Terms of Engagement
Terms of Engagement for the appointment of Belmont Thornton Limited to act on the Client's behalf in all aspects of the administration & negotiation of the Claim.
1. Definitions
1.1 "Agreement" means these Terms of Engagement, the Letter of Authority and the Privacy Policy. The Agreement is between Belmont Thornton and the Client for the provision of the services which shall be carried out in accordance with these Terms.
1.2 "Belmont Thornton" means Belmont Thornton Limited, a limited liability company and a third party claims handler, registered in England and Wales with number 6621233 having its head office at 9 Linnet Gardens, Portishead, Bristol, BS20 7NB and registered office at Harwood House, 43 Harwood Road, London, SW6 4QP.
1.3 "Claim(s)" means the Client's claim or claims against the Company relating to the mis-selling of a payment protection insurance policy or policies; or the mis-selling of a packaged bank account(s) of the client; or the application of unlawful charges to the account(s) of the client.
1.4 "Client" means the policyholder(s)/account holder(s), whose details are set out in the Letter of Authority and who have appointed Belmont Thornton to provide the Services.
1.5 "Company" means the Financial Institution and or persons whom the Letter of Authority is addressed being the Insurance Company, Bank, Building Society, Credit Card Company or Financial Advisor or any other entity which sold the policy or gave the advice to the Client, or applied the unlawful charges (including, for the avoidance of doubt, any employee, director, agents, representatives and associates of the said entities or any other entity and/or any of their predecessors).
1.6 "Compensation" means the gross total of any reasonable sums offered by the Company as a result of a Claim, including, but not limited to, gestures of goodwill, interest, reductions in borrowing and or arrears, and repayment of premiums. It also includes the non-application of interest which means where a bank or other institution has elected not to apply interest on any arrears and therefore interest charges previously accrued have been waived, the amount of that waiver will form part of the compensation awarded.
1.7 "Fee" means the fee of 20% of the Compensation before any deductions, plus VAT (24% inclusive of VAT) - payable to Belmont Thornton for the Services carried out by it. For example, if Belmont Thornton recovers £1,000 Compensation, the Fee would be £240. A further example being where compensation is £3,000 which is applied as a reduction in the Client's loan of £2,000 and a cash payment of £1,000, Belmont Thornton's fee would be £600. A further example being where compensation is £10,000, Belmont Thornton's fee would be £2,400.
1.8 "Letter of Authority" means the letter included in the claim pack to be sent to the Company authorising Belmont Thornton to act for the Client.
1.9 "Reasonable expenses" includes, without limitation, an initial assessment fee of £15 +VAT, letter to the Company at £15 +VAT per letter. All other work undertaken will be charged at a rate of £25 +VAT per hour, on a pro rata basis.
1.10 "Services" means the services provided by Belmont Thornton including assessing the viability of, preparing, submitting and negotiating your Claim.
1.11 "Terms" means the Terms of Engagement.
1.12 "Unsuccessful Claim" means one where no compensation is offered by the Company.
1.13 "VAT" means Value Added Tax to be charged at the applicable rate.
2. Conduct of Engagement
2.1 Notwithstanding clauses 6.1 and 6.2, by signing the Letter of Authority the Client hereby agrees to be bound by the Terms and Privacy Policy and appoints Belmont Thornton to provide the Services.
3. The Client's Obligations
The Client(s) agrees:-
3.1 to provide Belmont Thornton with his/her/their consent and full authority to deal with the Company on the Client's behalf and obtain relevant information from whatever source on a continuing basis by completing and signing the Letter of Authority;
3.2 to provide all necessary and complete information and documents to Belmont Thornton in order that Belmont Thornton may assess and pursue any Claim and in so doing expressly warrants that all information and documents provided to Belmont Thornton will be accurate;
3.3 to deal promptly with all reasonable requests by Belmont Thornton for authority, information, documents and further instructions that Belmont Thornton may from time to time require. In the event the Client(s) breaches this term and/or 3.4 below, and fails to act in accordance with those terms, Belmont Thornton will notify the Client of the breach and give the Client 14 days within which to remedy the breach. In the event the Client does not remedy the breach Belmont Thornton will be entitled terminate the Agreement forthwith and the Client will remain liable for any Reasonable expenses incurred by Belmont Thornton for the work carried out prior to the date of such notification;
3.4 to promptly inform Belmont Thornton of any relevant matters affecting the Claim and forward any documentation received from the Company in respect of the Claim;
3.5 to authorise the Company to remit the Compensation to Belmont Thornton and for Belmont Thornton to retain the Fee before paying the Client. Notwithstanding such agreement, the Client agrees that in the event the Company pays the Compensation directly to the Client, the Client will pay Belmont Thornton the Fee, which will become immediately due and payable by the Client to Belmont Thornton;
3.6 to give Belmont Thornton the right to deal exclusively with the Claim unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Client and Belmont Thornton;
3.7 to pay Belmont Thornton the Fee within 28 days of notification of any reasonable offer to pay Compensation (Belmont Thornton reserves the right to refer debts to a collection agency and/or to pursue legal action which may result in the Client being charged further fees);
3.8 to pay Belmont Thornton the Fee in respect of any additional, successful Claim or Claims arising as a result of the Company investigating any additional policies/charges and making offers of Compensation in relation to those additional policies/charges, following the submission of an initial Claim submitted by Belmont Thornton on behalf of the Client, whether or not that initial Claim included those matters then investigated by the Company.
