Terms and Conditions & Essential Information

Essential Information

What Will We Do

CLAIMS will request information regarding the investment or pension and related documents from the firm responsible for the sale and/or administration of the investment. Where appropriate CLAIMS will formulate and submit a complaint to the company responsible for the sale of the product. CLAIMS may also need to contact other parties to obtain information and determine details of the policy and liability.

What You Will Need To Do

You will need to provide us with information about your investment and your circumstances and any documentation related to the investment or pension. You may need to sign or complete additional paperwork to progress your claim, however wherever possible this will be completed by CLAIMS and simply require you to check and sign.

Progress Updates

We will contact you whenever there is significant progress on your case and will provide you with an update in writing (by post or email) at least every 3 months; or every 6 months if you case has been referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service. You can also contact us at any time to request an update.

Our Charges

Our fees for each investment are based on a portion of the compensation amount. The fee depends on the redress amount for each investment account as detailed below.

Redress Band	Redress Amount		Max % Fee	Max Total Fee (including VAT at 20%)
	Lower Limit	Upper Limit
1	£1	£1,499	30% plus VAT	£504
2	£1,500	£9,999	28% plus VAT	£3,000
3	£10,000	£24,999	25% plus VAT	£6,000
4	£25,000	£49,999	20% plus VAT	£9,000
5	£50,000	NA	15% plus VAT	£12,000

Please note that this is not to be taken as an estimate of the amount likely to be recovered.

You do not need to use a claims management company to make your complaint to the bank, and if your complaint is not successful you can refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service yourself for free.

Your Options

You have the right to cancel this agreement within the first 14 days without any charge. If you terminate the agreement after 14 days we reserve the right to charge you a cancellation fee based  upon what is reasonable in the circumstances of the case and reflective of the work undertaken. This will be based upon the time spent on the case charged at the following hourly rates: £100 plus VAT for junior staff; £180 plus VAT for senior staff and £250 plus VAT for work by the directors of CLAIMS. The maximum cancellation fee would be based of the amount we believe you would receive if the claim was successful (if we have sufficient information to assess this). If we do not have sufficient information then the maximum fee would be based on our average redress amount over the previous full financial year.

Sample Client Agreement

1.Instructions to CLAIMS

a.CLAIMS is a trading name of CLAIMS (London) Ltd. of 100 Villiers Road, Studio 2A, London, NW2 5PJ.

b.I/We request CLAIMS, as sole and exclusive representative, to approach any firm against whom I/we may have a potential claim in order to obtain an appropriate offer of redress. Where appropriate CLAIMS will refer the case to the Financial Ombudsman Service or FSCS on my/our behalf. This request covers requests and complaints regarding investment advice.

c. I/we acknowledge that I/we could pursue this claim for no charge against the company either directly or through the Financial Ombudsman Service / FSCS complaint schemes however I/we have chosen not to do so.

2.CLAIMS’ Obligations

a.CLAIMS will request information regarding the products and related documents and where appropriate formulate and submit a complaint to the company that sold the product. CLAIMS may also need to contact other parties to obtain information and determine details of the policy and liability.

b.CLAIMS will answer requests for information wherever possible and notify me/us if further information or action is required.

c. CLAIMS will also arrange to submit the case to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) as appropriate.

3.Client Obligations

a.I/We agree to help CLAIMS as far as possible by providing information relevant to my/our complaint and undertake to respond promptly to requests for information from CLAIMS. I/We confirm we have supplied CLAIMS with all documents related to the claim that I/We know about.

b.I/We agree to inform CLAIMS promptly of any offer of redress received if CLAIMS has not already told me/us about it.

c. On receipt of an offer of redress I/we agree to notify CLAIMS promptly whether I/we wish to accept or reject the offer. In the event that I/we reject an offer made in accordance with FOS, FSCS or FCA guidelines I/we understand the full fee is payable.

d.I/we have not instructed any other party to process complaints about the matters raised with CLAIMS and agree not to do so while this contract is in force.

e.I/We understand that when I/we fail to comply with my/our obligations above CLAIMS will give me/us a reasonable opportunity to remedy the breach where possible. In the event of material breaches or those that cannot be remedied CLAIMS reserves the right to terminate the contract and charge its reasonable costs based on the time spent on the case calculated as detailed at section 6a of this agreement. I/we understand CLAIMS will notify me/us in writing if this occurs.

