Terms and Conditions of Business
Financial Services
OUR STANDARD AGREEMENT: ABOUT US AND HOW WE WORK WITH YOU
Cullimore Dutton Solicitors Limited (“Cullimore Dutton”) is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. FCA Number 726090
You can check this on the FCA’s Register by visiting the website https://register.fca.org.uk/
The Financial Conduct Authority, 12 Endeavour Square, London E20 1JN
Client Classification
Investment
Cullimore Dutton classifies all clients as ‘retail clients’ for investment business, which means you are afforded all protections under the rules of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Should you wish to be classified differently for investment business, please discuss this with your adviser. Please note that should you wish to be considered as a different category of customer for investment business, such as a professional client or eligible counterparty you must inform us in writing. We will provide you with a new client agreement and you may lose a number of protections which will be outlined in that new agreement.
Non – investment and general insurance
Cullimore Dutton classifies all clients as ‘consumers’ for non-investment insurance business, which means you are afforded all protections under the rules of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Should we need to classify you differently we will discuss this with you, however, you should be aware that you may lose a number of regulatory protections which will be outlined in a revised agreement.
Mortgages
Cullimore Dutton classifies all mortgage customers as ‘clients’, which means you are afforded all protections under the rules of the Financial Conduct Authority.
Should we need to classify you differently we will discuss this with you, however, you should be aware that you may lose a number of regulatory protections which will be outlined in a revised agreement.
Our Commitment to You
Prior to providing you with any advice we will take time to understand your current needs, circumstances and attitude to risk (where applicable). Any advice provided will be confirmed to you in writing.
Cullimore Dutton takes all our regulatory responsibilities very seriously and we ensure that all our staff are required to demonstrate their competence to undertake their role and our business is structured in a manner that is designed to meet in full all the requirements set by our regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, and under European Securities and Market Authority rules.
Methods of Communication
Unless you advise us otherwise, we will communicate with you via the following methods of communication, Face to Face, E-mail, Telephone, Letter & Fax.
Language
Please note that all our communications and documents will be provided to you in English.
Client Money
Cullimore Dutton does not handle clients’ money. We never accept a cheque made out to us (unless it is a cheque in settlement of charges or disbursements for which we have sent you an invoice) or handle cash.
Introductions to a Third Party
We may receive a fee for making introductions to third party product or service providers.
When acting as an introducer, marketer or promoter of a scheme, no responsibility is accepted for any matters arising from the referral to the scheme product provider. It is your responsibility to ensure that you enter into separate Terms & Conditions with the third-party advisor.
INVESTMENT SERVICES
Investment Permissions
Cullimore Dutton is permitted to advise on and arrange (bring about) deals in investment contracts.
Transactional Only: with regard to investments and non-investment insurance contracts which we have arranged for you, these will not be kept under review unless we agree otherwise with you; but we will advise you upon your request.
With service provision: we will provide services to you as more fully outlined in our initial and post sales agreement.
Scope of Advice
Independent Advice
We will only provide advice and make a recommendation to you having fully assessed your financial needs and objectives.
This means that we will spend some time discussing with you what you want to achieve financially and see if the advice and services that we offer are going to be appropriate to address them.
It is important to us that you fully understand how we go about doing this, so please ask us for more detail if anything is unclear to you.
Our Investment Proposition
We have constructed an investment proposition that has been designed over time to meet many of our client’s needs. Often our clients share common characteristics in terms of their financial circumstances and financial objectives. Where our investment proposition is not going to be suitable to meet your needs, we will look outside of this to find a bespoke solution that will.
Products & Providers
Financial Products
In respect of the financial products that we use, we do not restrict ourselves to certain types of products. We will look across a range of products which are called Retail Investment Products, we will also look at Cash ISAs, National Savings Products and structured products as well. We use research tools to select these products using criteria set to meet your needs and will not use pre-determined lists or only a small range of preferred providers. We aim to find the right product to meet your needs on each and every occasion.
Product Providers
In respect of the product providers that we use we do not restrict our advice to certain companies. Instead, we use research tools to help us find the company that provides the right products to meet your needs.
Conflicts of Interest
We have a legal and regulatory obligation to take all appropriate steps to identify and to prevent or manage conflicts of interest from arising. In the event of any of our business interests or activities creating a potential conflict of interest we will ensure that we take all appropriate steps to manage the potential conflict by maintaining robust systems, controls and staff training. In the unlikely event that we are unable to prevent the potential conflict, we will fully disclose to you, the general nature and/or sources of conflicts of interest and the steps taken to mitigate those risks. A copy of our Conflict of Interest policy is available on request.
Best Execution
It is our policy to transact your business in order to achieve the best possible results in terms of the:
• Price of products, providers and services
• Cost of advice
• Speed
• Size and Nature of the transaction
• Effectiveness of the Platform/ Provider/ Service Provider
Other Benefits We May Receive
We will not receive any financial inducement or gift that will in any way compromise our ability to provide you with suitable advice.
NON – INVESTMENT AND GENERAL INSURANCE SERVICES
Non-Investment and General Insurance Permissions
Cullimore Dutton is permitted to advise on and arrange (bring about) deals in non-investment and general insurance contracts.
