Please read and sign the following. This is to confirm you have received and read all of the. Client ID: EDS <<ClientID>> Version 2.5.

Transcription

1 Terms and Conditions of Business Please read and sign the following. This is to confirm you have received and read all of the Terms and Conditions of Business. Client ID: EDS <<ClientID>> Version Please ensure each page of the terms of business is signed by all parties concerned. THIS copy is for YOUR records and THE OTHER is required by us. You are entering into a self regulatory protocol compliant financial management plan, which means that we will negotiate the distribution of reduced payments to your unsecured debts on a pro rata basis; you are however expected to maintain your contractual payments to your secured creditors directly. We are unable to deal with any secured debts, CSA arrears or court fines. A protocol complaint plan aims to ensure that consumers who choose a financial management plan subject to the protocol are assured of a high standard of service that is demonstrated in our client s best interests and is fully compliant with statutory requirements and best practice CANCELLATION RIGHTS There is a cooling off period and whilst within this, you can decide to cancel your agreement with us, and request the return of any monies or documents that you will have sent to us. The cooling off period is 14 calendar days from the date we receive your signed agreement to use our services, of which you will have been advised initially by phone. In the event that you advise us that you do not wish to proceed with your plan outside of your cooling off period, we will refund any payments we receive prior to any work being carried out. If documentation is received by us, from you, you agree that your administration fee is met as a minimum requirement for the work carried out on your behalf. Notification of cancellation of your account must be given in writing or verbally and must be received by us within the 14 day period. Notification received outside of this period will not be upheld. Should you decide to cancel our services once you have instigated their use, you understand that your creditors will resume their direct contact with you, which can and may lead to further collection of your debt with them by any means necessary under UK law, which may be available to them should you be unable to reach a mutual agreement, which may and can include; CCJ s, bailiff action, charging orders, attachment of earnings orders, 3rd party debt orders or a possible creditor bankruptcy petition, Please also note that there is no guarantee that these actions will be suspended during your plan. You can avoid further enforcement action by looking at other debt management options, such as an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA), or bankruptcy. PLAN COSTS AND TIMESCALES There is an administration charge that is required in order to approve your file. This amount will be spread over the first six months of your plan at a rate of 50% of your monthly contribution. Your first payment will be collected by debit card where details have been provided or by standing order if no debit card details have been provided to us. This administration charge is not a deposit, but an administration charge, which will be retained by us for setting up your account and arranging the correct documentation for you and initiating negotiations and setting up the arrangements with your creditors. This comes into force once we start acting on your behalf and your cooling off period has expired. For clarity, you agreeing to our services is by signing and returning your terms and conditions to us. Our management fee is charged at a rate of 17.5% of your disposable income. There is also a minimum and maximum fee bracket. The minimum fee that will be charged is set at and the maximum at in any one month. The disposable income amount is the payment you make to us on a monthly basis, to distribute to your creditors on your behalf, and is payable monthly. This management fee will be deducted from your monthly payment from the seventh month of your plan, before the remainder of funds are distributed to your creditors each month. Following a full assessment, we have determined that this is the most appropriate solution, and we will ensure that this solution is the most sustainable by us using the common financial statement or equivalent guidelines. We have also taken account of your preferences, and of all of the available options available to you, not just the solutions that pg. 1

2 we are able to offer. It has also been offered within a projected timescale of a period not exceeding 10 years, or where you have indicated that there is unlikely to be any improvement in your circumstances after this period. Following our appointment as your third party representative we will contact your creditors within 10 working days to confirm our appointment, and we will share all data with your creditors in order to best evidence the selected product as the most appropriate, and the data supplied to them will be objective, complete and impartial. Proposals will be offered in compliance with the protocol requirements, and with guidance issued by our regulatory authority, the DRF (debt resolution forum). You are expected to maintain your monthly payments to us, whilst your plan is in place. Failure to do so could result in additional costs being levied to your accounts, and the possibility of further action by your creditors. Any additional costs can and will result in an increase in timescale to your financial management plan. We are required to notify your creditors within 30 days of any payment breach, which could and may result in your creditors resuming direct contact with you. The