Conditional Fee Agreement

Conditional Fee Agreement [Contract]

Version V: 0421

By signing our Conditional Fee Agreement, you are entering into a legally binding contract with Sanderson Drake Limited.
If you change your mind, you may cancel this contract within your “14 day cooling off period” without charge.

By entering into this contract, you confirm you have received and read to our Pre-Contract Information, and this Conditional Fee Agreement.
You should not sign this contract until you have read and agree to these terms. If there is anything you do not understand, you should contact us before signing either; by telephone on 01554 57500; or emailing us on contact@sandersondrake.co.uk

You understand that We offer a professional paid-for claims management service. You do not need to use a claims management company to make your complaint to my lender, and if your complaint is not successful you can refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service yourself free of charge.

1. Meanings:
1.1. “Company/Us/We/Our” means Sanderson Drake Limited. Company Registration Number: 10921548.
1.2. “You/Your” means the ____________________________, the person signing the Conditional Fee Agreement.
1.3. “CMC” means a Claims Management Company, regulated by the FCA
1.4. “Lender” means the company your Claim is against.
1.5. “FCA” means the Financial Conduct Authority.
1.6. “FOS” means the Financial Ombudsman Service.
1.7. “FSCS” means the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
1.8. “Conditional Fee Agreement” means the terms and conditions set out within this document.
1.9. “Free Assessment” means an initial review of your credit report and a fact-find to establish if you have a potential Claim.
1.10. “Claim Pack/Claim Application Pack” means our documentation sent to you following our Free Assessment.
1.11. “Claim” means the complaint raised by us against my lender to obtain Compensation following our Service.
1.12. “Services/Our Obligations” means any and all of actions We take in representing you during your Claim against your Lender
1.13. “14 Day Cooling Period” means the first to the fourteenth days inclusive of the day you sign your Conditional Fee Agreement.
1.14. “Fee/Success Fee” means the amount payable under your Conditional Fee Agreement as a result of Compensation.
1.15. “Redress/Compensation” means a financial benefit offered by your Lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service as a result of a Claim.
1.16. “Settlement Proposal” means an offer from your Lender, or where the Financial Ombudsman Service makes a recommendation, adjudication or decision with or without the calculations of Redress.
1.17. “Cash Award” means where actual money is received by you from your Lender after any tax deductions.
1.18. “Balance Reduction” means where you receive no physical money, but your outstanding balance is reduced with your Lender.
1.19. “Combination Award” means where you receive both a Cash Award and a Balance Reduction with your Lender.
1.20. “Product Type” means the type of Claim on a financial products/service such as; (i) short term loan / payday loan (ii) high cost (bad credit) lending (iii) guarantor lending (iv) credit limit increase (v) unfair charges and (vi) notice of sum in arrears.
1.21. “Successful” means where an offer has been received which has been deemed Acceptable and/or the most that a claim may be offered.
1.22. “Unsuccessful” / “Lost” means your claim is rejected without merit to pursue.
1.23. “Acceptable” means there is little chance in increasing the offer received or where the offer is line with the Financial Ombudsman Services guidelines.
1.24. “Breach Of Contract” means where you failed to adhere to your Conditional Fee Agreement.
1.25. “Debt Collection Fees” means additional charges applied to an invoice as a result of non-payment of your invoice.

2. Our Obligations:
2.1. We will handle your Claim with reasonable skill, care and diligence ensuring we maintain our regulatory rules, conduct and requirements.
2.2. We provide an initial assessment and fact-find free of charge prior to providing you with our findings and Claim Application Pack where applicable.
2.3. We will provide you with details to why we have not found sufficient merit for your claim of irresponsible lending where applicable and provide a
statement of your rights to raise a claim yourself directly to your lender.
2.4. We will update you on the progress of your Claim by email, SMS and telephone throughout the process; (i) Upon submission of the complaint, (ii) Acknowledgement of the complaint, (iii) When your Lenders decision to the complaint is due, (iv) Where any additional information is requested by your Lender in pursuing your claim (v) Upon receipt of your Lenders response, (vi) Upon receipt of your Lenders response, we will conduct a review and provide you with our view to their findings. Where a complaint is sent to the Financial Ombudsman Service for review, we will provide you updates as the claim progresses; (vii) Claim submission (viii) Acknowledgement of receipt (ix) Assignment of the claim to an Adjudicator, (x) Upon receipt of an assessment, (xi) Upon receipt of any requests for further information.
2.5. We will look to obtain instruction from you where necessary and always where your Lender has provided a Settlement Proposal.
2.6. We will reasonably assume that account information and calculations provided by your Lender are accurate. If you believe the information provided by your lender is incorrect, we will seek evidence from you of this before taking any action.
2.7. We will not provide financial or debt advice.

