Terms of Engagement (“Agreement”) 

These Terms of Engagement detail how Claim 4 Misleading Financial Advice Limited (C4MFA) will undertake its Claims Services to You. By completing, signing and returning the Letter of Authority (LOA), You agree to be bound by these Terms of Engagement (“Agreement”). 

1. Definitions 

a. “Claim(s)” means Your Claim(s) against the Company relating to the mis-selling of an Investment(s) and/or Pension(s) on any account with the Company under the instruction provided in the letter of authority.

b. “Claims Services” means investigating Your Claim(s) by making a Subject Access Request (SAR) on Your behalf to the Company and in the event an Investment(s) is located, investigating, preparing, submitting and handling Your Claim(s) to/with the Company. Where appropriate, this may include submitting a referral to the Financial Ombudsman Service and/or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and/or commencing legal proceedings on Your behalf. 

c. “Company” means the Investment Provider and/or Financial Adviser (including an individual, business or partnership) to whom the Letter of Authority (LOA) is addressed, who provided/ sold the Investment(s) and/or Pension(s), including any associates and/or their predecessors. 

d. “Compensation” means any sums offered, given and/or paid in respect of a settlement, goodwill gesture, policy refund or rebate, including any interest payments and associated charges. 

e. “Cooling-off Period” means 14 days from the date C4MFA receives Your initial signed LOA within which time You may cancel this Agreement free of charge. 

f. “Fee(s)” means the amount You will have to pay to C4MFA for the Claims Services, namely 36% inclusive of VAT, of the Compensation amount.

g. “FOS” means the Financial Ombudsman Service 
www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk who can review the Company’s decision to defend Your Claim(s). Your Claim(s) will not be referred to the FOS without Your Instruction. For pensions, the Pensions Ombudsman will review pension outcomes 
www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk

h. “FSCS” means the Financial Services Compensation Scheme who can review a Claim(s) against an authorised Company which is unable, or likely to be unable, to satisfy a Claim(s) against it. 

i. “Initial Pack” means the first pack C4MFA sends to You.

j. “Instruction” means You authorising Us to undertake the Claims Services with the Company, the FSCS, the Pensions Ombudsman or the FOS. Your Instruction is given when You sign and return this Terms of Engagement document which is the Agreement / Contract

k. “Investment” means the act of putting money into an Investment product in anticipation of making a profit/gain.

l. “Letter of Authority (LOA)” means the document to be sent to the Company containing Your authority for C4MFA to act on Your behalf. An LOA will be provided in Your Initial Pack and C4MFA or the Company may require You to sign further LOA(s) during the Claim Services. 

The signed Terms of Engagement is Your Instruction to C4MFA to commence the Claims Services.

m. “Pension” means a scheme for You and/or Your employer to save money to provide an income for Your retirement.

n. “Questionnaire” means the forms that have been filled out using information You have given during the Claims Services which may be used by C4MFA to submit Your Claim(s) to the Company and/or the FOS and/or the FSCS and/or the Pensions Ombudsman

o. “C4MFA/Us” means Claim 4 Misleading Financial Advice Limited, Company Number: 12268101 authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN 930769. This registration is recorded on the website 
https://register.fca.org.uk/

p. “Termination Charge(s)” means the charges You may incur if You terminate Your Claim(s) after the Cooling-off Period. 

q. “You/Your” means the account/policy holder(s) whose details are set out in the LOA and who have appointed C4MFA to act on their behalf and also includes an Executor(s) or Administrator(s) of a Deceased Person’s Estate. 