timescale that you have been advised is an estimate, based on the balances you advised us of initially, and on the monthly payment that you will make. The timescale is also affected and may be extended if your creditors continue to levy interest or charges to your accounts, or if you fail to maintain payments as agreed. This is based on the amount of time it will take to pay off the balances that we have been advised of by you, at the rate that we have determined to be your disposable income amount. This is calculated after deducting the administration fee, 50% of the first six months payments and the applicable management fee from month seven onwards until completion of your plan. The total estimated cost to your plan could, and may be subject to change should your plan run longer, or shorter than the estimated duration. The management fee amount is deducted before any funds are distributed to your creditors on your behalf. This timescale will change if your payment or disposable income amount changes during the course of your plan, or if your balances are incorrect from what we have been advised by you initially. The fee amount is correct if you complete the plan at the current level, all the details are correct and creditors agree to suspend interest and charges throughout the course of the plan. By restructuring your repayments to a level that is lower than contractually required, your accounts will fall into arrears, which could result in one or more creditors issuing a default notice. Default notices will remain on your credit file for a period of six years from the date of default; this is also the case if token payments are made to the accounts. The information on your credit file may also affect your well being in other ways, for example, it may be requested by potential employers. You will be able to withdraw where, following the signing of the contract, the total fee differs significantly from the estimate given prior to the contract should there be no major material difference in debt level that has not previously been disclosed to us. Should the timescale change, then we will notify you of the change in duration and the reasons for it, then you can make an informed decision for yourself. Refunds or redress may be offered where we feel that we may have acted unfairly or without reasonable care, or where we have failed to provide an acceptable level of customer service. I understand that Express Debt Solutions may pay a commission to an introducer should I proceed with any product with Express Debt Solutions, where I have been referred on to them by a financial intermediary for any of their services. DISTRIBUTION TO CREDITORS We will distribute any money received from you from month one of your plan, and within five days of the payment being received by us and classed as cleared funds. Our definition of cleared funds depends on the method by which the payment has been made. The following timescales apply to clearing payments: standing order 3 days, Bank Giro Credit 5 days, personal cheques 10 days, debit card payments 3 days, Cash (GBP) 1 day, postal orders 1 day, paying in book 5 days. Should there be a reason for a delay in distributing your payment, we will advise you on the reason for the delay, and how we will remedy the issue. pg. 2

3 We will issue contributions to your creditors within 30 days of our appointment to act on your behalf where the payment is deemed to have cleared, and we have been provided the appropriate information by you which will allow us to issue the payment. Where we are unable to issue a payment to your creditors due to issues arising, such as being unable to clarify the relevant information to enable us to release a payment, then this will be held by us until the information we require has been obtained, at which point, we will make an ad hoc payment on your behalf as the information becomes available in order to allow us to release the payment in question, however we will not hold a payment for more than three months. Should your payment not be received in accordance with your scheduled plan, you authorise Express Debt Solutions to distribute any credit balance to your creditors within our agreed timescale of five days where your account is active. Should you complete or leave the plan earlier than the maturity date, then the fees will be reduced accordingly by the appropriate timescale. Should your plan remain in place for longer than the specified amount of time, then your management fee will increase by the agreed monthly amount for each additional month. An example of this could be that one of your creditors continues to apply interest to your account with them, should this happen, it will increase the amount of time to clear the outstanding balance in full with them. Should this situation occur, this would increase the duration of your plan. For each month that your plan is extended, a management fee is collected, in arrears, for the work undertaken including distributing the payment on your behalf. This would then cause an increase in the overall fees payable. Whilst on your financial management plan, you are expected not to obtain any further credit. Failure to adhere to this may result in the cancellation of your account with us. During any transitional period (before we have been instructed to act upon your behalf), where payments to your creditors are not maintained, your creditors are entitled to maintain their normal collection processes, and/or take further action. Once you instruct us to act on your behalf, we will notify your creditors of our appointment, who will then allow a period breathing space for you of at least 30 days. This will allow sufficient time for us to submit proposals to your creditors on your behalf to allow your creditors