Terms & Conditions

1. ABOUT YOUR AGREEMENT WITH US

1.1 In these Terms of Engagement we refer to Gains Clark Ltd authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority FRN: 851345 as “us”, “we” or “our” and we refer to you as “you” and “your”. If you are entering into this Agreement with your spouse or partner, such references are to you jointly.

1.2 The following terms have the following meanings:

“Agreement” means the following documents: the Terms of Engagement; your completed and signed Letter of Authority; and our Privacy Policy;
“Business” means the organisation responsible for the sale and/or provision of the product(s) and/or services in respect of which you have a Claim. This could be a lender, bank, Investment advisory firm, building society, insurance company or independent financial advisor;

“Claim” means any claim or claims that you may have against a Business for Compensation in respect of (a) the mis-selling of any of investment products and/or services by a Business.

“Compensation” means any award or refund of monies including gestures of goodwill, interest and/or monies paid into an account or investment fund which comes about as a result of the Service provided by us to you in respect of your Claim. Where such award or refund is revised on appeal, then the revised amount shall be used to calculate the Fees (provided that you have not terminated this Agreement). This is whether it is (a) paid directly to you,

(b) used to reduce any arrears/ debt you owe to the Business or (c) paid as an enhancement on a fund, policy or plan;

“Cooling-off Period” has the meaning set out in Condition 4.1;

“Fee” means the fee payable by you as a sum equal to the percentage of the amount of Compensation that we win for you plus VAT. The amount payable is dependent upon the type of Claim that you have asked us to manage and a table of Fees is set out below;

1.2 The following terms have the following meanings:

“Agreement” means the following documents: the Terms of Engagement; your completed and signed Letter of Authority; and our Privacy Policy;

“Business” means the organisation responsible for the sale and/or provision of the product(s) and/or services in respect of which you have a Claim. This could be a lender, bank, Investment advisory firm, building society, insurance company or independent financial advisor;

“Claim” means any claim or claims that you may have against a Business for Compensation in respect of: (a) the mis-selling of any of investment products and/or services by a Business.

“Compensation” means any award or refund of monies including gestures of goodwill, interest and/or monies paid into an account or investment fund which comes about as a result of the Service provided by us to you in respect of your Claim. Where such award or refund is revised on appeal, then the revised amount shall be used to calculate the Fees (provided that you have not terminated this Agreement). This is whether it is (a)
paid directly to you, (b) used to reduce any arrears/ debt you owe to the Business or (c)
paid as an enhancement on a fund, policy or plan;

“Cooling-off Period” has the meaning set out in Condition 4.1;

“Fee” means the fee payable by you which is calculated at 25% as a sum equal to the percentage of the amount of Compensation that we win for you plus VAT. The amount payable is dependent upon the type of Claim that you have asked us to manage and a table of Fees is set out below;

Claim Bands	Claim Band Charges	Max Claim Fee Before Vat
£1 - £1,499	25%	£300
£1,500 - £9,999	25%	£2,500
£10,000 - £24,999	25%	£5,000
£25,000 - £49,999	20%	£7,500

	Amount of Claim	% Rate of charge	Fee Payable Before VAT	VAT Payable**	Total Fee Payable**
Example 1	£4000	25%	£1000	£200	£1200
Example 2	£8000	25%	£2000	£400	£2400
Example 3	£25,000	20%	£5,000	£1000	£6,000
Example 4	£85,000	15%	£10,000	£2,000	£12,000

**This is based on the current rate of VAT – the actual rate of VAT will be that determined by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs at the date payment becomes due.

“Final Decision Letter” means a letter from the Business confirming the outcome of their investigation into your Claim and advising us of your right to refer your Claim to the Financial Ombudsman Service;

“Financial Ombudsman Service” means the free, independent arbitrary service set up under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to resolve disputes between financial businesses and their customers;

“Financial Services Compensation Scheme” means the compensation fund of last resort for customers of authorised financial services firms.

“Letter of Authority” means the form that is sent to you for your signature which authorises us to act on your behalf on the terms of this Agreement;

“Privacy Policy” means our latest policy stating how we collect and use your personal information. You can find our Privacy Policy on our website at www.gainsclark.co.uk;

“Service” means the Claims management service as further described in Condition 6 for any one or more Claims that you may have against a Business;

“Terms of Engagement” means this document;

“VAT” means Value Added Tax which is payable by you on the Service(s) provided by us at the rate determined from time to time by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs; and

“Working Day” means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday in The United Kingdom.

