TERMS OF BUSINESS
1. Definition of Terms
“Agreement” means Our agreement with You incorporating these Terms of Business for the provision by Us to You of the services.
“Letter of Authority” means the letter by which You give Us authority to speak to Our Professionals regarding your situation. It is also the letter signed and returned to Our professionals giving them authority to speak with your creditors, lenders, brokers or any third parties regarding the service.
“Creditors” means the people or organisations in respect of which you have advised Us that You owe money to.
“Fees” means the fees payable by You to Us for Audit and Claims products. Regarding Debt Solutions “Fees” means the fees paid to our Professionals.
“Living Expenses” means any household expenditure which you require to cover Your normal day to day living requirements (eg rent, mortgage (s), council tax, utility bills etc) and which We agreed with You in connection with the Management Account.
“Management Account” sometimes referred to as “Client Account” both meaning the plan of repayments to Creditors. Only refers to Debt Solutions.
“Period” means the period commencing on the start of this Agreement during which We or Our Professionals provide the service.
“Services” means the debt advice, debt solution/product preparations, audit advice & preparation, claims advice, submission of quotes for mortgages, insurances and other products We agree to offer to You.
“Debt Solutions” Debt Management Plans (DMP), Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA), Assisted Bankruptcy and Informal Full & Final Settlements.
“Contract” refers to the obligations between You and Our Professionals, this can also mean Our Professionals Terms of Business.
“Compensation Payment” means the amount paid to You in respect of any successful claims and audits.
“Success Fee” means the percentage that will be payable to Our Professional in the form of a success fee as detailed in Our Professionals Terms of Business.
“Initial Fees” This is a fee charged direct by Us for a service that You require. This fee is paid up front before a Service is implemented and will cover all Our costs for the Service required.
“Tailor Made Solution” means the full solution the We put together for You based on Your current circumstances and Your Future Goals/Plans. This is the process that We would manage Our Professional to fulfil Your requirements.
“Cooling off Period” means the first 7 days you enter into an agreement with Us. See Our Professionals Terms and Conditions if You require their cooling off period details (Claims only).
“Unsecured Debts” inc Credit Cards, Personal Loans, Store cards, Overdrafts, Catalogue accounts, Utility Arrears and in some cases Mortgage & Secured Loan arrears.
“Terms of Business” means these terms and conditions or Our Professionals terms and conditions.
“We” or “Our” or “Us” means DPSP. Registered Office: 65 Heath Gap Road, Cannock, Staffs WS11 6DY. Licensed under Consumer Credit Licence Number 620631 in the name of CLR PR Ltd. Ministry of Justice Registration Number CRM21101 in the name of Debt & Property Solutions Plus Ltd.
“You” or “Your” or “Client” means the person to whom the letter enclosing these Terms of Business is address (and that person’s partner where any debts, claims or audits are in joint names).
“Our Professional” or “Their” or “Them” means the individual or company that We have a business agreement with and Introduce You to depending on Your requirements. These Professionals support Us to help Us achieve the service and products You require.
2 Agreement
2.1 You request Us and We agree to provide You with the Services in accordance with these Terms of Business.
2.2 This Agreement will start on the day which You confirm Your acceptance of these Terms of Business either by telephone or by returning a signed copy of these Terms of Business or (if earlier) the day on which We receive payment or part payment to any invoice.
3. Your & Our Rights to Cancel
3.1 You may wish to cancel this Agreement at any time during the first 7 days of this agreement, otherwise known as the cooling off period.
3.2 You will need to read Our Professionals Terms of Business to cancel any agreement You enter into with Them.
3.3 We will not commence work under this Agreement until 7 days has expired from the start of the Period. If You require Us or Our Professionals to provide the Services immediately at the start of the period You must instruct Us / Them in writing. If You do instruct Us to provide the Services immediately, You will not be able to cancel the Agreement under clause 3.1.
3.4 If You wish to cancel this Agreement within the first 7 days, any payments will be refunded in full. If You cancel after the initial 7 days We will be entitled to retain any initial fees that You have paid.
