Investment/ SIPP/ FSAVC Claims – Terms of Business
Your signed Letters of Authority will amount to acceptance of our following terms of business and will form a contract between Consumer Savings Network (CSN) and you.
1. YOUR ASSESSMENT
In making your claim through CSN, you acknowledge that you are aware that you can pursue the claim yourself directly with the bank , IFA, SIPP or FSAVC adviser and if unsuccessful use the free Financial Ombudsman’s service but elect to use our services. A successful claim refund will not adversely affect your relationship with that provider, if you continue to bank, have loans or credit cards with them. Our attached information sheet headed ‘What we can do and why we can’ contains objective information for you to consider before signing. If you are still uncertain please contact us for any further explanations which you need before making up your mind.
2. PROCEDURES
We will gather information from you and from your Investment, SIPP, or FSAVC provider that offered you the product & use this to forward a carefully prepared claim with supporting documents based on the broken FCA principles we have determined in your case. We will contact you whenever further details are required or when we receive a refund offer form the investment, SIPP or FSAVC provider, generally in the form of a Settlement Agreement Form for you to sign and return. The settlement offer may be for all or for part of the losses incurred & will be at your discretion to accept or refuse. If a reasonable offer is refused and no other higher offer can be obtained through normal negotiation, our fee will be based on the highest offer awarded. We generally settle your claim without the need for court action & we will not refer your case to solicitors without your consent, so there are no other costs to worry about. Compensation payments are generally made directly to you from the investment provider. You will then be responsible for settling our fees with us.
3. FEES
CSN will seek to reclaim any and all losses you have incurred since the inception of your Investment, SIPP, FSAVC product. In most cases we will also get you additional compensation based on the Bank of England Bond Rate for during the time period you held the product.
| Band | Redress awarded for a claim (£) |
The maximum percentage rate of charge plus VAT | The maximum total charge plus VAT (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 – 24,999 | 25% | 5,000 |
| 2 | 25,000 – 49,999 | 20% | 7,500 |
| 3 | 50,000 or above | 15% | 10,000 |
There is no charge for our service if we are not successful with your case.
If an offer is refused and no other higher offer can be negotiated through normal correspondence than our fee will be based on the highest offer awarded. Your compensation offer may be used to offset any debt you may have or in the case of pensions you may not be able to access your pension for funds, in either case our fees will still be payable.
In the absence of you reaching a payment arrangement with us based on the refund going to arrears, our fee plus VAT must be paid to Consumer Savings Network Ltd. within 14 days after receiving your refund.
4. DOCUMENTATION
All we require you to sign are; 2 Authority Forms to enable us to act on your behalf, a Statement Of Truth which is a document that states that to the best of your knowledge the information you provided is accurate, and our Terms and Conditions which acknowledges you accept our terms of service.
You may consider making a copy of these documents for your own records. If you can provide us with copies of any documents that relate to the investment product in question, that would be helpful.
5. COMPLAINTS
We operate an in-house complaints procedure. In the event you feel the need to make a complaint you may lodge this by letter, telephone or email. Your complaint will be investigated wherever possible by a person who was not directly involved in the subject matter of the complaint. We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 business days of receiving it and at that stage we will provide appropriate details of our ongoing complaints procedure.
6. EARLY CANCELLATION
You may cancel this contract by giving us notice in writing, email or by telephone without any charge, within a 14 day cooling off period.
You will be responsible to notify the bank/ building society/IFA of the re-assignment of the claim to yourself if appropriate.
No letters, documentary materials, or evidence provided by CSN, will be allowed to be used to support your claim.
7. WITHDRAWAL BY YOU
You may withdraw from this contract after the cooling off period referred to in section 6. In such instances, if we receive subsequent written or verbal notification of a successful claim because of the work we have done on your behalf, you will be liable for payment of our standard commission fee as stated in section 3. If you cancel after the cooling off period and we are unsuccessful, you will not be charged a fee.
8. YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES
- You should carefully read all documentation we supply to you and keep make copies for your reference.
- You should ask for assistance from us in explaining anything you do not understand.
- You should take care to make sure that all information you provide to us is accurate to the best of your
- You should inform us of any & all communications you have received including any settlement offers made by the investment, SIPP, FSAVC provider.
8. OUR RESPONSIBILITIES
- We will keep you informed of the progress of your claim.
- We will promptly notify you of all steps to be taken and further information we require from you.
- We will argue the merits of your case where necessary with all relevant bank/ building society officials.
- We will take all proper steps to avoid any conflict of interest. We must always act in your best interests.
9. DATA PROTECTION
You authorise CSN to use and discuss information concerning you in the furtherance of your claim. All information will be held and controlled in accordance with the Data Protection Act with information only being forwarded to those who are registered with the Information Commissioner or a recognised authoritative body. You authorise us to contact you with other services we offer from time to time.
10. FCA CLAIMS REGISTRATION
Consumer Savings Network Ltd. is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN 833181.
11. AGREEMENT
By signing and returning the Letters of Authority, you agree to be bound by these terms of business and appoint CSN to provide Services for such a period as to allow CSN to assess and pursue the Claim (subject to your right to terminate under section 6 above).
Consumer Savings Network is a claims management company. You do not need to use a claims management company to make your complaint to your bank. If your complaint is not successful you can refer to the financial ombudsman service for free.