2. HOW TO CONTACT US

If you need to contact us, you can call us on 01277 582 112. Calls from a landline will be charged at national rates. Calls from a mobile may vary and will be charged at your provider’s rates. Please be aware that your calls may be recorded for quality and training purposes. You can also email us at info@ gainsclark.co.uk or write to us at Gains Clark, Create Business Hub, 101 – 135 Kings House, Kings Road, Brentwood, Essex, CM14 4DR.

3. WHEN THIS AGREEMENT STARTS

3.1 The Agreement between you and us will start on the date we receive the signed and completed Letter of Authority. Where the Letter of Authority is sent by 1st class post, email or fax, it will be deemed to have been received the next Working Day after sending. In any other event, it will be deemed to have been received on the 2nd Working Day after sending.

3.2 This Agreement will continue until the earlier of:

a. completion of the Service;
b. you are ending the agreement under Condition 4, or
c. us ending the Agreement under Conditions 10 or 11.

4. WHAT IF I CHANGE MY MIND AFTER THIS AGREEMENT STARTS AND I WANT TO CANCEL THIS AGREEMENT?

4.1 You can cancel this Agreement without giving any reason verbally by for example telephoning us or by giving us written notice to the address set out in Condition 2 stating that you wish to cancel your Agreement at any time during the “cooling-off period” which ends 14 days later, starting on the day we receive your signed Letter of Authority (“Cooling-off Period”). To exercise the right to cancel you must inform us of your decision to cancel this Agreement by clear statement (e.g. a letter sent by post, fax or email). You may use the attached model cancellation form set out in Schedule A of this Agreement, but it is not obligatory.

To meet the cancellation deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communications concerning your exercise of the right to cancel before the cancellation period has expired.

If you cancel the Agreement during the “cooling-off period” you will not be charged for any work that we carry out on your behalf during this time.

4.2 You may also cancel this Agreement at any time after the Cooling-off Period by giving us notice verbally or by written notice to the addres or by email as set out in Condition 2 stating that you wish to cancel your Agreement. Please note that if you decide to cancel this Agreement in this way a fee will be payable to cover any costs that we have incurred in providing the Service to you (please see Condition 12 for more information on the amount payable).

4.3 You may (but are not obliged to) cancel this Agreement immediately by giving us verbal or written notice (including full details of the reasons for termination) to the address set out in Condition 2, without any fee becoming payable, if:

a. we materially breach a term of this Agreement under Condition 6 (What we will do for you) and in the case of a remediable breach, fail to remedy it within thirty (30) days of the date of receipt of notice from you specifying the breach and requiring it to be remedied;
b. we become insolvent or unable to pay our debts (as defined in Section 123 of the Insolvency Act 1986); propose a voluntary arrangement; have a receiver, administrator or manager appointed over the whole or any part of our business or assets; become bankrupt or dissolved; or if we cease to carry on business.

4.4 We recommend that any written notices of termination are sent via the Royal Mail’s recorded delivery service and, if you are entering into this agreement jointly with another person, the notice must be signed by both of you.

5. WHAT DO I HAVE TO PAY?

5.1 You shall pay us the Fee of 25% as described in the relevant table in Condition 1.2 but only if your claim is successful and you receive compensation.

5.2 The Fee will not be payable if, despite our reasonable endeavors in providing the Services, your Claim has been unsuccessful apart from the instances listed below in Condition 5.3. We will write to you to notify you of the unsuccessful Claims.

5.3 A cancellation fee will be payable if; (a) you cancel this Agreement under Condition 4.2, or (b) we cancel this Agreement under Condition 11. Further details of cancellation fees payable can be found at Condition 12 of this Agreement.

5.4 If you fail to pay a fee within 28 days of receiving (a) the Compensation or (b) our termination invoice we will charge interest on the amount unpaid at the annual rate of 4 percent above the base rate of Metro Bank plc from the due date until the full amount is paid.

5.5 If any Fee or cancellation fee remains outstanding after 28 days of the date of you receiving Compensation or, if in respect of cancellation fees, 28 days after you receive our invoice, we reserve the right to refer your debt to third parties to pursue you for payment on our behalf.

5.6 Where interest is included as part of the Compensation, this may be taxable depending on your tax status. We encourage you to speak with your tax adviser or Accountant regarding this. We do not provide taxation advice.

6. WHAT WE WILL DO FOR YOU

6.1 After this Agreement starts and we have received the signed Letter of Authority, we will contact the Business as necessary so that we can provide the Service to you.

6.2 We will manage and respond to any correspondence which you or we receive from the Business.

6.3 We will give advice and guidance concerning your Claim wherever we are required to under this Agreement, under regulatory requirements or wherever you request us to do so.

6.4 We will review any decision letter that we receive from the Business to ensure that (a) if it is a rejection, it is fair based upon the evidence available to us; or

(b) if it is an offer of settlement, it contains all of the relevant elements which should be awarded to you.

