14 days of receipt of an invoice submitted by Financial Complaints Bureau Limited. Any work already completed by Financial Complaints Bureau Limited may become chargeable at the rate of £100 per hour, or part thereof.
12. When Financial Complaints Bureau Limited has represented me/us in the pursuit and settlement of my/our claim, I/we agree that Financial Complaints Bureau Limited will charge me/us a fee of 20% on all amounts recovered on my/our behalf in respect of a PPI claim, or 25% on all amounts recovered on my/our behalf in respect of a mis-sold investment or mis-sold pension mortgage claim.
13. I/We agree that any compensation awarded to me shall be paid directly to Financial Complaints Bureau Limited, where possible. Financial Complaints Bureau Limited are authorised by me/us to deduct from the compensation awarded its fee, plus any other fee that they may have paid on my/our behalf before they forward the balance to me/us. Financial Complaints Bureau Limited will provide a receipted invoice with the settlement to demonstrate the amount(s) paid to it.
14. In the event that the financial Business being complained about pays the compensation directly to me/us; or if they reduce my/our credit or debit balances by the compensation amount; or they apply the compensation amount as an enhancement or credit into my/our pension or investment policy, then I/we will still be liable to pay Financial Complaints Bureau Limited’s fee (and any additional costs paid on my/our behalf) in accordance with this Agreement directly to Financial Complaints Bureau Limited: (a) I/we agree to notify Financial Complaints Bureau Limited of any settlement or compensation received from the financial business being complained about within 3 days of receipt; and (b) Financial Complaints Bureau Limited will issue an invoice for its services which will be payable by me/us within 14 days of issue.
15. Financial Complaints Bureau Limited may, at its discretion, charge interest on any unpaid invoice at the rate of 8% in respect of unpaid invoices.
16. I/We agree not to accept any compensation offer communicated directly to me/us by the financial business being complained about without the prior written consent of Financial Complaints Bureau Limited.
17. Termination of agreement: Financial Complaints Bureau Limited reserves the right to terminate this Agreement should the amount of financial losses be deemed to be insufficient for it to progress the matter such that it would be uneconomical for it to pursue the claim. I/We may terminate this Agreement at any time: (a) if I/we cancel this agreement within 14 days of signing it, no fee will be payable to Financial Complaints Bureau Limited; (b) if I/we cancel this agreement after 14 days of signing it then Financial Complaints Bureau reserves the right to charge me/us a reasonable cancellation charge at the rate of £100 per hour, or part thereof, to reflect the work carried out by it in pursuing my/our claim up to the point of cancellation; (c) If I/we cancel this Agreement after an offer of compensation has been made, Financial Complaints Bureau Limited reserves the right to enforce its fee of 25% of the amount of compensation I/we receive, plus any fees which it may incur in seeking payment of its fee; (d) Cancellation of the Agreement by either party must be done in writing (if you wish to cancel the Agreement we recommend that you send written confirmation by recorded delivery to ensure it reaches us).
18. I/We understand that Financial Complaints Bureau Limited will not disclose my/our personal information to anyone else other than those party to the claim.
19. This agreement is covered by the Jurisdiction of English law and the Courts of England and Wales.
20. These Terms and Conditions relate to any and all products or claims for which I/we have instructed Financial Complaints Bureau Limited to act on my/our behalf.
21. Any monies paid to Financial Complaints Bureau Limited in advance of a claim will be refunded within 14 days on receipt of request for cancellation.
22. Debt Recovery: The costs of any County Court action (£25 – £100) will be added to the outstanding fees and charges together with statutory interest, pursuant to Section 69 of County Court Act 1984 until the debt is paid in full.
23. If you wish to complain about Financial Complaints Bureau Limited you may do so by writing to: The Financial Complaints Bureau, Cobalt House Centre Court, Sir Thomas Longley Road, Medway City Estate, Kent, ME2 4BQ. We will send a written acknowledgement to you within 5 business days from receipt of your complaint. We will investigate your complaint and gather any relevant information. We will respond within four weeks of receiving your complaint. If we are unable to resolve your complaint within this timeframe, we will explain why and indicate when we expect to be able to provide you with a final response. If we have not resolved your complaint within eight weeks, we will write to explain the reasons for the delay and inform you of your right to refer the matter to the Claims Management Regulator. Once we have investigated your complaint we will write to you with a detailed explanation of how we intend to resolve the matter. If we consider the basis your complaint is unfounded then we will explain why in writing. If we have not responded to your complaint within eight weeks, or you are unhappy with our final decision, you have the right to refer the matter to the Claims Management Regulator. You can write to the Regulator at: Claims Management Regulation, Monitoring and Compliance Unit, 57 – 60 High Street, Burton on Trent, Staffordshire, DE14 9DP.