0141 333 1166 Pay Us ACCOUNTANCY SERVICES BUSINESS ADVICE BUSINESS SERVICES PERSONAL TAX ABOUT US CONTACT US Financial Claims Terms and Conditions Home » Financial Claims Terms and Conditions IMPORTANT: These terms and conditions form part of a legally binding contract and set out the terms of engagement for the appointment of the Company to act on your behalf in all aspects of the administration and negotiation of your claim(s). You should read these carefully and ensure you understand them. Please take your own legal advice if you are unsure about any aspect of them. 1. Definitions 1.1 “Associated Accounts” are any and all accounts applicable to the Customer which the Company becomes aware of in the course of the claims process or which are identified by the Customer or by the Provider. 1.2 “Bank Charges” means the punitive/erroneous/unreasonable charges levied against the Customers bank/building society account/credit card/charge card/loan account. 1.3 “Claim(s)” means the claim(s) or complaint(s) that the Customer may have against a Provider relating to the mis-sale of any Policy or service or charges levied. 1.4 “Claims Pack” means the documentation sent to the Customer from The Company following a request from the Customer to consider or pursue a claim. 1.5 “Company” means Dooneen Ltd (company registration number SC428755) trading as McGinness Associates. We are ‘Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority’. 1.6 “Compensation” means a refund or financial benefit paid or offered by the Provider in settlement of any Claim including (but not limited to) any sums paid or given in respect of, or by way of, a settlement, goodwill gesture, policy refund, rebate or overdraft reduction, including any interest payments and associated charges. For the avoidance of doubt Compensation includes any sums used to reduce any outstanding loans or credit card balances. 1.7 “Contract” means the signed Agency Agreement between the Customer and the Company relating to the supply of Services incorporating these Terms and Conditions. 1.8 “Customer” means the person or persons signing this agreement for the provision of Services by the Company. 1.9 “Data Protection Legislation” means all applicable data protection and privacy legislation in force from time to time in the UK including the General Data Protection Regulation ((EU) 2016/679); the Data Protection Act 2018: the Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive 2002/58/EC (as updated by Directive 2009/136/EC) and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (SI2003/2426) as amended. 1.10 “Fee” means the amount to be paid by the Customer to the Company as detailed in Clause 3. 1.11 “Financial Ombudsman Service” means the independent service for resolving disputes with financial firms provided by the Financial Ombudsman. 1.12 “Packaged Bank Accounts” are current accounts that come with a ‘package’ of extra features (such as mobile phone and travel insurance) and for which there is a monthly fee. 1.13 “Policy” means the policy forming the basis of the Claim or any other or associated policies coming to the attention of the Customer or the Company once the claims process has started. 1.14 “Payment Protection Insurance” (PPI) is a product that enabled consumers to insure repayment of loans, mortgages, overdrafts, credit cards and store cards to protect against a range of occurrences such as accident, sickness or involuntary unemployment. 1.15 “Provider” means the product provider, lender, bank, building society, credit card company, charge card company, financial organisation(s) or other organisation(s) responsible for the sale of the Policy to the Customer and against whom the Claim is made and/or any agent or authorised representative of them. 1.16 “Serious Breach” means the Customer engaging another claims management company on the same claims the Company has been engaged on; the Customer failing to pay an invoice in accordance with these terms; the Customer becoming insolvent (such as, by way of example only, entering bankruptcy); the Customer intentionally providing inaccurate or misleading information; the Customer committing fraud; the Customer failing to provide information when requested to do so in accordance with these terms and still failing to do so when given 14 days’ notice of the failure. 1.17 “Set off” there are two different types of set off (1) “Set off 1” Is where the Provider sets off against a current debt, under these circumstances the customer benefits financially and the Fee is due and payable. (2) “Set off 2” Is where the Provider Sets off against an insolvency debt and the Compensation is retained or sent to the Official Receiver or Trustee or a designated third party and therefore the customer receives no benefit, in these circumstances the Company would not charge a Fee. The Company reserves the right to challenge the Providers decision and if the Compensation is subsequently paid to the Customer then the Fee is due and payable. 2. Services 2.1 The contract between the Company and the Customer shall start when the Company has received a copy of these terms signed by the Customer and that the Company agrees to accept the Customer’s instructions 2.2 The Services the Company agrees to provide to the Customer are: 2.2.1 Providing administrative support to the Customer in relation to a Claim; 2.2.2 Sharing with the Customer the Company’s knowledge of claim handling procedures as they may relate to the Claim, and; 2.2.3 Where the Provider rejects the initial Claim, or any offer of Compensation is less than an amount the Company considers fair and reasonable, the Company will review the decision and, if appropriate, refer the case to the Financial Ombudsman Service. 