3.5 To cancel this Agreement You will be required to contact our office on 01543 463 357 and also promptly agree the cancellation in writing, in order for full cancellation to be agreed.
3.6 Cancelling this Agreement after the Cooling Off Period may incur costs that may be charged Us, Our Professional or by an acting solicitor. We would have the right to charge You a fee to cover any costs incurred including staff labour costs, Our Professionals losses or any acting solicitors losses.
3.7 We shall have the right by giving written notice to You at any time to immediately terminate the Agreement if;
3.7a. You are adjudicated bankrupt, enter into a voluntary arrangement it the Creditors or You have a receiver appointed under the Mental Health Act 1983; or You do not follow any reasonable recommendations from Us or Our Professionals.
3.7b. You have provided incorrect information or misleading information that has effected our Service.
3.7c. You do not comply with these terms and conditions and or do not remedy this failure within seven days of our bringing the failure to Your attention.
3.8 If you wish to cancel a DMP, You must give Us at least 2 weeks written notice
4. Your Responsibilities.
4.1 You must provide Us on request the information relating to Your finances and personal details which We require to prepare Your debt solution, claim or audit. This information will include (but not be limited to) details of Your income and expenditure, Your Creditors and agreements You have with them, any other loans agreements, mortgages agreements and mortgage documents or debts You have. Your dependants and any judgements made against You or any other enforcement action being taken against You.
4.2 So that we can discuss Your situation with Our Professionals, You must sign and return promptly to Us the Letter of Authority.
4.3 You must ensure that any information supplied to Us is accurate and not misleading as this could effect our service. You may be charged by Us, Our Professional or an acting solicitor, see clause 3.6 &3.7b, if this is proven.
4.4 You must pass copies of all correspondence from Your Creditors to Us or Our Professionals. Keeping Us and Our Professionals informed of any dealings You have with any Creditor or Lender in relation to our Services which You remain responsible (see clause 4.9). You must also pass all documents requested in Our Professionals terms and conditions to Our Professionals.
4.5 Regarding debt solution Services, once the Management Account has been agreed between You and Us, You will not spend any money over and above Your Living Expenses as set out in the Management Account by Us and You will not use any new or existing credit facilities or credit cards or otherwise increase your debts.
4.6 You will co-operate with Us in relation to the preparation and operation of the Services We are providing for You either directly or via Our Professionals and also in relation to any alterations or reviews of the full service from time to time. We may need to amend your monthly payments from time to time to reflect and reasonable changes which Your circumstances dictate.
4.7 If Your Service requires it, You must pay the Monthly Payment to Us promptly and without any deductions each month in accordance with the Management Account.
4.8 On occasions Your Creditors or Lenders may not provide Us/Our Professionals with the details we/they require to fulfil the Services. In these circumstances You will obtain this information and supply it to Us or Our Professionals.
4.9 You remain responsible for continuing to pay all sums due in respect of any secured loans, mortgages or hire purchase agreements and all household bills (including insurances and Council Tax).
4.10 You must allow Us / Our Professionals to negotiate on Your behalf with Your Creditor or Lenders.
4.11 If a debt of Yours with Your existing bankers renders it advisable or necessary to open a new bank account, then You agree to do so.
4.12 If the Service requires it, You must tell Us if Your circumstances have or are due to change so that You become unable to maintain the level of Monthly Payments or You can increase the level of Monthly Payments.
4.13 If for whatever reason We amend the Monthly Payment amount, You will be required to agree this amount before signing Our Agreement. If You are not happy, You will be responsible in discussing this with Us.
4.14 Regarding claims and audits. If a settlement is made direct with You by the Lender, Broker or any third party involved in the Service, You agree to still pay fees outstanding to Our Professionals as per Their terms and conditions.
4.15 If You do not fully understand the fees or any timeframes for any debt solution, You can discuss this with Us. If you are unsure about any Success Fees involved in claims or audits, You can discuss this with Us or Our Professionals.
4.16 For Audits and Claim Services, You are required to pay the initial fee to Us and any success fee to Our Professionals.