2. CLAIMS SERVICES

a. C4MFA will not commence the Claims Services and process Your Claim(s) until C4MFA receives Your Instruction.

b. C4MFA will use reasonable endeavours to request the Company confirm whether You held an Investment(s) with them, by making a SAR. 

c. If no Investment(s) or Pension(s) is identified, this Agreement will come to an end.

d. You authorise this Agreement to continue on any Investment(s) or Pension(s) that has been identified by the Company.

e. C4MFA will investigate and, if appropriate, based on the information provided by You and the Company, prepare, submit and handle Your Claim(s) to the Company and/or the FOS and/or the Pensions Ombudsman and/or the FSCS on Your behalf. If C4MFA does not believe there is merit for Your Claim(s) C4MFA will notify You and provide information about Your next steps. C4MFA will use reasonable endeavours to obtain Compensation for the Claim(s) pursued.

f. You may also be asked to complete a Questionnaire to allow C4MFA to investigate the existence and merits of the Claim(s).

g. You understand that by completing and signing one LOA, that the Company may investigate all Investment(s) and/or Pension(s) with regards to the accounts referred to under the Instruction provided, and that any successful Claim(s) will be subject to a Fee(s). If other accounts are held with the Provider but not referred to on the Letter of Authority (LOA), we will require a new LOA detailing the other accounts held before we can access account and product information.

h. C4MFA or the Company may require further authority, information or documents from You to facilitate the provision of the Claims Services. Documentation that may be required includes: proof of identification and proof of address (this is not an exhaustive list).

i. You agree that You will deal promptly with requests for authority, information or documents that C4MFA or the Company might make.

j. You will ensure that any information provided is true, accurate and completed to the best of Your knowledge. C4MFA will not check such information except where it is under legal obligation to do so. k. The Company may contact You directly and You will inform C4MFA promptly of this and any relevant matters affecting Your Claim(s).

k. C4MFA will update You about any significant development in Your Claim(s) using Your preferred contact method, including by SMS (text message), email, telephone and/or post. You will receive at least one update per Claim(s) every on a monthly basis.

l. Once Your Instruction(s) has been received C4MFA has the right to deal exclusively with the Claim(s) and You acknowledge that You could complain directly to the Company and if unsuccessful the FOS, at no cost. 

3. WHAT YOU NEED TO DO 

Please READ and RETAIN THIS DOCUMENT
, including the TERMS OF ENGAGEMENT (TOE) overleaf.Complete the LETTER(S) OF AUTHORITY (LOA)
. Where applicable, liaise with Claim 4 Misleading Financial Advice (C4MFA) or your Provider and/or Adviser to assist with the investigation of your Claim(s) in a timely manner. For each successful Claim(s), pay our Fee(s)
for the Claims Services supplied, as outlined below. 

4. WHAT WE WILL DO 

Request information from your Provider and/or Adviser about your Investment policy(ies) and the advice you received. If, on review of this information, we believe there are merits for a Complaint, we will ask you to complete a Questionnaire(s) to allow us to understand more about your circumstances at the time you received advice about your Investment policy(ies). Using the information we have collated during our investigation, including information from you, either through our conversations with you or by you completing one of our documents, we will look to substantiate your Claim(s) and submit it to your Adviser and you will be notified accordingly. Once your Adviser acknowledges your Claim(s), we will provide you with an update and your Adviser will have eight weeks to review and investigate your Claim(s). Your Adviser may contact us for further information, which we will provide to them where the information is available to us, otherwise we will be in touch to explain what is required. At the end of the eight weeks, your Adviser should provide us with a Final Decision. In the event that they exceed this time frame and fail to provide the response, we will chase them accordingly and update you. On receipt of the Final Decision, we will check that the Adviser has met the requirements set out by the Regulator for complaints handling. For each successful Claim(s), our Fee(s) of 36% inclusive of VAT, will be payable as per this documentFor a defended Claim(s) or where the Adviser/Provider has exceeded the eight week time frame to respond, we will inform you that you have the right to refer your Complaint(s) to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) if your Provider is no longer in business which we can process for you with your Instruction. We will keep you updated in relation to the claim you have with us on a monthly basis throughout the process detailed above, via your preferred method of contact. 