2.2.4 Submitting a claim or claims on behalf of the Customer for mis-sold PPI, mis-sold Packaged Bank Accounts or unreasonable / erroneous bank charges / loan charges / credit card charges. The Company will assess the information provided and where evidence reasonably indicates a claim would be successful will submit an appropriate claim or claims on the customer’s behalf. 2.2.5 Submitting a claim or claims on behalf of the Customer for mis-sold Pensions, mis-sold Mortgages, Delayed Flights compensation. The Company will assess the information provided and where evidence reasonably indicates a claim would be successful will submit an appropriate claim or claims on the customer’s behalf. 2.3 For the avoidance of any doubt, the Services shall not include the provision of any financial, tax or legal advice. It should be noted that where interest is included as part of the Compensation it may be taxable depending on the Customers personal tax circumstances. 2.4 Where a Claim is referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) and is not upheld by them, the Company will review the decision and, if deemed appropriate, the Company will cease work on the Claim. If it is deemed appropriate depending on the circumstances and at the Company’s sole discretion the Company may challenge the Ombudsman’s decision. 2.5 If you have been in a formal debt solution such as an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA), depending on your circumstances there is a possibility that your Trustee/Official Receiver may declare an interest in any compensation due to you and this may be set off against such liabilities. 2.5.1 On occasions where a Provider sets off any compensation in respect of a PPI Claim against amounts due to the Provider / Lender by the Customer or where Compensation is paid to any Trustee or former Trustee under a formal debt agreement (such as an Individual Voluntary Arrangement), it will not be the Company’s responsibility to take any further action and the Company will not take legal action on behalf of the Customer to recover funds in these cases. 2.6 If the Company becomes aware of any Associated Accounts during the claims process these will form part of the overall claims process and if any of these result in Compensation, they will be liable to the Company’s fee structure as detailed in Paragraph 3 and subject to clause 3.4. 2.7 These Terms of Engagement shall continue to operate until all Claims where a Fee is payable have been settled. 2.8 The Company will carry out the Services using reasonable care and skill. 3. Fees and Disbursements 3.1 If the Company is unsuccessful in winning Compensation for the Customer then, subject to paragraph 7.5, there is no charge. 3.2 The Company agrees to provide the Services for a fee of 24% (including VAT) of the gross Compensation offered to the Customer. When the Customer receives payment directly from the Provider or Lender the Customer agrees to pay the Fee to the Company within 14 days of receipt. 3.3 Examples of Fee Calculations are: 3.3.1 if the Company succeeds in obtaining Compensation of £1,000, the Fee would be £240 and the Customer would receive £760; if the Company succeeds in obtaining Compensation of £3,000, the Fee would be £720 and the Customer would receive £2,280; if the Company succeeds in obtaining Compensation of £10,000, the Fee would be £2,400 and the Customer would receive £7,600. 3.3.2 The fee calculation examples set out above are not to be taken as an estimate of the amount likely to be recovered for the Customer. They are included by way of examples of Fee calculations only. 3.4 Where the Provider applies Set off 1 the Fee is due and payable. Where the Provider applies Set off 2 the Fee will only become due and payable where the Company successfully challenges this action and the Customer receives their Compensation at which time the full Fee of 24% (including VAT) applies. 3.5 If the Company secures an offer of Compensation from the Provider which the Company believes (acting reasonably) to be fair and reasonable and in accordance with the Financial Conduct Authority’s guidelines and the Financial Ombudsman Service’s guidelines and that offer is rejected by the Customer then the Company reserves the right to charge its Fee of 24% (including VAT) of the offer amount. The Fee is then due and payable within 14 days of the Company sending the invoice to the Customer. 3.6 Where Compensation is paid directly to the Company the Fee is due upon receipt of notification of the Compensation award. Where paragraph 3.4 applies, the fee is payable upon receipt by the Customer of the Company’s invoice. 3.7 The Company reserves the right to deduct from any Compensation paid directly to the Company any outstanding commission Fees, including Fees related to other compensation claims before forwarding monies on to the Customer. 