4.17 You are responsible for reading, understanding and following Our Professionals terms and conditions.
4.18 Any audit will be submitted based on the information You provide to Us. If the audit confirms that the information You provided is incorrect, NO REFUND will be made.
5. Our Responsibilities
5.1 Before We commence providing the Service We must follow the cooling off period requirements, see clause 3.3.
5.2 We will review your finances, covering Your income, expenditure, debts and assets. This review will include all debts, secured on property or goods, which We will take into consideration when preparing Your debt solution or Tailor Made Solution. We will calculate your disposable income, based on your Living Expenses, if required.
5.3 We will only negotiate reduced payments on any secured debts as a last resort and for this Service we may use Our Professionals and a fee may be incurred.
5.4 In consultation with You, We will prepare the debt solution which will specify the Monthly Payment which we believe that You can afford. Please note clause 4.13.
5.5 We will advise a Service / Tailor Made Solution to You based on the most effective way to help You with Your debts, claims and financial future given the Services available and the Debt & Claims Industry rulings at the time you confirm these terms and conditions.
5.6 We will base Your Services / Tailor Made Solution on the information You provide to Us or Our Professionals. See clause 4.3.
5.7 We will give advice based on what We believe to be the best Tailor Made Solution for You given Your circumstances and the information We have.
5.8 We agree to manage and process Your Tailor Made Solution in the most timely and effective manor.
5.9 If We assist with letters to a mortgage or secured loan company, we will charge a fee (see clause 8.9). This letter is will be written to help You explain in writing Your situation. We are not providing advice and cannot be held responsible for the contents in a letter. This service is to simply assist You in putting into writing Your situation. Please ensure you agree and understand the letter before it is sent to your lender.
5.10 We shall attempt to agree with Your Creditors, where appropriate, that they freeze or reduce their interest charges and that they suspend or withdraw enforcement proceedings issued in connection with Your agreement to them. In some cases County Court proceedings may still be commenced against You. In these cases We will assist You in completing relevant paperwork as required, there may be extra costs involved for this service. We cannot guarantee to stop any legal action taken by Your Creditors.
5.11 We will make payments to Your Creditors in accordance with the Management Account out of the Monthly Payments We receive from You. Unless We agree with You otherwise in writing. We will endeavour to make such payments each month within 5 days of receipt of Your Monthly Payment in cleared funds.
5.12 The payments We make to Your Creditors should be reflected on the statement You will receive from Us. A full breakdown of all payments We have made on Your behalf can be obtained from Us on request. In addition, We will issue quarterly statements to You showing all payments and receipts on Your account with Them.
5.13 Should Your circumstances or any other relevant matter change during the Period, We shall, in consultation with You and Your Creditors, review Your Management Account and if necessary shall make changes to it in agreement with You and with any Creditors concerned.
5.14 We will update Your Creditors if Your Creditors request an update on Your Management Account accordingly.
5.15 All payments You make to Us regarding Your Management Account will be held in a Client Account that We will not make interest on and is separate to Our normal business accounts.
6. Our Professionals Responsibilities
6.1 If They require a Success Fees on claims and audit Services, They will ensure that you fully understand the payment terms and will confirm the amounts in Their terms an conditions.
7 What is outside of Our Responsibilities
7.1 We can only provide advice on the Services We are regulated in. In particular We would not give you advice on Legal issues or FSA regulated products. We would however request that Our Professionals regulated in these industries contact You direct for full advice.
7.2 We are not responsible for any legal action taken against You by Your Creditors, Lenders, Brokers or and third parties involved in any audits as a result of fraudulent or incorrect information provided by You at the time of acquiring a loan, hire purchase, secured loan, mortgage or any form of unsecured credit.
7.3 We cannot guarantee that Your Creditors will accept reduced payments or will not continue to charge You interest and other recovery charges. If any Creditors do not accept reduced repayments or continue to charge You interest and other recovery charges, this will be taken into consideration as part of Your Management Account and may increase the total amount to be paid by You to Your Creditors.
