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Smooth Financial Consultants Limited - Terms & Conditions of Trading

Introduction

These Terms and Conditions set out the Agreement between You and Us including Your obligations to Us and Our obligations to You.You are strongly advised to read these Terms and Conditions carefully. These Terms and Conditions may be added to or superseded by additional terms and conditions which We will notify to You in writing which apply to specific services that We provide or may provide at a later date.

1 Definitions

1.1     In these Terms and Condition the following words shall have the following meaning:

‘Agreement’ means the agreement between You and Us as set out in these Terms and Conditions, your Debt Management Programme, the Payment Programme and any additional terms and conditions specific to a particular service We provide or may provide to You.

‘Authority Form’ means the form enclosed with these Terms and Conditions which We ask You to sign and return to Us to give Us authority to contact your Creditors and to act on your behalf.

'Creditors' any and all of your unsecured creditors whose details You will provide to us in accordance with section 3.

‘Debt Management Programme’ A plan of monthly repayments calculated by Us to pay your Creditors in accordance with section 4.2 (as may be revised from time to time).

‘Initial Fee’ means your first Monthly Payment which is paid to Us and retained by Us (as opposed to being paid to your Creditors) for the provision of our Services in accordance with clause 5.1.

‘Monthly Fee’ means the monthly fee payable by You to Us in respect of our services.

'Monthly Payment' means the total amount which is paid every month by You to Us in accordance with the Debt Management Programme. Save for the first Monthly Payment which is the Initial Fee and the Second Monthly Payment (less the sum of £1 for each of your Creditors) which is the Secondary Fee, this is made up of the Monthly Repayment to be made to your Creditors, Our Monthly Fee and any other payments agreed with You for example for varying your Debt Management Programme or negotiating full and final settlements with your Creditors.

‘Monthly Repayment’ means the part of the Monthly Payment to be paid by Us on your behalf to your Creditors. ‘Payment Programme’ means the illustration provided with these Terms and Conditions and marked as the

‘Payment Programme’ illustrating your potential payment programme.

'Period' the period during which the Debt Management Programme is in operation.

‘Secondary Fee’ means your second Monthly Fee (less the sum of £1 for each of your Creditors) which is paid to Us and retained by Us (as opposed to being paid to your Creditors) for the provision of our Services in accordance with clause 5.2.

'You' our client(s), the person(s) entering into the Agreement with Us whose name(s) is/are recorded in the Payment Programme. Where there is more than one of You, all those named in the Payment Programme are jointly and severally responsible under the Agreement.

‘We/Us’ Smooth Financial Consultants Ltd., a company registered in England and Wales under company registration number 05346052 whose registered office is at 4th Floor Jackson House, Sibson Road, Sale, M33 7RR and licensed by the Office Of Fair Trading under Consumer Credit Licence Number 567290.

‘Force Majeure’ Causes beyond the control of Smooth Financial including but not limited to fires, natural disasters, extreme adverse weather conditions, strikes (of its own or other employees), insurrections or riots, inability to obtain supplies and raw materials requirements.

2 Agreement

2.1    You appoint Us to act on your behalf to provide a debt counselling advisory and adjusting service and We agree to provide You with a debt counselling advisory and adjusting service in accordance with the Agreement. You authorise us to negotiate on your behalf with your Creditors.

2.2    The Agreement will commence on the earlier of (1) when You authorise Us to proceed over the telephone (2) when You return to Us the signed and completed Authority Form or (3) the day when We receive the first Monthly Payment from You.

2.3    The Agreement shall continue until final repayment to the Creditors is made in accordance with the Debt Management Programme, unless it has been terminated beforehand in accordance with clause 6 below.

Cooling Off Period

2.4    Up until the period of 14 days from the date on which You return the Authority Form to Us, You may cancel the Agreement by writing to Us at Smooth Financial Consultants Ltd., 4th Floor Jackson House, Sibson Road, Sale, M33 7RR. In such a situation the Agreement between You and Us will end and We will offer You a full refund of any payment You have made to Us.

2.5    After expiry of the 14 day period referred to at clause 2.4 above, You may cancel the Agreement by giving us four week’s notice in writing in accordance with clause 6.3. In such circumstances We will be entitled to retain the Initial Fee, Secondary Fee and any Monthly Fees or other sums properly incurred up to the date of termination.

Will your credit rating be affected?

2.6    Creditors have the ability to place a notice on your credit report that You are subject to the Debt Management Programme. If a Creditor does this then it is likely that it will affect your credit rating and default notices may be registered against you, meaning you may be unable to obtain credit during the Period and for a period of 6 years afterwards.

3 Your responsibilities

3.1    You will provide to Us on request, information relating to your finances. This will include but will not be limited to details of your income and expenditure, your Creditors and any agreements You have with them, any loans or mortgages You have, your dependants and any judgments (CCJs, attachment of earnings or benefits order etc) made against You or any other enforcement action being taken against You.