4. Debt Recovery 4.1 Late payment of any invoice will be subject to interest applied on a daily basis at the annual rate of 6% above the base rate of Clydesdale Bank plc. 4.2 In the event that the Company takes steps to recover any fees or other amounts due from the Customer it reserves the right to charge the Customer for all costs associated with the recovery, including, but not limited to Court fees, legal fees, bailiff fees and its own administration costs. 5. Customer’s obligations and acknowledgements. The Customer shall: 5.1 Provide the Company with all such material and information requested or which the Customer believes to be relevant to the Claim (whether requested or not); 5.2 Respond promptly to any requests for information from the Company, Provider or the Financial Ombudsman Service; 5.3 Inform the Company promptly of any relevant matters affecting the Claim, such as (but not limited to) direct contact from any of the Providers; 5.4 Provide the necessary authority for the Company to perform the Services; 5.5 Agree to relinquish legal title to 24% (the value of our fee) of all compensation received that is a direct result of a claim successfully undertaken by the Company on behalf of the Customer. 5.6 To ensure accuracy within the claims process, review, check and amend if necessary, the documents prepared by the Company on behalf of the Customer and sign and return them promptly to the Company (where required); 5.7 Inform the Company of any offer of Compensation received directly by the Customer if the Company has not itself informed the Customer of that offer; 5.8 Not authorise any other person, company, business or claims management company to perform the Services or act in relation to a Claim the Company is instructed on; 5.9 Ensure that all information provided to the Company, Provider or Financial Ombudsman Service is complete, accurate and not misleading; 5.10 Consider any offer of Compensation made by the Provider which is reasonable in accordance with the guidelines of the Financial Conduct Authority and the Financial Ombudsman, and within 28 days of receipt of an offer of Compensation, or notification of such an offer, notify the Company that the Customer accepts or rejects it. 5.11 Inform the Company if you have been through a formal debt solution. 6. Limit of Liability 6.1 If the Company fails to comply with these terms, the Company is responsible for foreseeable loss or damage that the Customer suffers as a result of the Company failing to comply with its obligations in this contract or failing to use reasonable care and skill. Loss or damage is foreseeable if either it is obvious that it will happen or if, at the time the contract was made, both the Company and the Customer knew it might happen. 6.2 Subject to clause 6.3, the Company shall not be liable for any loss or damage that is not foreseeable. 6.3 The Company’s total liability to the Customer in respect of all other losses arising under or in connection with this Agreement, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, shall in no circumstances exceed the amount of Compensation or reasonable potential Compensation the Customer is entitled to unless those losses were foreseeable by both parties when the Agreement was signed. 6.4 Nothing in this contract shall limit or exclude the Company’s liability for: 6.4.1 circumstances where it would be unlawful to do so (including but not limited to any liability which we are not permitted to exclude or limit liability for under the Consumer Rights Act 2015); 6.4.2 death or personal injury caused by our negligence or the negligence of our employees, agents or subcontractors; 6.4.3 fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; 6.4.4 breach of your legal rights in relation to the Services. 6.5 Subject to the other provisions of this clause 6 the Company shall not be liable for any delay or failure to perform any part of the services, as a result of any factor beyond its reasonable control. 7. Termination 7.1 The Company may terminate this contract for any individual Claim(s) at any time by giving at least 28 days’ written notice to the Customer (including by email) where it reasonably believes that, due to material changes to circumstances surrounding the Claim, regulation changes or legal changes, the case is in the reasonable opinion of the Company unlikely to succeed. 7.2 Where the Customer fails to comply with any of the Customer’s obligations as set out in clause 5 above, the Company may terminate the Contract by giving at least 28 days’ written notice to the Customer (including by email). 7.3 The Company may terminate this agreement on giving written notice to the Customer where the Customer commits a Serious Breach (as defined in clause 1.16) 7.4 The Customer has the right to terminate the Contract within 14 days of signing the Agency Agreement (cooling off period) and in that case, shall not incur any Fee from the Company. The Customer may request to cancel either in writing, by telephone or via email (see clause 10.1 for contact details). The Customer can also use the cancellation form provided in the welcome pack sent to the Customer. 