Legal Information
Broadbench Limited is able to act on your behalf in advising you on mortgages and insurance planning. We offer you an initial discussion (without charge) at which we will describe our services more fully and explain the payment options. Following our initial discussion, and should you decide to go ahead, we will advise you if there is a fee for our service.
Broadbench Limited offers advice on mortgages and insurance and will complete a detailed analysis of your financial circumstances together with recommendations where appropriate. Any advice or recommendation that we offer to you, will only be given after we have assessed your needs and considered your financial objectives and attitude to any risks that may be involved. We will also take into account any restrictions that you wish to place on the type of products you would be willing to consider.
Mortgages
Alternative Finance Options
You should note that where we provide services in relation to increased borrowing on an existing mortgaged property there may be alternative options available to you that may be more appropriate. For example, you may be able to obtain a further advance from your existing lender or obtain an unsecured loan for the additional funds. Where your existing mortgage is a first charge against the property a second charge mortgage may be available and where the existing mortgage is a second charge a first charge loan may be available.
Buy To Let Mortgages
Broadbench Limited is able to act on your behalf in advising you on Consumer and Business Buy to Let mortgages. Please note that, unlike most mortgage advice, the advice given on buy-to-let mortgages is not regulated by a regulatory body, such as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Whose Mortgages Do We Offer?
We offer mortgages from the whole intermediary market. We offer mortgages in the non-business and business markets and for first and second-charge loans in both markets.
What Will You Have To Pay For Our Service?
A fee of £100 is payable prior to submitting an agreement in principle.
A further £400 is payable prior to submitting the full mortgage application. We will receive a commission from the lender in addition to the fees you pay.
Typical Fee and Commission
If we charge you a fee, and your mortgage does not go ahead, this fee is non-refundable.
If we are paid commission by one or more mortgage lenders, you have the right to request information on the levels of commission we will receive from different lenders in relation to any mortgage product recommended.
There may be additional costs and charges related to the mortgage product we recommend. You’ll receive a Key Facts Illustration / European Standardised Information Sheet when considering a particular mortgage which will tell you about any fees relating to it.
Protection Planning
Our advised protection planning services are suitable if you are looking for the best way to protect you, your family or your business through products such as critical illness cover, health insurance and life cover. We advise on non-investment protection products e.g. term assurance, income protection and critical illness from a range of insurers.
Whose Products Do We Offer?
We give advice on the basis of a fair analysis of the market and offer products from a range of insurers for Term Assurance, Critical Illness Insurance, Permanent Health Insurance, Private Health Care, Buildings Insurance, Contents Insurance, Accident Sickness and Unemployment Insurance.
What Will You Have To Pay For Our Service?
There is no fee. We will be paid by commission from the provider.
Our Obligations
Recommendations
We will confirm to you in writing the basis of our recommendations. We will also provide you with a ‘Key Facts’ illustration (KFI)/European Standardised Information Sheet (ESIS) which is a personalised description of the costs and features of the mortgage/product that we are recommending. You may ask us to provide you with additional KFIs for any mortgage/product for which you are eligible.
Protecting your personal information
Your personal information is important to us. We will endeavour to take all due care to protect this information. We highlight below matters relating to your information that you should be aware of.
Some services are provided to our firm by third parties, such as processing business or obtaining compliance or regulatory advice, which warrant the disclosure of more than just your basic contact details. Personal information held by ourselves may be disclosed on a confidential basis and in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998, to any such third parties. This information may be transferred electronically (e.g. email) and we, or any such third party, may contact you in future by any means of communication which we consider appropriate at the time.
Product providers and lenders may administer your policy, and any existing policies you may have with them and provide other services, from centres in countries outside Europe (such as India and the USA) that do not always have the same standard of Data Protection laws as the UK. However, they are required to put a contract in place to ensure that your information is adequately protected, and they will remain bound by their obligations under the Data Protection Act even when your personal information is processed outside Europe.
For more information relating to privacy, please read through our privacy policy.
Anti-money laundering
We are required by the anti-money laundering regulations to verify the identity of our clients, to obtain information as to the purpose and nature of the business which we conduct on their behalf, and to ensure that the information we hold is up-to-date. For this purpose, we may use electronic identity verification systems and we may conduct these checks from time to time throughout our relationship, not just at the beginning.
Conflict of interests
We will endeavour always to act in the best interests of you our client. However, circumstances can arise where we or one of our other clients may have some form of interest in business being transacted for you. If this happens or we become aware that our interests or those of one of our other clients conflict with your interests, we will write to you and obtain your consent before we carry out your instructions, and detail the steps we will take to ensure fair treatment.
Communicating with you
We may communicate with you by telephone, post, email or in person. In certain circumstances, we may ask you to confirm any instructions in writing prior to implementation. All our communications with you will be in English.