time to consider them. This arrangement is an informal arrangement however as long as you maintain your repayments to your plan with us as agreed, then your creditors should fully and constructively co-operate with us. In addition to this, creditors should accept our offers, unless they are aware of information that may materially impact upon the suitability of the proposal. Your creditors will be required to respond to our offers within 10 working days of our request, and should our offers be rejected, your creditors will advise us of the reason for the rejection and the intended course of action. Should your creditors fail to respond to our offers within the 10 working day timescale, then acceptance will have been deemed by us for the offers made on your behalf. Whilst the plan continues to operate in accordance with its terms, your creditors will not take any collections or enforcement activity aimed at obtaining increased payments from you. Your creditors will place a mark on your credit file for the duration of the plan to record your participation and progress of the plan. You will also be removed from any credit related marketing lists for the duration of the plan. Should your creditors decide to sell an account to a third party debt collector, then they too will be subject to the protocol, and contractually obliged to accept the existing plan we have set up whilst it operates in accordance with its terms. We will give you a realistic timescale for completion of your financial management plan at the point of initial contact and ongoing each time your financial situation is reassessed. Creditors are not obliged to accept reduced payments or freeze interest charges that can be applied to your accounts and unless they do, repaying the same debt over a longer period of time will lead to an increase in the total amount to be repaid. However we will keep you up to date on the negotiations taking place on your behalf. Being on a financial management program may have an adverse impact on your credit file, and this may prohibit you from obtaining credit in the short, medium or long term. This information can be stored on your credit file for a period of up to six years from when you satisfy your debts. pg. 3

4 We will carry out reviews with you at least on an annual basis, and provide copies of this to you, and your creditors, at either party s request. This will be sent via post. We will also send you, every six months, a statement of account showing payments made, and outstanding balances for each account subject to the plan. We shall also carry out unscheduled financial reviews should your circumstances change at your request, throughout the duration of the plan. We will periodically review our services to you and advise you of any other services that we have access to that may be of benefit or interest to you. During the course of the plan, you agree to send us copies of any correspondence you receive from your creditors, or those acting on their behalf to avoid contradictory actions. You must not ignore any correspondence you receive from your creditors or those acting on behalf of your creditors. Whilst on the financial management plan, you are entitled to speak with or write directly to your creditors or others acting on their behalf. Whilst your plan operates as required, you will not be subject to any further legal action, however there is no guarantee that default notices or legal action will not ensue, or that any existing or threatened proceedings from your creditors will be suspended or withdrawn should you fail to maintain your agreement with us. Such actions or proceedings can lead to further costs being added. PRIORITY DEBTS Priority debts include mortgage or rent payments, council tax, gas and electric bills or any debt which, if not paid, could result in the loss of your home, liberty or essential goods and services. We cannot include priority debts within your financial management plan therefore it is important you maintain the full repayment on all of these debts. If you do fall behind with any priority debts then we can help in making payment arrangements in order to clear the arrears and the arrears payments can be included in the plan. Where arrears to priority debts have been included within your plan you understand that we will attempt to negotiate and complete relevant court paperwork for your defence, but we cannot be held liable for any possible further action that could ensue resulting from reduced payments being received by these creditors and you understand that contractual payments remain your responsibility and need to be maintained directly by you. Please note that we will not wait, especially in cases of emergencies, to negotiate on these types of accounts for you, however, we are unable to make payment to these accounts, to reduce your liability, unless a payment has been received from you, which will allow us to distribute a payment on your behalf. For clarity, a priority debt is one for which non payment could result in the consumer losing their home, their liberty or essential goods or services. Examples of a priority debt are a mortgage, rent account, utility arrears, and council tax arrears. It is important that you look to bring these accounts, including any arrears, up to date as soon as possible as to not cause yourself additional loss of your assets, or a disruption in the services being delivered to you. You must maintain your normal obligations as laid out as your expenditure within your financial statement. We will disperse any funds received from you, net of any fees payable, to your creditors within five days of them the funds being cleared. For any cleared funds that cannot be distributed within the agreed timescale of five days, we will agree