3.2    You will sign any necessary forms of authority or any other documents so that We may negotiate with your Creditors on your behalf.

3.3    You will pass to Us copies of all correspondence from your Creditors and their agents (such as solicitors and collection agents acting on their behalf)) and keep Us informed of any dealings You have with any Creditors, whether We are negotiating with them or not. You must not ignore any correspondence from your Creditors and their agents.

3.4    All correspondence that is passed to Us will be scanned and stored by Us electronically. Unless You specifically request otherwise the originals of the correspondence We receive from You will be retained for a period of one month from receipt by Us and then securely destroyed in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act. We will be able to provide You with copies of the correspondence from your Creditors that You have provided to us upon request.

3.5    Once the Debt Management Programme has been agreed, You will not make any expenditure over and above your reasonable living expenses except emergency and necessary expenditure as calculated in the Debt Management Programme. You will not use your credit lines (credit cards, store cards, overdrafts or other credit facilities), incur further debts or obtain further lines of credit.

3.6    You will consult with Us in relation to the Monthly Payment under your Debt Management Programme and in relation to any alterations to it or reviews of it, including your six monthly review as per clause 4.8.

3.7    Your Monthly Payment may need to be amended to reflect any reasonable changes that your circumstances dictate. You will make the Monthly Payments to Us under and in accordance with the Debt Management Programme promptly and without any deductions. It is your responsibility to ensure that the Monthly Payments to Us are received by Us in cleared funds by the agreed date for such Monthly Payment taking into account the different clearing times for different payment methods.

3.8    On occasion your Creditors may not provide Us with balances of your accounts due to their own internal procedures. If these circumstances arise then You will obtain this information for Us and supply it to Us.

3.9    We cannot be held responsible for any legal action taken against You by your Creditors as a result of fraudulent or incorrect information provided by You at the time of acquiring a loan, hire purchase agreement, credit card or any other form of credit.

3.10    Non-contact from you will not be considered as a cancellation of the Agreement. If you wish to terminate this Agreement you must give Us notice in writing in accordance with clause 6 (Termination)..

3.11    If You do not maintain regular Monthly Payments We will suspend any action and payments on your account. Your Creditors may have to be informed that payments are not being maintained. This may result in your Creditors continuing action against You and/or adding interest or charges for which we cannot be held responsible.

3.12    You remain responsible for continuing to pay any secured loans, mortgages or hire purchase agreements, all household bills (including insurances) and any regular payments other than for those debts which You place in your Debt Management Programme. It is important that you maintain these payments during the Period.

4. Our responsibilities

4.1    We will review your finances, covering your income, expenditure, debts, and assets based on the information you provide to Us. These must include all debts secured on property or goods, which we will take into consideration but cannot negotiate reduced payments on. We will calculate your disposable income, based on reasonable living expenses. Our consultants will review all financial statements.

4.2    In consultation with You we will produce a Debt Management Programme by which You can pay off your Creditors out of your disposable income at rates You can afford. The Debt Management Programme will let You make a single monthly payment to Us (the Monthly Payment) from which we will deduct our Monthly Fee (and any other fees agreed with You) and then distribute the balance to your Creditors (the Monthly Repayment) It will not take into account any matters which You have not told us about in accordance with section 3. It will also take account of the differing requirements of your different Creditors, if there is more than one.

4.3    We will negotiate with your Creditors and attempt to agree repayment terms with them of the amounts outstanding. In doing so we shall use the Debt Management Programme and we shall ensure that the periodic payments that we agree with your Creditors on your behalf do not exceed your disposable income (less our Monthly Fee) as calculated by us for the same period.

4.4    We shall attempt to agree with your Creditors, where appropriate, reduced payments and/or that they freeze or reduce their interest charges and that they suspend or withdraw enforcement proceedings issued in connection with your agreements with them. Please note Creditors are not obliged to accept reduced payments or to freeze or reduce their interest or other charges and, unless they do so, repaying the same debt over a longer period of time will increase the total amount to be repaid. In rare instances Creditors may still commence proceedings or County Court action against you and we can not guarantee that any existing or threatened proceedings will be suspended or withdrawn. In these cases we will assist in the completion of all relevant paperwork as required for a standard fee of £35 for the completion of the relevant forms which is payable by You in addition to any fees to the Court that may be payable. We cannot guarantee to stop legal action by your Creditors.

4.5    We shall pay the Monthly Repayment to your Creditors in accordance with the Debt Management Programme within 5 business/working days subject always to Us being in receipt of the Monthly Payment from You in cleared funds in order to enable Us to make such payments. We can not be responsible for delays in making any Monthly Repayment where such delay is attributable to the banking system crediting such payments, you making the Monthly Payment later than the date on which such Monthly Payment is due or any other reason which is outside of our control.