7.4 We will not lend You money or offer You credit facilities.
7.5 We cannot be held financially responsible for Our Professionals ceasing trading, going into liquidation and or closing Their business.
7.6 We shall have no liability to You for any failure to provide the Services that is caused by any event or circumstance beyond Our reasonable control including, without limitation, industrial disputes or changes, breakdown of systems, equipment failure, flood, fire, explosion, earthquake or accident.
7.7 We will not be liable for any loss, damage or expense arising from any delay in the performance of any Services from whatever cause nor shall any such delay entitle you to repudiate this agreement regarding claims and audits.
7.8 We will not accept liability for an unsuccessful claim or for the amount of compensation paid.
8 The Fees and how we will be paid
8.1 For Debt Solution Products, such as a IVA We do not always handle client monies. We are paid a Referral Fee by Our Professional when we have successfully completed your transaction, involved in that product.
8.2 Debt Management Plan (DMP) clauses 8.2, 8.3; You will pay Us our initial fee. This is calculated from the financial information You provided in the initial application process. This fee will cover the cost of settling up your Management Account and will equal as agreed two monthly payments within the DMP e.g. You enter into a DMP at £100 per month, this means that your initial fee will be £100 x 2 months = £200. This initial fee is payable over the first 2 monthly payments. The initial fee is retained by Us and only a “token” payment of £1.00 will be paid to Your creditor. This fee is non refundable once the creditors token payments of £1.00 have been dispersed. All initial fees will not be paid into the Client Account.
8.3 In each month during the Period You will pay a monthly management fee, this is a fixed monthly fee. The management charge is fixed at £39.95 inclusive of VAT. This is additional to the initial fee (see clause 8.2) (This excludes any court costs of legal papers assistance). We pay Your creditors direct from the money held in Your client account. We will take Our management fee from the client account when we pay Your creditors.
8.4 Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) no upfront fees for setting up an IVA will be required from Us or Our Professionals. You will simply pay the agreed monthly amount over the agreed IVA term e.g £250 per month for 60 months.
8.5 Fees incurred for IVA’s are variable dependant upon the monthly contribution to the arrangement that is reached with Your creditors. Our Professionals when setting up Your IVA will include a Nominee Fee, this relates to the assistance given to prepare Your IVA proposal and a Supervisor Fee, which relates to the ongoing monitoring of Your IVA. Fees are drawn from Your monthly contribution or other assets which form part of Your IVA Proposal. The level of fees and the method of payment are both agreed by
Your Creditors at the outset of the IVA and with Our Professionals. Our Professionals Full detail of costs and charges will be explained in full in the letter of engagement that will be issued to you direct, by Our Professionals. Fees can vary, but a typical Fee included in Your IVA proposal by Our Professionals would be £4,000 and this is paid out of the monthly agreed fee e.g £250 per month over 60 months.
8.6 We may charge fees for services that You require Us to complete for the IVA pack. Example services that We may charge for i) Property Valuation Report, ii) Financial Forecasts, ii) Asset Agreement (See clause 8.9 for full costs)
8.7 Assisted Bankruptcy; We will provide a full breakdown of fees, costs and charges prior to engagement for Our Service based on Your requirements. The service offered can be basic, through to a full Assisted (hand held) service.
Fees for Bankruptcy may not include the Standard Court Fees that You must pay when You submit Your “Debtors Petition”. Court fees can vary, but are typically around £700 per person, contact Your Courts for full confirmation of these fees if required.
8.8 Informal Full & Final Settlements; Initial non refundable fee is £24.99 per creditor/account. Our success fee will be 10% of the total debt your final account is reduced by, with a minimum fee of £50 per settled account E.g. Your Debt with one creditor is £1000 and We negotiate a settlement for £450, your debt will have been reduced by £550, We will Invoice you for £55.