6.5 If we believe that the decision mentioned above is fair, we will write to you to let you know (but you do have the right to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service if you are unhappy with the decision made by the Business). If we believe that the decision is unfair, we will ask for your permission to forward your Claim to the Financial Ombudsman Service for independent adjudication at no extra cost to you, or to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if the firm is in default.

6.6 If your Claim is referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme we will continue to manage and respond to any correspondence which we or you receive from either body.

6.7 We will only keep you updated on significant changes in your Claim at least every three months unless you request otherwise.

7. WHAT WE WILL NOT DO FOR YOU

7.1 We will not pursue a Claim wherein our professional opinion there is no reasonable chance of success. We will notify you in writing within 7 Working Days if we reach this conclusion.

7.2 We will not offer you any advice concerning your investment, pension, mortgage or protection arrangements. You should seek professional advice from a reputable individual or business which is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority.

7.3 We will not offer you any regulated legal advice. You should seek professional advice from a reputable individual or business which is authorised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

8. WHAT YOU WILL DO

8.1 You will give us exclusive authority to act on your behalf in all aspects of the claim.

8.2 You will not liaise directly with the business in respect of the claim and will not negotiate any settlement independently of us, either directly yourself or by using a third or third party. All communications should take place between us and the business.

8.3 You will ensure that you have supplied us with all documentation in your possession which gives evidence of a fact in the Claim including, but not limited to, the fact that the product or service which your Claim is about was sold to you.

8.4 You will promptly supply us with any information or authority that we reasonably request relating to your Claim. This could include, but is not limited to, basic details of any previous mortgages, investments, protection policies or credit agreements, details of your dependents, income and product literature and agreements relating to the original sale, in each case in relation to the relevant product or service that is the subject of your Claim.

8.5 We recommend that you send any important documentation in support of your Claim to us via the Royal Mail’s Special Delivery Service and retain copies at your own expense. We shall not be responsible for any loss of documentation in the course of delivery or for making any further copies for you.

8.6 You will ensure that all information that you provide us with is, to the best of your knowledge, accurate and not misleading.

8.7 You will inform us as soon as possible of any matters affecting your Claim.

8.8 You will notify us immediately of any offer of Compensation which is made to you by the Business and supply us with a copy of any offer letter or a letter of authority allowing us to obtain a copy of the letter directly from the Business.

8.9 You will pay the Fee to us in accordance with Condition 5 of this Agreement.

9. AUTHORISATION

By signing the Letter of Authority, you: (a) authorise us to act on your behalf in relation to dealings with the Business, Financial Ombudsman Service and Financial Services Compensation Scheme; and (b) authorise us to liaise and exchange your personal information with the Business, Financial Services Compensation Scheme, Financial Ombudsman Service or their authorised agents on your behalf.

10. EVENTS BEYOND OUR REASONABLE CONTROL

We are not responsible for events beyond our reasonable control. Such events might include network failures, war, terrorist activity, riots, malicious damage, fire, flood, storm, nuclear accident or compliance with any new law or governmental order, rule, regulation or direction. We may suspend or cancel the Agreement if, despite trying to provide the Services, we are not able to provide them to you as a result of events beyond our reasonable control. Condition 12 will apply in the event of any such cancellation

11. OUR RIGHTS TO CANCEL THIS AGREEMENT

11.1 We will cancel this Agreement immediately by written notice to you if:

(a) you materially breach a term of this Agreement being any of Condition 8 (What you will do) and in the case of a remediable breach, fail to remedy it within thirty (30) days of the date of receipt of notice from us specifying the breach and requiring it to be remedied;

(b) we find you have given us false information or acted fraudulently;

(c) you or, if this Agreement has been entered into jointly by two persons, one of you:
(i) enter into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement;

(ii) have a petition of bankruptcy issued against you;

(iii) are adjudicated bankrupt; or

(iv) dies.

12. WHAT HAPPENS IF THE AGREEMENT IS CANCELLED?

12.1 (a) If this Agreement is cancelled in accordance with either Conditions 4.2 or 11 of this Agreement before we or you have received a Final Decision Letter from the Business or a decision from the Financial Ombudsman Service or Financial Services Compensation Scheme if your Claim is referred to them then you will be charged at an hourly rate of £200 for our time spent on your Claim. This cancellation charge could be anything up to our full fee at the time. If at the time of cancellation by you we have received an acceptance of liability or an offer of compensation that is reasonable, or is made in accordance with the Financial Conduct Authority, Financial Ombudsman Service or Financial Services Compensation Scheme guidelines, our charge will be the fee as described in condition 1.2 of this Agreement and will be based upon the offer made

(b) If this Agreement is cancelled by us due to breach by you of condition 8.1 and/ or 8.2 of this Agreement and you subsequently negotiate or have negotiated a settlement directly, either by yourself or by a third party, then a percentage of the full fee chargeable, as described in condition 1.2 of this Agreement, will be payable by you and will be calculated by reference to the percentage that the actual work carried out by us relates to the whole of the work that would have been carried out by us had we dealt with your case to the point of receiving an acceptance of liability or offer of compensation, subject only to abatement by the amount of any payment already made or payable by you under clause 12.1 (a) above.