3. Your Obligations:
3.1. You confirm that you have not pursued or attempted to make a claim previously.
3.2. You agree that by signing our Letter of Authority and the Conditional Fee Agreement that we are appointed to act solely on your behalf.
3.3. You agree not to contact your Lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service to withdraw our authority without cancelling the contract with Us first.
3.4. You agree to provide us with prompt information about your personal details and your financial situation as we may reasonably require in order to provide Claim Services. You agree to inform us of any change of information during the course of our Claim Services i.e. change in address, change in contact details, etc.
3.5. You agree to read and complete all paperwork necessary to provide us with authority to pursue your claim on your behalf and contact us if there is anything you do not understand.
3.6. You agree to provide Us with any additional or necessary documents reasonably required to support and/or further pursue your claim, including but not limited to; (i) identification (ii) bank statements (iii) credit report (iv) lender documentation or correspondence (v) any other necessary documents.
3.7. You agree to inform us immediately should your lender contact you directly to discuss a claim or make a payment to you directly.
3.8. Where your lender pays you Compensation, you agree to pay our fees within the timescales required (please see Our Fees & Charges).
3.9. You acknowledge that the making of a Claim may lead to your lender withdrawing your access to further borrowing on their financial products.
3.10. You agree that You will keep Your contact information up to date at all times.
3.11. You agree not to display any form of; (a) abusive behaviour, (b) malicious communication including liable or slander, (c) threatening (d) aggressive towards
to Us or our employees during communication.

4. Our Fees & Charges:
4.1. We charge a percentage-based Success Fee, also known as a “No Win, No Fee” agreement based upon the conditions of this Conditional Fee Agreement.
4.2. Our Fee is inclusive of VAT and percentage of the total monetary redress offered in a Settlement Proposal; this can be a Cash Award (1.17), Balance Reduction (1.18) or Combination Award (1.19).
Below is an illustration of our fees. This illustration should not be taken as an estimate of the amount likely to be recovered as redress if you have a
successful claim. The figures below are for illustration purposes only and the amount you pay may be more or less than the amount shown

Band Redress Awarded (£) What we will charge you (including VAT) (%) Max Total Fee Payable
1
1-1,499
36.0 %
£504
2
1,500-9,999
33.6 %
£3,000
3
10,000-24,999
30.0 %
£6,000
4
25,000-49,999
24.0 %
£9,000
5
50,000
17.5 %
£12,000

Based on the information we know about your claim it is most likely that you would have to pay us ___% of the redress awarded to you in the event of a successful claim. The maximum you will have to pay is £_____ as highlighted band shown above.
4.3. Where a full balance reduction takes place, you will not receive any cash and you will need to pay our fee by an alternative source or pay us in instalments.
4.4. Where your Claim is not successful with no Compensation made in any Settlement Proposal, no fee is due.
4.5. Where your Claim is successful, a Success Fee will be charged.
4.6. Our Success Fee is payable within 21 days of issue, unless;
(i) You are to receive a Cash Award (1.17), Balance Reduction (1.18) or Combination Award (1.19) and You have not received payment by the invoice due date. Where this happens, We will extend the due date until the Compensation Award has been received by You.
(ii) You are to receive a Combination Award (1.19) in which case, We require payment of the Cash Award to be made by the invoice due date and a payment plan arranged/or requested before the invoice due date. Or
(iii) You are to receive a Balance Reduction Award (1.18) in which case, we require a payment plan arranged/or requested before the invoice due date.
4.7. Where a payment plan is required, this will be offered based upon your affordability. We may require 30 to 60 days of Your bank statements to assess your affordability. Where requested, we will require bank statements to be provided within a reasonable amount of time however where unavailable, we will provide an extension of 30 days from the date of invoice for these to be provided to Us. Where bank statements are provided for an eligible payment plan, We will contact you to arrange a repayment plan within 21 days.

5. Additional Charges:
5.1. Where an invoice remains unpaid after the invoice due date, you may incur additional charges including multiple Arrears Fees of £20.
You may incur the following legal fees:
(ii) Where a debt is severely overdue and is prepared for Court proceedings, legal fees of £73.50 will be applied to your invoice.
(ii) Where a debt is prepared for Court proceedings, a court processing fee of £35 will be applied to your invoice.
(iii) Where a debt is issued to the Court, any Court Fees will be applied to your invoice.
(vi) 8% interest will be applied to your invoice when issued to Court, with a further 8% interest applied where a Judgement is issued against You.
(v) Where a debt is passed for enforcement/debt recovery action, You will remain liable for any additional fees incurred to recover the monies due.
(vi) Where we receive notification that you are no longer residing at the address we hold on file for you, We will attempt to obtain your updated details.
If these are not provided, We may conduct a track and trace resulting in additional charges being incurred.