8.9 Charges for Other Services (Claims & Audits); Initial Main Mortgage Audit & Forensic Investigation Fee £395.00, Audit Administration Fee £234.00, Reference requests under Section 7 of the Data Protection Act £10 per agreement (non refundable). Initial Secured Loan Investigation Fee £295.00 (no audit). Initial fee for Secured Loan or Mortgage Full & Final negotiations £295 per agreement. Full property valuation report £99.95 per property. Initial application fee for Mortgage or Re-Mortgages £250 per application. Initial fee for Secured Payment Protection Insurance mis-selling claim £75 per agreement. Amending a Mortgage type (Interest only to Repayment etc) £195. Initial Fee for Preparing a Defence for Possession Orders £295. Assistance in writing letters to Mortgage / Secured Loan companies, from £39.95 per letter. Preparing a Court Action Plan in your Defence, from £59.99. Attending Court with You £145.00 plus 40p per mile for every mile after initial 40 miles round trip (Note this fee is already factored into the Bankruptcy Fee, no additional charge required)
8.10 We charge the initial fee direct to You (see clause 8.9 for a full listing of fees) in the form of an invoice. Our fees cover all “Initial Fees” costs that Our Professionals require to provide the Service We instruct (inc VAT, where applicable for Our Professionals) on Your behalf and includes a profit margin for Us.
8.11 Please note Regarding Claims and Audits, Our Professionals charge “Success Fees” to a maximum of 25% + VAT (20%) of the success of the claim due back in compensation or redress. We request that You read Their terms and conditions for full details regarding these fees.
8.12 We receive a commission on Success Fees (see clause 8.11), of which is paid direct to Us from Our Professional, once You have paid in cleared funds to Our Professional. Our commission is between 30% & 50% of the net fee Our Professional receives in clause 8.11.
8.13 Unsecured Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) Mis-selling Claims. We charge a fee of £75 to You as the Initial fee, We will then charge You a 25% Success Fee once We have successfully completed Your PPI Claim.
8.14 Regarding Mortgage Audits & Mis-selling claims, if Our Professionals do not secure a compensation offer for You, You will pay no Success Fee (see Our Professionals Terms of Business). This does not mean that You will be paid a refund for any initial fees paid to Us.
8.15 We / Our Professionals reserve the right to negotiate fee terms in connection with any individual client.
8.16 If You require additional Services that are not listed above, that You will be required to pay for, We will confirm in writing full costs before You agree our terms and conditions.
8.17 As at the day on which this Agreement starts VAT is not payable on Our Fees. If during the Period VAT becomes payable on Our Fees or Our Professionals Fees, We will increase Our Fees by the amount of VAT payable.
9. Important Client Notes regarding a DMP
9.1 Only Unsecured Debts will be included in any of the Debt Solution products / services.
9.2 Your Mortgage, secured Loan, Rent, Council Tax, Utility Bills and Arrears associated with these bills must be paid as Your priority at all times.
9.3 If entering into a DMP creditors are not obliged to accept reduced payments, or freeze interest and/or charges and fees, and that unless they do so, repaying the same debt over a longer period of time will increase the total amount to be repaid.
9.4 A DMP is an Informal Agreement and may not stop collection actions, including default notices and litigation, can ensue and that there is NO guarantee that any existing or threatened proceedings will be suspended or withdrawn by a creditor.
9.5 The likely impact on Your credit rating if seeking a Debt Solution Product/Service, is that it is likely that You will not be able to obtain credit in the short term and that there is some likelihood they You might not be able to do so in the Medium or Long Term.
9.6 If entering into a Debt Solution Product/Service, existing banks may not wish to continue providing You with a banking facility. You are recommended to open a new basic account with a new bank and one that You do not hold any outstanding debt with.
9.7 When You start Your DMP and pay Your initial fee over the first two months, You may fall behind or further behind with Your creditors.
9.8 We issue monthly payments to Your creditors after receiving payment from You in cleared funds, the date that We make payment to Your creditors may not match the date that Your contractual payments to Your creditors are due. We cannot guarantee that Your creditors will not charge you interest, penalties and any charges as a result of this or take legal action.