12.2 You will not be charged the Fees or a cancellation fee if this Agreement is cancelled because (a) you have a petition of bankruptcy issued against you; (b) you are adjudicated bankrupt during the term of this Agreement; (c) because of the circumstances set out in Condition 4.3 of this Agreement; or (d) because of the circumstances set out in Condition 10 of this Agreement.

13. WHAT RIGHTS AND REMEDIES WILL YOU HAVE AGAINST US?

13.1 We do not exclude or limit our liability for fraud or for death or personal injury resulting from our negligence.

13.2 Your statutory rights (which include, for example, that we will provide the Service to a reasonable standard and within a reasonable time) are not affected by anything in this Agreement. For more information about your statutory rights, contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau or Trading Standards Office.

13.3 Save for the types of liability which we will not limit or exclude as set out in Conditions 13.1 and 13.2 and unless otherwise agreed in writing, we limit our total aggregate liability to you under this Agreement in any year to a maximum of £500,000, and we exclude our liability to you under this Agreement for any damage or loss that could not have been reasonably expected by you and us at the time of entering into this Agreement, any financial loss (including any loss of income, business or profits) or for any damage or loss suffered or incurred by you as a result of any use of the Service in breach of this Agreement.

14. YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION AND CONFIDENTIALITY

14.1 We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data.
Our privacy policy sets out how we look after your personal data when you visit our website (regardless of where you visit it from) and tells you about your privacy rights and how the law protects you.

14.2 A copy of our privacy policy can be viewed by going to www.gainsclark.co.uk Alternatively, you can request a PDF copy.

15. COMPLAINTS

How to Make a Complaint

1. Complaints may be made in writing, by e-mail to complaints@gainsclark.co.uk, by telephone on 01277 582 112, or in any other form in respect of a claims management service that we have provided.

2. We will send you a written or electronic acknowledgement of a complaint within two business days of receipt, identifying the person who will be handling the complaint for the business. That person will have the authority to settle the complaint.

3. Within four weeks of receiving a complaint, we will send you either:

a. a final response adequately addressing the complaint; or

b. a holding response, which explains why we are not yet able to resolve the complaint and indicates when we will make further contact with you.

4. Within eight weeks of receiving a complaint we will send you either:

a. a final response adequately addressing the complaint; or

b. a response which:

i. explains why we are still not in a position to make a final response, giving reasons for the further delay and indicating when we expect to be able to provide a final response; and

ii. informs you that you may refer the handling of the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) if you are dissatisfied with the delay.

5. Where we decide that redress is appropriate, we will provide you with fair compensation for any acts or omissions for which we are responsible and will comply with any offer of redress that you accept. Appropriate redress will not always involve financial redress but could involve an apology or another suitable form of redress.

6. The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) can investigate complaints up to six years from the date of the problem happening or within three years of when you found out about the problem. If you wish to refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, this must be done within six months of our final response to your complaint.

7. If you are not satisfied with our response, or if a complaint is not resolved after eight weeks, you may refer the complaint to:

Financial Ombudsman
Service Exchange Tower
Harbour Exchange London
E14 9SR

Tel: 0207 964 1000

Visit https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumer/complaints.htm

N.B. Please note you have 6 months from the date of our final decision to approach the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

16. OTHER MATTERS

16.1 Before providing this document to you containing our terms and conditions, we verbally explained to you the effect of this Agreement and also, in particular, the following:

(a) Other methods of funding your claim, including for example legal expenses insurance, trade organisation or trade union funding. We also advised you that you could pursue the claim yourself directly with the brokerage company and also through the Financial Services Authority, Financial Services Ombudsman or Financial Services Compensation Scheme

(b) The fact that you do not have to use this company to assist you in your claim and your right before signing this Agreement to make enquiries of other Claim Management Companies by contacting your local Citizens Advice Bureau or searching the internet.

16.2 If any court or other competent authority finds any of the terms of this Agreement to be invalid or unenforceable, the other terms of this Agreement will not be affected.

16.3 This Agreement is governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. Any dispute in connection with this Agreement will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales