These are the ‘terms of business’ under which we operate and we strongly recommend that you read this important document, which explains about our terms of business, the service you are being offered and how you will pay for it. If you are unsure about anything within this document, please contact us at your earliest opportunity.
Regulatory Status
Beech Finance Ltd of Venture House, Cross Street, Macclesfield. SK11 7PG is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Our Financial Services Register number is 662360.
We are permitted to advise on and arrange (bring about) deals in regulated mortgage contracts and Consumer Buy-To-Let (CBTL) mortgages and to act as a Credit Broker and offer Debt Adjusting and Debt Counselling services.
You can check this on the Financial Services Register by visiting the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) website www.fca.org.uk/firms/systems-reporting/register by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768.
The FCA is an independent watchdog that regulates financial services and this document is for those consumers considering buying certain financial products.
This agreement will commence once it has been signed and remain in force until it is cancelled in accordance with our terms under the heading ‘Termination of Authority’.
We can act for you if you live in the UK although there may be restrictions on how we can engage with you, if you are currently staying in the UK, but normally live abroad or you are currently staying in the UK but plan to move abroad or return to another country. Please ask us for details if you think this may apply to you.
Client Money
Beech Finance Ltd does not handle clients’ money. We never accept cash or a cheque made payable to us, unless it is payment in settlement of adviser charges or disbursements for which we have sent you an invoice.
Client Categorisation
In providing services to you, we will categorise you as you as a retail customer/consumer as this provides you with the highest level of protection under the UK regulatory system.
If we have categorised you as anything other than a retail customer, we will confirm this in writing to you. You may request re-categorisation under a client category that benefits from a higher degree of protection although we reserve the right to agree to such a re-categorisation, on a case-by-case basis, and where we agree to do so, it does not necessarily mean that you will have a right of access to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Our Services
The services provided by Beech Finance Ltd are detailed within this ‘Terms of Business’ letter together with our charges for providing these services. Your signature on this document is your agreement and consent to these terms. We agree to provide the services selected and you agree to pay us for those services.
We offer an initial discussion, (without charge) where we will describe our services more fully and explain the payment options. Following our initial discussion, should you decide to go ahead, there is a cost for our advice and services.
Any advice or recommendation the we offer to you will only be given after we have assessed your needs and considered your financial objectives and attitude toward the risks involved. Unless confirmed in writing, to the contrary, we will assume that you do not wish to place any restrictions on the advice we give you.
We will also provide with you with a Keyfacts Illustration (KFI) or European Standardised Information Sheet (ESIS) which is a personalised description of the costs and features of the regulated mortgage we are recommending. You may ask us to provide you with additional KFI’s or EISI’s for any regulated mortgage for which you are eligible.
Mode Of Communication
We will enter into communication with you through whatever means are convenient to you and us, including face-to-face, telephone, e-mail and other acceptable electronic communication methods. All communications will be in English.
Conflicts Of Interest
Beech Finance Ltd offers advice in accordance with that described in this document. However, occasions may arise where we, or one of our other clients, 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 conflicts 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.
Applicable Law and Jurisdiction
These terms of business will be interpreted and construed in accordance with English law and is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts, except if your address is in Scotland, when the courts of Scotland shall have non-exclusive jurisdiction.
Home Finance
We offer mortgage products in the following ‘relevant market(s)’:
- Regulated mortgage contracts that are used for a non-business purpose;
We provide an advised service on a limited range of second charge regulated mortgage contracts, from a panel of ten lenders. We do not advise on first charge mortgages or on deals that you can only obtain by going direct to a lender. We can provide you with a list of these lenders, upon request, but please remember that this panel may change from time to time.
We also advise and arrange Consumer Buy-To-Let (CBTL) mortgages where the intention is to purchase a property for rental to a family member/relative.
Alternative Finance Options
You should note that where we provide services in relation to increased borrowing on an existing mortgaged property, there might be alternative options available to you, which 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 needed.
Where your existing mortgage is a first charge against the property, a second charge may be available and where the existing mortgage is a second charge, a first charge loan may be available.
Direct Mortgage Deals
We advise on second charge mortgage products from a limited number of lenders. This means that we only source a regulated mortgage from this range of lenders. Certain lenders may offer products direct to the public, rather than via an intermediary, such as Beech Finance Ltd, with more favourable terms. The recommendation made to you will be based on the most suitable mortgage product incorporated within the range available to us.
Unregulated Home Finance
We also advise and arrange Buy-To-Let mortgages which are by way of business, these are unregulated and do not benefit from the protection of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and are subject to a separate disclosure document, which will be provided, should you wish us to advise or arrange a Buy-To-Let mortgage.
Provision of information by you
We seek to ensure that any personal information we hold about you should remain accurate and up to date; as this could affect the advice we give you. Therefore, please let us know if there are any significant changes to your personal details, when they occur.
If we ask you to fill out any forms or documents, you must do this promptly, accurately and honestly. You may be committing a criminal offence by completing a form with information that is not accurate or truthful. We will not be liable to you if you suffer financially because you have not completed a form or document truthfully or accurately. As and when requested you must provide instructions to us in a timely and clear manner during the course of your work.
Credit References
To help us identify the most suitable lender from the range of lenders available to us, we may need to obtain a credit check through a credit reference agency such as Experian, Call Credit or Equifax. The credit search we undertake will NOT leave a footprint on your credit file, until you are ready to apply. If you wish to know which credit agency we use, please ask us to provide you with their name and address.
Credit reference agencies collate a wide range of information from various sources to include data from the electoral roll, details of County Court Judgements (CCJ), bankruptcies, previous and existing credit commitments of how punctual payments are being made (or have been made) together with a record of searches made against your credit file.
On-Going Service
If we have arranged a regulated mortgage contract for you, these will not be kept under review (unless agreed otherwise in writing), but we will advise you on these, upon your request.
Payment for Services
We typically charge a fixed Broker Fee of 10% of the mortgage amount, which is payable upon completion of the regulated mortgage contract. You can either pay this Broker Fee direct and we will invoice you for payment or the Broker Fee can be added to the amount you borrow. Where we are to charge you a fee, this will be confirmed within a separate fee agreement.
For example, if the regulated mortgage contract was for a loan of £20,000 and our fee was 10%, we would receive £2,000. We may also be paid a commission from the lender. Please contact us if you would like to know the likely amount of this commission.
You will receive a Keyfacts illustration (KFI) or European Standardised Information Sheet (ESIS) when considering a particular regulated mortgage, which will also tell you about any fees relating to it.
Indirect Benefits
We may receive non-monetary benefits from product providers and lenders. We will tell you before the transaction if we will receive some form of benefit that is above the level we have set as ‘reasonable’.
Termination Of Authority
You or we may terminate 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 services already provided/transactions already initiated, which will be completed according to the Terms of Business, unless otherwise agreed in writing. You will be liable to pay for any transactions made or carried out prior to termination and any adviser charges or other fees, which may be outstanding.
Cancellation Rights
In the case of a regulated mortgage contract, there is no such right to withdraw or cancel the transaction, once this has been accepted/concluded.
Complaints
If you are unhappy with any service or any recommendation we have made to you, you are entitled to make a complaint. We have a documented complaints procedure and this is available upon request. If you wish to register a complaint, please contact us:
- By writing to: Beech Finance Ltd, Venture House, Cross Street, Macclesfield. SK11 7PG
- By telephoning: 01625 613933
We will take any complaint seriously and review this accordingly and if you cannot settle your complaint with us, you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Further details about the FOS are available on it website www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk
Your Protection
We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and 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. Mortgage advising and arranging is covered up to a maximum limit of £50,000.
Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS are available on its website at www.fscs.org.uk
Data Protection
The information you have provided is subject to the Data Protection Act 1998 (the “Act”). By signing this document you consent to us or any company associated with us processing, both manually and by electronic means, your ‘personal data’ for the purposes of providing advice, administration and management.
“Processing” includes obtaining, recording or holding information or data, transferring it to other companies associated with us, product providers, the FCA or any other statutory, governmental or regulatory body for legitimate purposes including, where relevant, to solicitors and/or other debt collection agencies for debt collection purposes and carrying out operations on the information or data.
If at any time you wish us or any company associated with us to cease processing your personal data or sensitive personal data, or contacting you for marketing purposes, please:
- Telephone our Data Protection Officer on 01625 613933; or
- Write to Beech Finance Ltd Venture House, Cross Street, Macclesfield. SK11 7PG
We will treat all personal data and sensitive personal data as confidential and will not process it other than for a legitimate purposes. Steps will be taken to ensure that the information is accurate, kept up to date and not kept for longer than is necessary. Measures will also be taken to safeguard against unauthorised or unlawful processing and accidental loss or destruction or damage to the data.
Subject to certain exceptions, you are entitled to have access to your personal and sensitive personal data held by us. You may be charged a fee (subject to the statutory maximum) for supplying you with such data.
Client Consent
This is our standard terms of business upon which we intend to rely. For your own benefit and protection you should read the terms carefully before signing, as by signing you consent to the terms contained within. If there are any terms within this agreement that you do not understand, please ask for further information. These terms of business will come into effect from the date of acceptance of this agreement, which will be confirmed by the date provided in the ‘Date of Issue’ box below, unless otherwise stated. This will replace any previous agreements we may have with you and will only be modified, where confirmed in writing.
By proceeding with an application:
I/We authorise the transfer of personal information on a confidential basis and in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998, between Beech Finance Ltd and any relevant third parties.
I/We agree that Beech Finance Ltd. or any such third party may contact me in the future by any means of communications (including electronic communications eg email) considered appropriate at the time.
I/We also confirm that I/We are happy/not happy (delete as applicable) to give Beech Finance Ltd.
Express consent to contact by telephone, email or post, to discuss, advise or arrange a regulated mortgage product in the future.