5. CONCLUSION OF YOUR CLAIM(S) 

a. C4MFA will promptly notify You of the outcome of the Claim(s).

b. If Your Claim(s) is unsuccessful, or the Company does not make a reasonable offer of Compensation, C4MFA will seek Your Instruction to refer Your Claim(s) to the FOS, as specified under clause 1(g).

 c. Your Compensation may be applied as part of Your bankruptcy estate, insolvency asset, other formal debt arrangement and Your Compensation may not be paid directly to You.

d. For Pension related Claim(s) Your Compensation may not be paid directly to You as the Company may credit Your Compensation to Your Pension. You will, where necessary, be required to pay any Fee(s) due to C4MFA out of your own funds.

e. Where interest is included as part of the Compensation it may be taxable depending on Your personal tax status and You understand that You are required to disclose this payment to HMRC. 

6. C4MFA FEE(s) 

a. When C4MFA undertakes the Claims Services and is not successful in obtaining Compensation then You owe C4MFA nothing, except where You terminate this Agreement in accordance with clause 5.

b. When C4MFA undertakes the Claims Services, in accordance with clause 2, and is successful in obtaining Compensation then You owe C4MFA 36% inclusive of VAT, of the GROSS Compensation amount.  VAT is charged at the prevailing statutory rate. 

This means, for example: if C4MFA succeeds in obtaining Compensation of £1,000 gross, the Fee(s) would be £360. You would receive £640. 

If C4MFA succeeds in obtaining Compensation of £3,000 gross, the Fee(s) would be £1,080. You would receive £1,920.

If Compensation of £10,000 gross is received, the Fee(s) would be £3,600 You would receive £6,400. 

Please see the table below:

If C4MFA succeeded in obtaining Compensation to the gross value of: 

a) £1,000

b) £3,000

c) £10,000

The customer would pay C4MFA a Fee(s) of: 

a) £360

b) £1,080

c) £3,600

The customer would receive: 

a) £640

b) £1,920

c) £6,400

c. C4MFA will invoice You for the Fee(s) which becomes due at the point that either C4MFA or You are informed of an offer of Compensation. The Fee(s) is payable within 
14 days from the date You receive Your Compensation. You agree that the Company is entitled to remit the Compensation to C4MFA and that C4MFA shall deduct the Fee(s) before paying the balance of the Compensation to You. 

d. C4MFA will, following the settlement of Your Claim(s) and the payment of Compensation by the Company to C4MFA, pay You the balance of the Compensation, after deducting the Fee(s). For the avoidance of doubt, where You have more than one successful Claim against one or more Company, C4MFA will only deduct the relevant fee applicable to each compensation claim and will not operate a client account, the Fee(s) payable in respect of each of the Claims from the Compensation received for any one of those Claims. 

e. If the Company offers or pays Compensation to You directly, You agree to notify C4MFA immediately (within seven days at the latest) and to provide the details C4MFA needs to calculate Your Fee(s). For the avoidance of doubt, should You reject a reasonable offer of Compensation and/or refuse to sign a Company’s Acceptance/Settlement Form, Your Fee(s) remains due and payable on the sum offered. 

f. For Pension related Claim(s) Your Compensation may not be paid directly to You and You understand that C4MFA’s Fee(s) of 36% inclusive of VAT, will be payable to C4MFA based on the total amount of calculated Compensation even if the Company does not pay the whole sum of the Compensation directly to You. 

g. If Compensation is paid directly by the Company to an Insolvency Practitioner or the Official Receiver, and You do not receive any Compensation, You will not be liable for our Fee(s).

h. If You fail to pay the Fee(s) due and payable in accordance with this Agreement, C4MFA reserves the right to cancel all other active Claim(s) and commence our Debt Collectors who may commence Court proceedings for recovery of its Fee(s). 

i. C4MFA reserves the right to charge for costs and expenses incurred in recovering all unpaid Fee(s) and VAT where an offer of Compensation is made from a Company to You. 