Cancellation
This agreement shall commence on the date of issue and shall remain in force until terminated.
Termination of this Agreement
You, or we, may terminate this agreement and our authority to act on your behalf at any time, without penalty. Notice of this termination must be given in writing and will take effect from the date of receipt. Termination is without prejudice to any transactions already initiated which will be completed according to this agreement unless otherwise agreed in writing. You will be liable to pay for any services provided prior to termination and any fees outstanding, if applicable.
Product cancellation rights
Full details of the products we recommend to you including, for example, the minimum duration of the product, information on your right to cancel or whether no right to cancel exists, and any other early termination rights and penalties, will be covered in the relevant product disclosure information you will receive before the conclusion of any contract.
In most cases, you can exercise a right to cancel by withdrawing from the contract. In general terms, you will normally have a 30-day cancellation period for a life, protection or payment protection policy and a 14-day cancellation period for all other policies. Please note that there is no right to cancel a mortgage contract once the mortgage transaction has been concluded.
Instructions for exercising the right to cancel, if applicable, will be contained in the relevant product disclosure information which will be provided to you.
How are you protected
Broadbench Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), 12 Endeavour Square, Stratford, London, E20 1JN.
Our Financial Services Register number is 590288. Our permitted business is advising on and arranging mortgages and non-investment insurance contracts. You can check this on the Financial Services Register by visiting the FCA’s website or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768.
Complaints
If you are dissatisfied with a recommendation we have made you are entitled to make a complaint. We have a complaints procedure that is available on request. If you wish to register a complaint, please contact us:
In writing: The Compliance Officer, Broadbench Limited, 167-169 Great Portland Street, 5th Floor, London, W1W 5PF
By phone: +44 1202 700053
By email: [email protected]
Please be assured we treat complaints seriously. For your further protection, if you cannot settle your complaint with us, you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service (‘FOS’). Full details of the FOS can be found on its website at www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.
The Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform is available for consumers to make complaints about products and services bought online. Full details of the ODR can be found on its website at https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/
We are also covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (‘FSCS’).
You may be entitled to compensation from the scheme if we cannot meet our obligations. This depends on the type of business and the circumstances of the claim.
Insurance – advising and arranging is covered for 90% of the claim, without any upper limit. Mortgages – advising and arranging is covered up to a maximum limit of £50,000.
Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS at www.fscs.org.uk/consumer.
Client money
We are not permitted to handle client money and we cannot accept a cheque made out to us (unless it is in respect of a service for which we have sent you an invoice) or handle cash.
General
Jurisdiction
This agreement is governed by and should be interpreted in accordance with English law and you agree to submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.
Legal and accounting advice
Neither our firm nor our employees are qualified to render legal or accounting advice or to prepare any legal or accounting documents. It is hereby understood and agreed that the onus is on you, the client, to refer to a solicitor or accountant at any point of law or accountancy that may arise during the course of discussions with us.
Direct mortgage deals
We advise on mortgage products from the whole of the market. This means that we source the recommended mortgage from the range of mortgages available to “intermediary” firms. Certain lenders may offer products directly to the public, rather than via an intermediary firm. Accordingly, our recommendation to you will be based on the most suitable mortgage product incorporated within the range available to intermediary firms.
Providing information to your insurer
Your insurance/protection cover is based on the information you provide to the insurance company. Where you are buying insurance as an individual, this means that you must take ‘reasonable care’ to answer all questions asked by the insurer fully and accurately. For general insurance policies such as car insurance or liability insurance, once cover has been arranged, you must immediately notify the insurers or us of any changes to the information that you have already provided. Failure to provide accurate and up-to-date information may invalidate your insurance cover and mean that a claim may not be paid. All other clients (e.g. commercial clients) must still disclose all ‘material facts’ (any information that may influence the insurer’s decision over cover or terms) prior to inception and throughout the period of the policy. Again, failure to disclose material information may invalidate your insurance cover and could mean that a claim may not be paid.
Your Consent
This is our standard client agreement upon which we intend to rely. For your own benefit and protection, you should read these terms carefully. If you do not understand any point, please ask for further information. This client agreement replaces any previous agreements and understandings we have with you, and will only be modified where confirmed in writing.
The client agreement will come into effect from the date of issue.
By accepting this document, you authorise the transfer of personal information, on a confidential basis and in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998, between Broadbench and any relevant third parties. You also agree that Broadbench, or any such third party may contact me in the future by any means of communication (including by electronic communication e.g. email) considered appropriate at the time.
Acceptance of this document also confirms that you are happy to give Broadbench express consent to contact you by telephone, email, text or post, to discuss advising on or arranging a mortgage product in the future.