Terms of business

Mortgage Advice Brokerage – Terms of Business

This document outlines our terms of business it is given to consumers considering buying certain financial products. You need to read this important document. It explains the service you are being offered and how you will pay for it.

By choosing to transact business with us, you are agreeing to accept our terms of business and both parties will be bound by the terms laid out in this document. Mortgage Advice Brokerage is a Limited Company and our Number is: SC336489

Our Regulator

Mortgage Advice Brokerage Ltd are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for Mortgage, Pure Protection (Life Assurance, Critical Illness Cover & Income Protection) and General Insurance business.

You can check our details and regulatory permissions via the Financial Services Register at https://register.fca.org.uk or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768. Our FCA reference number is 479200.

Advice

We offer an advised service for Mortgages and Insurance. We will advise and make a recommendation for you after we have assessed your needs.

If you are purchasing (or re-mortgaging) a Buy-to-Let property, we will only advise you on the mortgage arrangements; we will not provide advice on the tax or investment elements of the transaction. Should you require tax or investment advice, you should seek this from a suitably authorised and qualified individual.

Mortgage (Home Finance) Products

We offer a comprehensive range of first charge & second charge Mortgages from across the market and do not place any restrictions on the mortgages we have access too.

However, we may not be able to administer applications that are only available directly from a lender and may also be restricted in being able to assess how your circumstances meet those lenders criteria due to the limited information they provide.

Increasing Borrowing on a Property

If you are looking to increase the borrowing on a property, the following alternative finance options may be available:

• Further advance from your existing lender;
• Second charge mortgage;
• A new first charge mortgage;
• Unsecured lending – we do not offer advice on unsecured lending.

Insurance Products

We offer products from a range of insurers for Pure Protection insurance contracts –

• Life Insurance
• Critical Illness
• Income Protection Insurance (Sick Pay)

We offer products based upon a fair analysis of Insurance providers for:

• Home Insurance (Property, Contents & Personal Possessions cover)
• Accident, Sickness & Unemployment cover

Costs & Fees for our Services

Mortgage (Home Finance) Products

• No fee is payable for our service in relation to mortgage contracts. We will be paid commission by the Lender; the amount of the commission due to be paid is available upon request and will be disclosed via the mortgage illustration.
• For complex cases we reserve the right to charge a fee of upto £995. An example would arranging a Self-Build mortgage. Once we have assessed your circumstances we will advise you whether or not a fee will be payable for using our services before you proceed.
  

  Insurance Products

• No Fee is payable for our service in relation to insurance contracts as we will be paid a commission by the Insurer.
   

  Getting to know You

  During our initial consultation we will complete a client questionnaire (Factfind) to enable us to better understand your circumstances and your needs; this enables us to give appropriate advice on your Mortgage and Protection needs.

  We will subsequently conduct research to establish what products are most appropriate for your needs and make these recommendations to you. These recommendations will be confirmed in writing as the advice we provided. You will also be provided an illustration regarding the product(s) recommended.

  What we will do

• Explain all costs involved before they are incurred;
• Evaluate your needs before making a recommendation;
• Review the market from available providers to recommend the most suitable product for your circumstances;
• Deal with reputable providers of mortgage and insurance products; however, we cannot be responsible for their levels of service, including any delays in processing of your application caused by the product provider.
   

  What we will not do

• Provide a decision in principal before conducting a thorough review of your circumstances and needs (Factfind) and obtaining sufficient supporting information to assist the application;
• Cause you to incur a credit search without first notifying you;
• Act without first obtaining your permission to do so;
• Cause you to incur costs without your prior agreement to proceed.
   

  Your Responsibilities

  It is your responsibility to deal with us in an honest and transparent manner. Failure to disclose key facts that relate to your personal circumstances could significantly influence the advice given. In some circumstances failure to disclose information could impact upon your ability to obtain the most suitable product and could even invalidate the product, such as in the event it is interpreted as material non-disclosure that could be considered to be a fraudulent act.

  If you have any doubts as to whether you should disclose a matter it is better to notify the provider and allow them to make an informed decision.

  It is also your responsibility to check that the product provided is as you expected, therefore you should check the ‘Offer’ document on a mortgage and the application and policy document on an insurance policy. If it is not as expected, please notify your adviser immediately.

  Instructions

  We will normally accept your instructions verbally or in writing (including electronic communication); however, we always recommend that all instructions are provided in writing for the avoidance of misunderstandings.

  Cancellation Rights

  Depending on the product provided you will have different cancellation rights; these will be explained to you as part of our advisory process and will be disclosed to you by the provider in their communications also. It is your responsibility, however, to exercise these rights in a timely fashion; we cannot do this on your behalf.

  Conflicts of Interest

  We undertake not to transact business where we believe that to do so could result in a conflict of interest. Where we believe that our interests conflict we will notify you in writing first and outline the basis upon which we are prepared to proceed. The decision to proceed will be yours, however.

  Complaints

  If you wish to register a complaint, please contact us:
  In writing: Mortgage Advice Brokerage, Head Office, 730 Dumbarton Road, Glasgow, G11 6RD.
  By phone:0141 339 9025
  If you cannot settle your complaint with us, you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service – for further information, please visit www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk

  Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)

  Mortgage Advising & Arranging

  For claims against companies declared in default from 1st January 2010. Mortgage advising and arranging is covered for 100% of the first £50,000 so the maximum compensation is £50,000 per person per firm.

  Insurance Advising & Arranging

  For firms declared in default on or after 3 July 2015 your Protection is at 100% where claims:
  a) arise in respect of a liability subject to compulsory insurance; or
  b) arise in respect of a liability subject to professional indemnity insurance; or
  c) arise from the death or incapacity of the policyholder due to injury, sickness, or infirmity including contracts for Long Term Insurance such as Long Term Care, pensions and annuities

  Protection is at 90% where claims arise under other types of policy with no upper limit. Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS. Visit www.fscs.org.uk or 0800 678 1100.

  Client Money

  WE DO NOT HANDLE CLIENT MONEY. We will not accept any cheque other than for the payment of your fee, any third party payments must be made by you to them. Under no circumstances will we handle cash.

  Call Recording

  Telephone calls made to Mortgage Advice Brokerage Ltd may be recorded and used for training and/or regulatory purposes.