7. TERMINATION RIGHTS & CHARGES 

a. You may terminate this Agreement at any time, up to 14 days from the date C4MFA receives your initial signed LOA (Instruction), at no cost to You.

b. You may terminate Your Agreement at any time after the Cooling-off Period, for any reason. However, C4MFA may impose a Termination Charge(s) which will be reasonable and proportionate to the work done and the costs incurred by C4MFA, up to the date the Agreement is terminated. For substantiation and referral of Your Claim(s) to the Company or the FOS or the FSCS or the Pensions Ombudsman the hourly charge is £100 per hour inclusive of VAT. We ensure we record the time it takes to work on your claim and the work we undertake. 

c. If You terminate Your Agreement after an offer of reasonable Compensation is due to You, then C4MFA shall be entitled to issue You a Termination Charge(s) equal to the Fee(s) that would be payable under clause 4.

d. You may request to terminate Your Agreement either in writing, by telephone or via email, please see the ‘Right to Terminate’ Form in your Initial Pack for further details. You can also find a copy of this Form at 
www.claim4.claims

 e. C4MFA may at its sole discretion decide not to proceed with a Claim(s) and terminate this Agreement at any time. C4MFA must act reasonably in taking such a decision and promptly notify You. In such circumstances, You will owe C4MFA nothing. 

8. YOUR PERSONAL DATA

a. C4MFA takes the privacy of Your personal information seriously. C4MFA will only use the personal information You provide to Us as outlined both in this clause 6 and in our Privacy Policy which can be viewed at 
www.misleadingfinancialadvice.co.uk/privacy-policy. C4MFA asks that You read our Privacy Policy carefully. If required, a hard copy is available upon request. During the Claims Services Your personal information will be used to:- 

i) Provide the Claims Services (including to third party organisations for the purposes of undertaking these Claims Services); andii) Tell You about similar products or services relating to financial claims, by email, SMS, post and/or telephone, but You can opt out of receiving these, or a specific method of communication, at any time by contacting Us.

b. C4MFA will not disclose Your personal data to a third party without Your consentunless a lawful or legitimate basis applies.

c. C4MFA will update You throughout the Claims Services, using Your preferred contact method, including by SMS, email, telephone and/or post. 

9. DISCLAIMER & ASSIGNMENT

a. You acknowledge that any estimate of Compensation given to You is an estimate only. The success of Your Claim(s) depends on Your individual circumstances and merits of Your case.b. If C4MFA acts in breach of this Agreement, C4MFA’s total liability to You in respect of all other losses arising under or in connection with this Agreement shall in no circumstances exceed the amount of any Compensation to which You are entitled for Your Claim(s). 

c. Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or exclude C4MFA’s liability for:i) death or personal injury caused by its negligence, or the negligence of its employees, agents or subcontractors;ii) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; oriii) breach of the terms implied by sections 49 to 52 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015. 

d. C4MFA reserves the right to assign this Agreement and all rights under it and to subcontract to others all or any of our obligations under it. This Agreement is personal to You and is not assignable by You except to Your personal representatives. 

10. COMPLAINTS

a. You can make a complaint about our service via C4MFA’s complaints procedure by email: 
[email protected] by telephone on 0113 882 3390  or by post to: Claim 4 Misleading Financial Advice Limited, 1 Commercial Court, Leeds, LS1 6ER. You can also find a copy of our complaints procedure at 
www.claim4.claims

b. Should You remain unhappy about C4MFA’s service You may escalate Your complaint, within six months to the Financial Ombudsman Service by phone on 0800 023 4567 or post to: Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, Harbour Exchange, London, E14 9SR or online 
www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk. 

11. GOVERNING LAW 

a. Each party irrevocably agrees that any proceedings relating to any dispute or claim (including non-contractual disputes or claims) arising out of or in connection with this Agreement or its subject matter or formation instituted against You by C4MFA shall be brought in the appropriate Court of Your country of residence, which will either be the Courts of England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland and shall be governed and construed by the applicable law for the appropriate jurisdiction. 

b. This Agreement and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with it or its subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims), shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English law and the parties irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales. 

Claim 4 Misleading Financial Advice Limited is registered in England company no: 12268101. Registered address: 1 Commercial Court, Leeds, LS1 6ER Telephone Number 0113 882 3390. Claim 4 Misleading Financial Advice Limited are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN 930769.

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW? 

You do not need to use a claims management company to make your Complaint to your Bank, Finance Company or Financial Adviser. 

If your complaint is not successful you can then refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)for free or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if your Provider is no longer in business.