6. Cancellation Rights:
6.1. You can cancel our service without charge within your 14-day cooling off period without reason.
6.2. After the expiry of your 14-day cooling off period, you may cancel our service at any time however a fee may be charged depending on the stage of your claim.
– If a Final Response has not been provided and/or there has been no offer/proposal, no fee will be due; or
– If an offer/proposal has been made and deemed acceptable, with no acceptance provided, a Success Fee will apply.
– If You have accepted an offer/proposal and cancel after acceptance, a Success Fee will apply.
6.3. If You withdraw Our authority and We have reason to belief that an Offer/Proposal has been made, a Success Fee will be charged based upon the average claim value for the last 12 months. This will be amended where a copy of the Offer/Proposal is received with the lesser value or where we are reinstated to confirm the final response by Your Lender.
6.4. You can notify us of cancellation of our Claim Services as follows:
– E-mail: contact@sandersondrake.co.uk
– Telephone: 01554 575000
– Writing: Sanderson Drake Limited, 41 Murray Street, Llanelli, SA15 1BQ
6.5. We may ask You why You are cancelling our Claim Services and use this information to improve our Claim Services. You are under no obligation to tell us why You cancelled.
6.6. Where You cancel Our Services directly with Us, We will update the Lender and/or the Financial Ombudsman Service of Your request to cancel the claim.
6.7. We may cancel the Conditional Fee Agreement where We do not consider a Claim has appropriate merit, where a claim is uneconomical for the company or where an actual or potential regulatory or commercial conflict of interest arises. Where We cancel pursuant to this clause, there will be no charge.

7. Complaints
7.1. If You are unhappy with our service or wish to raise a complaint, you may do so by
(i) E-mail: complaints@sandersondrake.co.uk
(ii) Telephone: 01554 575000
(iii) Writing: Sanderson Drake Limited, 41 Murray Street, Llanelli, SA15 1BQ
7.2. We aim to resolve any complaint as soon as possible. If we are unable to do so within 3 business days, we will;
– Acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days.
– Provide You with Our Final Response within 8 weeks.
– Where we are unable to provide you with our Final Response within 8 weeks, we will provide you with your rights to progress the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
– If You remain unhappy with Our Final Response, You may refer the complaint to the Claims Management Ombudsman, a Financial Ombudsman Service free of charge within 6 months of the Final Response date.
– Where We require more information from You, We ask that is provided promptly in order to assist our investigations. If this is not received, We may make a decision based on the information available to Us at the time of investigation.
7.3. Where We uphold your complaint, compensation/redress may be offered but may not always involve a financial award such as an apology.
7.4. If you are not satisfied with our decision regarding a complaint about us and you have allowed us the relevant timeframes to respond to you, you can refer this to the Claims Management Ombudsman (CMO), a Financial Ombudsman Service by:
(i) Website: https://cmc.financial-ombudsman.org.uk
(ii) Telephone: 0800 023 4567
(iii) Writing: Claims Management Ombudsman, Exchange Tower, Harbour Exchange, London, E14 9SR
7.5. Time limits apply to the Complaints meaning You have six months to approach the Claims Management Ombudsman from the date of Our Final Response, or where Your complaint is not resolved by us after 8 weeks.

8. Limitations Of Our Liability
8.1. We shall not be liable for any costs or losses You incur as a result of:
– Lack of co-operation
– Failure to read and understand the documentation that We have provided to You where such information is reasonably clear or where you could have taken steps to clarify information
– Failure to give Us accurate or up to date information in a reasonable timescale
– Delays or loss of information caused by postal methods or email service providers
– Matters that We cannot reasonably control
– Losses which cannot be reasonably foreseen or which You could have taken steps to prevent

9. Your Personal Data
9.1. We take the privacy of your personal information very seriously and will only use the information provided to us as outlined in our Privacy Policy which can be viewed at https://sandersondrake.com/privacy-policy
9.2. We will not disclose Your personal data to third parties without Your consent or where We have a lawful or legitimate basis.

10. Termination
10.1. The Conditional Fee Agreement will terminate upon completion of Our Services and/or upon payment of all fees due to Us.
10.2. This Conditional Fee Agreement will be resurrected upon our written notice to You in the circumstance where there is a legitimate basis that additional compensation may be due to You (for example; as a result of a regulatory change, court order, audit, the Lenders error or concealment or some other relevant basis).
10.3. Upon the invoice raised, you will have 21 days to make the payment in full.

11. General
11.1. We reserve the right to recover the cost incurred as a result of unpaid fees, tracing fees, court, legal and enforcement fees where it is necessary to take further action.
11.2. In the event of a conflict, the provisions of this agreement will be interpreted in line with prevailing statutory and regulatory rules.
11.3. If any part of Your Conditional Fee Agreement is deemed to be invalid or unenforceable, other terms shall not be affected and will read to give effect to the intended spirit of the overall Conditional Fee Agreement.
11.4. Your Conditional Fee Agreement will apply post termination where necessary to give effect to the agreement, its purpose and intention.
11.5. This agreement is subject to the laws and exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

Declaration & Acceptance:

I, ______________ confirm that I have read and accept the terms within this Claim Application Pack V0421.

I am aware that I may contact Sanderson Drake should I not understand any points within this Claim Application Pack prior to agreeing to these terms.

Signed:

________________________________________

Dated:

________________________________________