4. Belmont Thornton's Obligations
Belmont Thornton agrees:-
4.1 to assess the viability of, prepare, submit and negotiate the Claim. In so doing Belmont Thornton will, at all times, act reasonably and will be entitled to use its sole discretion in determining whether or not to proceed with the Claim (this does not affect your right to withdraw);
4.2 to notify the Client, as soon as is reasonably possible, of the outcome of the Claim;
4.3 to pay the Client the balance of the Compensation after deduction of the Fee, as soon as is reasonably possible, following the settlement of a Claim and the payment of Compensation by the Company to Belmont Thornton;
4.4 to preserve the Client's confidentiality, including the Client's personal information (even when this Agreement has terminated and the Client is no longer a client), save as expressly set out in the Privacy Policy, or authorised to the contrary including when disclosure is made at the Client's request or with the Client's consent in relation to pursuing the Claim or where otherwise required by law;
4.5 not to make any charge in respect of an Unsuccessful Claim, save for the circumstances set out in clause 6.2, 6.3 and 6.4 below.
5. Limitation of Liability
5.1 Belmont Thornton does not accept liability where a claim is rejected by the lending institution and/or the Financial Ombudsman or for the amount of any Compensation offered/refunded, save for in circumstances it has not performed its contractual obligations.
5.2 Belmont Thornton will not be liable for the accuracy of the information and documents provided by the Client.
5.3 Belmont Thornton does not audit, test or check information or documents provided by the Client save for in circumstances it is under a legal obligation to do so.
6. Withdrawal & Termination
Withdrawal
6.1 Within 14 days of signing the Letter of Authority, the Client may withdraw from this Agreement by notifying Belmont Thornton. There is a cancellation form you can use to cancel during this period if you wish. It is available on our website or on request.
Termination
6.2 The Client may terminate the Agreement at any time by advising Belmont Thornton in writing. Where the Client terminates outside of the 14 day withdrawal period, Belmont Thornton is entitled to charge for all Reasonable expenses incurred in dealing with the Claim. The Client must pay such expenses without delay and no later than 30 calendar days of Belmont Thornton informing the Client.
6.3 In the event the Client terminates after the receipt of any reasonable offer of Compensation, the Fee remains due in full and payable by the Client to Belmont Thornton within 28 days of receipt.
6.4 If the Client fails to remedy any breach after being served with proper notice Belmont Thornton will be entitled to terminate this Agreement and demand immediate payment of all Reasonable expenses incurred by Belmont Thornton in dealing with the Claim or Claims.
7. Complaints and Dispute Resolution
7.1 Complaints can be made verbally by calling 0207 471 2000 or in writing via email to complaints@belmontthornton.co.uk or by post to Belmont Thornton Limited, 9 Linnet Gardens, Portishead, Bristol, BS20 7NB.
7.2 Belmont Thornton will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 5 working days.
7.3 The Client's complaint will be investigated by the customer services manager and overseen by the compliance officer. Belmont Thornton will be as thorough as possible and aim to resolve the complaint promptly, giving reasons for its decision. Wherever possible, that person will not have been directly involved in the matter which is the subject of the complaint, and will have the authority to settle the complaint.
7.4 If Belmont Thornton is unable to send the Client a final response within 4 weeks, Belmont Thornton will contact the Client and explain why. Belmont Thornton will then endeavour to issue a final response within the next 4 weeks.
7.5 If the Client is not satisfied with Belmont Thornton's response, or if a complaint is not resolved after eight weeks, the Client may refer the complaint to the Claims Management Ombudsman, Exchange Tower, London, E14 9SR. Tel: 0800 023 4567; Web: https://cmc.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.
8. General
8.1 The Client is hereby advised that the Client may complain directly to the Company at no cost, with the ability to take matters further with the Financial Ombudsman.
8.2 Belmont Thornton is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in respect of regulated claims management activities FRN:838450.
9. Governing Law
9.1 This Agreement shall be subject to the laws of England and Wales.
V21 - September 2020