We are an insurance intermediary and act on behalf of clients, and not insurers
Non-investment and General Insurance services
We offer a personal recommendation on the basis of a fair and personal analysis of the market.
We can only offer products from a limited number of insurers for accident, sickness and unemployment. Ask us for a list of the insurers we offer insurance from.
Which Service Will We Provide You With?
We will advise and make a recommendation for you after we have assessed your needs, however you will not receive advice or a recommendation from us for buildings and contents insurance.
MORTGAGE SERVICES
Whose products we offer
We offer a comprehensive range of mortgages from across the market, but not deals that you can only obtain by going direct to a lender.
Alternative Finance Options
We offer the following alternative finance options:
A further advance from an existing lender
Consumer buy to let mortgage
A second charge mortgage
A re-mortgage
Bridging finance
We do not offer the following alternative finance options:
An unsecured loan
Which service will we provide you with?
We will advise and make a recommendation for you after we have assessed your needs.
You may request an illustration from your adviser whenever our firm provides you with information specific to the amount you want to borrow following assessment of your needs and circumstances.
EQUITY RELEASE SERVICES
Equity release products are either lifetime mortgages or home reversion plans.
Whose Products We Offer
We offer a comprehensive range of equity release products from across the market, but not deals that you can only obtain by going direct to a lender.
Which Service Will We Provide You With?
We will advise and make a recommendation for you after we have assessed your needs.
You may request an illustration from your adviser whenever our firm provides you with information specific to the amount your equity release requirement following assessment of your needs and circumstances.
CONSUMER CREDIT
We make no charge for any advice in relation to consumer credit activities.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Our firms service levels, initial fees and ongoing payment of services are disclosed in a separate document.
Accounting to You
We will forward to you any documents we receive in relation to business transacted as soon as practicable; where a number of documents relating to a series of transactions is involved, we will normally hold each document until the series is complete and then forward them to you.
Complaints
If you wish to register a complaint, please contact us in writing at the address at the front of this agreement or telephone us on 01244 340 222
If you cannot settle your complaint with us, you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service. http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.
Compensation Arrangements
We have briefly set out some information about the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) below. If you would like further information about compensation scheme arrangements, details are available at www.fscs.org.uk or call 0800 678 1100.
Most of the products we advise on are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). You may be entitled to compensation from the scheme if product providers or we cannot meet our obligations. This depends on the type of business and the circumstances of the claim.
The actual level of compensation you receive will depend on the basis of your claim. The FSCS only pays compensation for financial loss. Compensation limits are per person per firm, and per claim category (listed below).
Investment
Most types of investment business are covered for 100% of the first £85,000 per person per firm, so the maximum compensation is £85,000 per person per firm.
Deposits
Money in accounts like current and savings accounts, including cash Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) are covered up to £85,000 per authorised firm (£170,000 for a joint account). It should be noted that ‘authorised firms’ may have different brands. The FSCS will provide a £1million protection limit for temporary high balances held with your bank, building society or credit union if it fails. A temporary high balance would apply when payments have been received in respect of specified life events, details of which can be obtained from FSCS.
Protection, non-Investment Insurance mediation
Protection is at 100% without limit, where the claim is in relation to a long-term care insurance contract that is a pure protection contract, or the claim is in respect of a liability subject to compulsory insurance.
In all other cases: 90% of the claim without limit.
Mortgages
Mortgage advising and arranging is covered for 100% of the first £85,000, so the maximum compensation is £85,000 per person per firm.
(Please note that the FSCS does not cover buy to let mortgages)
Termination Arrangements
Termination of Our Services (Initial Advice)
You or we may terminate our authority to act on your behalf at any time.
You will be liable to pay for any advice or services that you have received prior to the date of termination. This means that where we have agreed the advice and services that we will provide for you and we have agreed to receive payment for these, either by means of a fee for investment business or by receiving commission from a provider for non-investment business you will have to pay us for any work we have completed up to date of termination.
Termination of our services (Ongoing Advice)
You or we may terminate our authority to act on your behalf at any time.
We would give you 10 business days’ notice and, upon, request could signpost you to alternative sources of financial advice.
Notice of your termination of the agreement can be given in writing, by email, or over the telephone. We will confirm receipt of your request in writing, and this will take effect from the date notice is given. Termination is without prejudice to any transactions already initiated which will be completed according to this Client Agreement unless otherwise agreed in writing. You will be liable to pay for any transactions made prior to termination and any fees which may be outstanding.
Any ongoing fees will continue to accumulate up to the date of termination, with product or service providers being instructed to cease future ongoing advice payments from that date.
Where you hold assets within a WRAP, you need to be aware that there will be terms and conditions applicable, such as your agreement with the Wrap provider in respect to facilitating our fees, which means you may need to instruct the Wrap provider directly and arrange for the removal of assets from the WRAP or appoint another adviser who will be able to access your assets and provide further on-going advice to you. We will be pleased to assist you at this time in cancelling our service to you, making sure that any WRAP provider is informed of this cancellation.