7.5 The Customer has the right to terminate the Contract by providing the Company written notice at any time. The Company does not charge cancellation Fees and only charges success Fees. If the notice to terminate is received after any offer of Compensation is made or receipt of any notification that the Claim has been upheld, the full Fee of 24% (including VAT) of the Compensation will be payable. Furthermore, if the Customer terminates the Contract after the Claim has been submitted to the Provider and subsequently receives an offer of Compensation in respect of the Claim made by the Company on the Customer’s behalf, the Company reserves the right to charge the full Fee of 24% (including VAT) of the Compensation. The Company will invoice the Customer on notification of the Compensation award and the Fee will be payable within 14 days of the invoice date. 7.6 If the Customer through their own actions or inactions prevents a Provider offering Compensation, and there was a reasonable prospect of Compensation, the Company reserves the right to charge the Customer 24% (including VAT) of the Compensation the Company has calculated is due to the Customer. The Fee will be payable within 14 days of the Company sending the invoice to the Customer. 7.7 Termination of this agreement shall not affect any right or remedy of either the Company or the Customer which either party had before the termination took effect. 8. Law and Jurisdiction 8.1 The law applicable to this Contract in all matters affecting this Contract shall be English Law for customers whose permanent residency is England, Wales or Northern Ireland and Scottish Law for customers whose permanent residency is Scotland (or whose permanent residency is elsewhere, other than England, Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland). 9. Data Protection 9.1 The Company will comply with all applicable requirements of the Data Protection Legislation. This clause 9 is in addition to, and does not relieve, remove or replace, a party’s obligations or rights under the Data Protection Legislation. 9.2 Without prejudice to the generality of Clause 9.1, the Company shall, in relation to any Personal Data processed in connection with the performance by the Company of its obligations under this agreement: (a) process that Personal Data only on the documented written instructions of the Customer unless the Company is required by law to otherwise process that Personal Data. Where the Company is relying on Applicable Laws as the basis for processing Personal Data, the Company shall promptly notify the Customer of this before performing the processing required by the law, unless those laws prohibit the Provider from so notifying the Customer; (b) ensure that it has in place appropriate technical and organisational measures, to protect against unauthorised or unlawful processing of Personal Data and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, Personal Data, appropriate to the harm that might result from the unauthorised or unlawful processing or accidental loss, destruction or damage and the nature of the data to be protected, having regard to the state of technological development and the cost of implementing any measures (those measures may include, where appropriate, pseudonymising and encrypting Personal Data, ensuring confidentiality, integrity, availability and resilience of its systems and services, ensuring that availability of and access to Personal Data can be restored in a timely manner after an incident, and regularly assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of the technical and organisational measures adopted by it); (c) ensure that all personnel who have access to and/or process Personal Data are obliged to keep the Personal Data confidential; and (d) not transfer any Personal Data outside of the UK. (e) respond to any request from a Customer (f) notify the Customer without undue delay on becoming aware of a Personal Data Breach; (g) at the written direction of the Customer, delete or return Personal Data and copies thereof to the Customer on termination of the agreement unless required by law to store the Personal Data; and (h) maintain complete and accurate records and information to demonstrate its compliance with this clause 9 and allow for audits by the Financial Conduct Authority. 9.3 The Company will not appoint any third-party processor of Personal Data under this agreement. 10. Complaints 10.1 If you have a complaint, please contact us as follows: By phone on 0141 333 1166 In writing to Mr Graeme Rankin, Complaints Officer, McGinness Associates, 2/1 Breckenridge House, 274 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3EH By email to graeme@mcginnessassociates.com You will find a copy of our complaints procedure on this website and in the welcome pack sent to you. Should you remain unhappy you may refer your complaint, within six months of the date of our final response, to: The Financial Ombudsman Service Exchange Tower London E14 9SR Telephone: 0800 023 4567 Email: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk Further information is available on the Financial Ombudsman Service website: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk LEGAL A firm of experienced accountants providing a range of specialist services including accountancy, business advice, financial services and personal tax services. Dooneen Ltd (company registration number SC428755) trading as McGinness Associates is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority FRN 838453 FIND US Glasgow Office 2/2 Kensington House 227 Sauchiehall Street Glasgow G2 3EX 0141 333 1166 Email Glasgow Office Manchester Office City View House 5 Union Street Manchester M12 4JD 0161 277 7676 Email Manchester Office Terms and Conditions Customer Complaints Procedure Privacy Policy Sitemap GDPR Summary of Pre Contract Information © 2021 Web Design by: Purple Imp