9.9 It is important that You understand that the period is an estimate and will increase if;
1. Your disposable Income reduces and We have to reduce Your monthly payments.
2. Your creditors charge You interest, penalties and any other charges after Your DMP has started.
9.10 It is important that You understand that the period is an estimate and will decrease if;
1. You increase your monthly payments within your DMP.
2. You action the “Medium Term” solution in Your Tailor Made Solution”.
9.11 If in any month You pay Us an amount which is less than the agreed monthly payment, We will not accept any responsibility for action Your creditors may take for You not maintaining the agreed amount.
9.12 We do not issue payments to Your creditors without having first received cleared funds.
9.13 If We do not receive the agreed monthly payment from You, We will suspend any action and payments on Your account. Your creditors may be informed that You are not keeping up the agreed payments. This may result in Creditors taking legal action against You that We cannot be held responsible for.
9.14 The initial fee will not be paid into the Client account, if however it is paid into the client account We have the right to transfer into our business account.
10. Complaints Procedure
10.1 Our two licenses require complaints to be handled differently depending on the nature of the complaint. We have a Debt & Insolvency Complaint Procedure and a Claims & Audit Complaint Procedure. If You require information on either of these procedures, you can visit our website www.dpsp.co.uk or contact our complaints department at our registered address or by emailing office@dpsp.co.uk and we will ensure you receive a copy of the procedures You require.
10.2 If Your Complaint is with regards to Our Professionals, We would request that you put in writing the full detail of your complaint, including Your DPSP Client Reference number and full contact details, then post to our Complaints Department at our registered address or email office@dpsp.co.uk and we will acknowledge Your complaint within 5 days and outline how we intend to deal with your complaint.
10.3 If Your complaint is about Our Professional, please find Their complaints procedure on Their terms and conditions. If You wish to complain direct to Our Professionals then all We would ask is that You inform Us either by email or in writing.
11 Confidentiality
11.1 We / Our Professionals agree to keep confidential all information received from or about You. We will not pass this information to anyone not involved in Your Tailor Made Service without Your permission.
11.2 You are required to keep confidential the subject matter of this Agreement.
12. Cancelling Our Professionals Services
12.1 This procedure will be set out in Their terms and conditions, if You require Our help please contact Us in writing outlining the reasons why You want to cancel Our Professionals services
12.2 If entering into a DMP, this is an Informal Agreement and you can withdraw from the contract by giving a written 30 days notice of cancellation to Our Professional.
13 Refunds for Initial Fees
13.1 All refunds for Debt Solution products and services would be handled by Our Professionals or direct by Us.
13.2 We have the rights to decline a refund request on any Initial fees paid direct to Us.
13.3 If after a Full Audit a Claim is processed via a Litigation route and carried forward as a “No Win, No Fee” claim by Our Professionals, We reserve the rights to refund any fees paid by You to Us, without explanation. Please note; under no circumstances will DSAR fees be refunded on any type of case/claim.
13.4 No refunds on Initial Fees will be paid on Mis-selling/Claim products where a client has provided false information to Us and Our Professional that later results in a unsuccessful case.
14. General Terms
14.1 If any part of these Terms of Business is unenforceable, the enforceability of any other part of these Terms of Business will not be affected.
14.2 This Agreement is personal to You. You may not transfer Your rights or obligations under this Agreement to anyone else. No third party shall be entitled to enforce any term of this agreement under the contract (Rights to Third Parties) Act 1999.
14.3 This Agreement and these Terms of Business are governed by English law and disputes shall be determined by the English courts.
If you require further assistance in understanding these Terms of Business and are registered disabled and/or disadvantaged in some way please contact our office on 01543 462 357 and we will be happy to help you accordingly.
DPSP - 65 Heath Gap Road, Cannock, Staffs WS11 6DY.
CLR PR Ltd – T/A Debt & Property Solutions Plus (DPSP).
Consumer Credit Licence No: 620631.
Data Protection Licence No: Z1426079
Company Registration Number 5355336
Debt & Property Solutions Plus Ltd (DPSP).
Ministry of Justice Registration No: CRM21101.
Data Protection Licence No: Z2430403
Company Registration Number 6990188