4.6    The Monthly Repayments will be reflected on the statements You will receive from your Creditors. A full breakdown of the Monthly Repayments We have made on your behalf can be obtained on request. Once all your Creditors have accepted the offers of repayment We will issue You with a breakdown of these. In addition We will issue monthly statements showing all payments and receipts on your account including the Initial Fee, the Secondary Fee, our Monthly Fees, the Monthly Repayments and any other fees agreed between You and Us.

4.7    Should your circumstances or any other relevant matter change during the Period, (for example your salary or monthly income changes or you change from full time work to part time or you loose your job or move jobs) the you must notify us of such facts as soon as reasonably possible afterwards. On a change of circumstances We shall, in consultation with You and your Creditors, review the Debt Management Programme and if necessary shall make changes to it in agreement with You and with any Creditors concerned. This may include a change to the Monthly Payment or the Period of your Debt Management Programme.

4.8    Your financial circumstances will be reviewed every six months during the Period. We will go through your finances to review your Monthly Payment and We will issue a revised financial statement to your Creditors. #

4.9    All payments to Us, including the Monthly Payment, will be made into our Smooth Financial Consultants Limited Client Account. This account is separate to our own business accounts and funds held for distribution to your Creditors will be retained for that purpose only. If at any time the Client Account is an account that receives an interest payment from the bank, we will credit your account with Us with your pro-rated share. At all times funds held for distribution to your Creditors will be classed as client monies. From each Monthly Payment received into our client account We will deduct the Monthly Fee (together with any other fees payable to Us as agreed with You) which, when due to Us, We will transfer from our designated client account into our own account.

4.10    During the negotiation process some Creditors may continue to charge interest and other recovery charges. We cannot always prevent these charges being levied nor can We prevent the information that Creditors may seek to record on your credit records. These charges and interest will however be paid off as part of your Debt Management Programme.

4.11    We can only provide advice on the services that We offer.

5. How We will be paid

5.1     Because most of our work for you will be done at the start of the Period, we will retain as a fee for Our services the first Monthly Payment to cover the cost of implementing your Debt Management Programme. This is the Initial Fee. This will also apply in the case of restarting an agreement and those that have lapsed (where there has been no payment by You to Us for 60 days or more).

5.2    We will retain as a fee the second monthly payment as a creditor set up fee, minus £1 for each creditor which is to be paid to them as a 'token' payment. This fee is non-refundable once the Creditors token payments of £1 each have been dispersed. This is the Secondary Fee.

5.3    Unless we agree otherwise with You we will take from each Monthly Payment a gross fee equal to 17.625% of Monthly Repayment under the Debt Management Programme or a minimum of £35.25 whichever is greater (or any other amount or fee that is agreed with You in advance). This is the Monthly Fee.

5.4    In case of weekly payments, four and a third times the weekly payment will equate to one Monthly Payment for the purposes of the Agreement. All payments to creditors are distributed on a monthly basis.

5.5    We reserve the right to increase the Monthly Fee (or the calculation of the Monthly Fee pursuant to clause 5.3) annually in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI) at any time. We will give You at least 28 days notice in writing if We are to do so and the change to the Monthly Fee shall take effect from the first Monthly Payment due after the expiry of the 28 day notice period referred to above. If We increase the Monthly Fee You have the option of choosing to increase the Monthly Payment or have the Monthly Repayment to your Creditors reduced. If you do not accept the increase in our Monthly Fee You can terminate the Agreement in accordance with clause 6.3 below.

5.6    There we are instructed by You to negotiate for full and final settlements with your Creditors on your behalf, we will give you a quote for our fees prior to undertaking any work. We cannot guarantee that your Creditors will accept a reduced settlement but will use our reasonable endeavours in this regard.

5.7    Where we advise you to change from a Debt Management Programme at any point, whether that is to an Individual Voluntary Arrangement, Bankruptcy or any other product, any associated fees will be agreed with You prior to Us undertaking any work in this regard.

5.8    In addition, from the payments to your creditors we will deduct 2.5% transaction/handling fee to cover bank charges

5.9    We will charge £3.50 per month as part of your review subscription fee and this will be included as part of your monthly payment (or its weekly equivalent).

6. Termination of the Agreement

6.1    We are unable to provide our services in full if You do not sign and return the Authority Form to Us as We will not be able to speak to your Creditors. Consequently, if You have not returned your signed Authority Form to Us within 28 days of the date on which these Terms and Conditions are sent to You, or, where more than one person should sign the Authority Form, it has not been signed by everyone who should sign it, and in either case You have not terminated the Agreement under clause 6.2 below, We have the ability to terminate the Agreement with You and cease any work on your behalf.