4.Fees

a.If after CLAIMS has lodged a complaint for me/us the firm against whom the complaint was lodged agrees to pay me/us compensation whatever the circumstances may be I/we agree to settle CLAIMS’ bill within 14 days of receipt of the compensation.

b.CLAIMS’ fee will be based on the amount of redress paid for each induvial investment account subject to a cap as detailed below. Please note that this is not to be taken as an estimate of the amount likely to be recovered.

Redress Band	Redress Amount		Max % Fee	Max Total Fee (including VAT at 20%)
	Lower Limit	Upper Limit
1	£1	£1,499	30% plus VAT	£504
2	£1,500	£9,999	28% plus VAT	£3,000
3	£10,000	£24,999	25% plus VAT	£6,000
4	£25,000	£49,999	20% plus VAT	£9,000
5	£50,000	NA	15% plus VAT	£12,000

c. Compensation includes any ‘gestures of goodwill’, ‘distress and inconvenience award’ and any other payments as a result of our claim.

d.IF MY/OUR CLAIM IS NOT SUCCESSFUL CLAIMS WILL CHARGE ME/US NOTHING AT ALL FOR THE WORK IT HAS DONE UNLESS I/WE CANCEL THIS AGREEMENT AFTER MORE THAN 14 DAYS – SEE CLAUSE 6.

e.If CLAIMS obtains an offer of compensation in line with FCA, FOS or FSCS guidance that I/we decide to reject, the full fee of the claim will be payable within 14 days as if I/we had accepted the offer.  

f. Once CLAIMS has sufficient information to do so a compensation and fee estimate will be provided.

g.I/We understand that if I/we have outstanding liabilities with the party against whom the claim is to be made in certain circumstances compensation may be off-set against those outstanding liabilities and I/we will need to pay CLAIMS’ fee from my own resources.

h.In the event of pension claims it is possible that the firms fee may become payable before I/we have access to the pension and I/we will need to pay CLAIMS’ fee from my own resources.

5. Late Payment

a.In the event that any invoice remains unpaid after 14 days, CLAIMS shall reserve the right to charge interest based on its reasonable costs.

b.In the event that CLAIMS has to take steps to recover any amount owed to it under this contract it reserves the right to request that reasonable costs related to the recovery, including, administration costs, court fees, and bailiff fees are added to the amount owing.

6. Right to cancel

a.I/We reserve the right to terminate this agreement at any time. If I/We cancel this agreement within the first 14 days no charge will be payable (except under clause 6c). If I/we cancel after 14 days CLAIMS reserves the right to charge a cancellation fee based upon the time since CLAIMS was instructed, the amount of work carried out on the case and the prospects for success of the claim. This will be based upon the time spent on the case charged at the following hourly rates: £100 plus VAT for junior staff; £180 plus VAT for senior staff and £250 plus VAT for work by the directors of CLAIMS. The maximum cancellation fee would be based of the amount we believe you would receive if the claim was successful (if we have sufficient information to assess this). If we do not have sufficient information then the maximum fee would be based on our average claim size over the previous full financial year.

b.If I/we wish to terminate the agreement I/we agree to either cancel this verbally, in writing or by using the cancellation form available at claims-uk.co.uk or supplied upon request or making any other clear statement of the intention to cancel.

c. If this notice to terminate is received after an offer of compensation in line with FCA, FOS or FSCS guidance has been made (whether or not this has been received by CLAIMS or myself/ourselves at the date of termination) or either party has been notified that the claim will be upheld the full fee is payable regardless of whether I/we choose to accept the offer or not.

7. Other details

a.I/we understand that there are strict time limits for cases and that processing a case through the Financial Ombudsman Service may restrict my/our rights to take legal action. If I/we may wish to take legal action I understand I/we should consult with a solicitor about possible time-limits. CLAIMS will not be liable for losses as a result of circumstances beyond its control.

b.I confirm I have not been declared bankrupt, subject to or proposed a bankruptcy petition; individual voluntary agreement; debt relief order; sequestration or similar process. If I am I would need to pay CLAIMS’ fee from resources which are not subject to the process / arrangement.

c. CLAIMS will hold personal information in accordance with its privacy policy which will be supplied on request. Data is held in accordance with the GDPR.

d.CLAIMS reserves the right to assign this agreement and all rights under it. If CLAIMS does so it will be on the same terms as this original agreement. If CLAIMS does assign this agreement I/we will be notified and I/we will be given the option to cancel this agreement.

e.Complaints about CLAIMS will be processed in accordance with its internal complaints procedure. I/We have been supplied and read the “Our Service to you” document making me/us aware of the Claims Management Ombudsman. CLAIMS’ full complaints procedure is available at www.claims-uk.co.uk and will be supplied upon request. V  3.2022