to accept responsibility for this, and advise you of a timescale for when the funds will be distributed, and the reason for the delay. HOW WE WILL HANDLE YOUR MONEY All payments that we receive from you as cleared funds will be paid directly into our client account. The only payments which we will make out of our client account are (ordered in priority), the payment of our fees including any arrears, payment of the monthly repayment to your creditors in accordance with your financial management plan, or any other payments as instructed or agreed with you. If you fail to maintain your payments to your financial management plan as agreed, we reserve the right to terminate the agreement should any reasonable steps to contact you prove unsuccessful. Should there be any credit funds remaining on your account at the point of termination, then these will be retained for the costs we have incurred whilst attempting to contact you up to a maximum of You reserve the right to request the return of any documentation we hold for you, but there will be an administration charge for locating your details and confirming your security. Should you miss three or more consecutive payments we may apply an additional reactivation fee should you wish to proceed, once payments are reactivated. This amount will be your normal monthly payment amount and will be taken before we instigate payments to your creditors. pg. 4

5 OUTSOURCED AND/OR ANCILLARY SERVICES If we refer you to a nominated outsourced insolvency practitioner either for an individual voluntary arrangement or a protected trust deed, we will receive from the nominated insolvency practitioner 50% of the nominees fee once accepted at the meeting of creditors. This is for the preparation of your file that Express Debt Solutions have completed initially. Additional services may be offered during the course of your financial management plan including but not limited to: settlements service, bankruptcy service, debit card service, reclaim of bank charges service and claims for mis-selling insurance policies service. Each of these services has additional costs payable. You are not required to instigate any of these options, but should you decide to do so, the fees will then become payable for any work which is carried out on your behalf, but only where it is appropriate, and where you agree to it. If you cancel your agreement with us whilst still within your cooling off period, a administration fee will become payable for any work completed by us for any client who uses our repossession service. This does not affect your cooling off period for the financial management plan/iva/trust Deed and any excess difference will be refunded to you directly. The repossession service fee is non refundable in all cases for the documentation we complete on your behalf. If you are actively on a financial management plan, and you are referred for another one of our services either because it is more beneficial, or at your own request, a referral fee will be taken by us for the referral made. The Referral fee amounts are available on request. You duly authorise (us) to act on your behalf and for anyone else named on your account with us, for additional services which may be more appropriate; or at yours or any party named on your account with us. This includes but not limited to; IVA s (Individual Voluntary Arrangements), PTD (protected Trust Deeds), full and final debt settlement, repossession assistance, bankruptcy assistance, of which the appropriate fees are payable and available upon request. If you instruct us to complete work on any additional service named above (but not limited to), then you are duly authorised to do so for all parties named on the account, and have sufficient authority to cover any cost for these fees for services carried out, and for us to debit the fees accordingly. RIGHT OF SUBJECT ACCESS: We only collect data that is 'personally identifiable' to the extent deemed necessary to serve our legitimate business purposes. We ensure that safeguards are in place for the security and privacy of that information. You have the right to review, correct and delete information from our records, subject to certain conditions. Please contact the Head of Compliance should you have any concerns about any aspect of the information we hold. If at any time you opt out of being updated we will cease all such future disclosure of data. Information held by us will be processed only for purposes for which we have registered under the Data Protection Act. Upon you making a request in writing we will provide you with a copy of the information which we hold concerning you, on payment of a fee. We work closely with a number of specialist companies that offer a range of financial products, including but not limited to; secured loans, re-mortgages, Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA), financial management, trust deeds, unsecured loans, car finance, right-to-buy (RTB). We try, where possible, to offer you a number of different options to consider, in order to best resolve your financial situation and you may be contacted by one of these specialist companies, if it appears that from the information you submit to us, they may be able to help you. We reserve the right to amend any points contained within the terms and conditions provided that twenty eight days notice is given to you in writing in advance of any amendments being made. We reserve the right to transfer our responsibility to another party at any point provided that 30 days notification is given in writing to anyone using our services at the time of any proposed transfer. I confirm that I have read the terms and conditions of business, and by signing this, I agree to adhere to these. EDS<<ClientID>> pg. 5