6.2     below, We have the ability to terminate the Agreement with You, cease any work on your behalf and to retain the Initial Fee (if paid to Us) at that point in time. 6.2 If you wish to cancel after sending your signed authority to us, we offer a fourteen day cooling-off period in accordance with clause 2.4 above.

6.3    After the fourteen day cooling-off period referred to at clause 6.2 above You may end this agreement by giving Us four weeks notice in writing.

6.4    We may end this agreement by giving You four weeks' notice in writing if any one of the following things happens:

6.4.1    You breach the Agreement and do not remedy the breach within seven days of Us bringing the breach to your attention and notifying You of the action required to remedy the breach; or

6.4.2    A bankruptcy petition is issued against You; or

6.4.3    You enter into an Individual Voluntary Agreement/Trust Deed with your Creditors; or

6.4.4    Where the information provided to Us is knowingly incorrect and leads Us to work on Your behalf; or

6.4.5    The information provided by You at the time of acquiring a loan (hire purchase agreement, credit cards or any other form of credit) is deemed incorrect or fraudulent by any Creditor; or

6.4.6    If You unreasonably fail to follow our advice, or where your Debt Management Programme becomes unmanageable due to a disproportionate number of Creditors for your Monthly Payment; or

6.4.7    If We are affected by Force Majeure being any event outside of our reasonable control.

6.5    Once the Agreement ends (however caused) We will return to You any monies held by Us on your behalf which have yet to be paid to Creditors less the Initial Fee and any Monthly Fees (including the Secondary Fee) or other sums properly incurred and due to Us up to the date of termination.

6.6    Once the Agreement ends (however caused) our obligations and duties under the Agreement will come to end and your liability to your Creditors will continue in respect of any amounts outstanding and owing to them at the date the Agreement comes to an end.

7. Complaints

7.1    We take any complaint regarding our practice very seriously. Any complaints should be sent in writing to Us for the attention of the Complaints Officer or verbally through your account manager. Your complaint will be acknowledged within 5 days of receipt and We will aim to provide You with a full response to your complaint within 28 days of receiving your Complaint. We are members of the Debt Resolution Forum (DRF) who provide a mediation service in respect of any complaints We are unable to resolve to your satisfaction. If You are not happy with our response to your complaint You may be able to refer your complaint to the DRF or the Financial Ombudsman Service. A copy of our Complaints Policy is available on request which includes details of how to refer a complaint You have made to Us and which has not been resolved to your satisfaction to the DRF or the Financial Ombudsman Service.

8. Data Protection

8.1    Please read this section carefully as it explains what personal information We collect about You and how We use this information.

8.2    We collect personal information from You when You apply for our services, as a result of providing our service to You and over the course of administering your Debt Management Programme. We also collect information about You from your Creditors as authorised by You on the Authority Form and other third parties such as those organisations You have applied to for other products or services.

8.3    We will use your personal information to prepare and issue your Debt Management Programme, negotiate with your Creditors on your behalf, keep you informed about your Debt Management Plan and our services and to contact You for marketing purposes by post, phone, automated calling, e-mail or text message. By accepting and agreeing to these Terms and Conditions you expressly consent to being contacted by Us in any such manner.

8.4    We may also use your personal information to contact You to provide You with details of other products and services We think may be of interest to You. Those services may be provided by other companies with whom we are associated (for example other group companies) or by carefully selected third parties. As such We will share your personal information with other companies with whom We are associated and other third parties who may contact you by post, phone, automated calling, e-mail or text message. By accepting and agreeing to these Terms and Conditions you expressly consent to being contacted by any such associated company or third party in any such manner.

8.5    We may also share your personal information with other parties to the extent required by law, pursuant to a Court order to do so or at the request of any other government or law enforcement body or any body whom regulates or supervises Us. In addition We may share your personal information with any entity to whom We transfer, assign or subcontract any or all of our obligations under the Agreement.

8.6    You have the right to stop Us from contacting You for marketing purposes or from sharing your information with third parties as set out above. To do this you need to put your request to this effect in writing addressed to the Data Protection Officer, Smooth Financial Consultants Ltd., 4th Floor Jackson House, Sibson Road, Sale, M33 7RR.

8.7    You have the right under the Data Protection Act to request a copy of the personal information that We hold about You. We are entitled to charge a fee not exceeding £10 for the provision of such information. Any request to this effect should be made in writing addressed to the Data Protection Officer, 4th Floor Jackson House, Sibson Road, Sale, M33 7RR.

9. General

9.1    All of our fees (e.g. the Initial fee, Secondary fee, Monthly Fee) are exclusive of any applicable Value Added Tax (VAT). Currently the provision of our services is VAT exempt (i.e. no VAT is chargeable), however, if this position changes, we reserve the right to charge VAT as required by law. In such circumstances We will notify You in writing and amend your Debt Management Programme to take account of this.

9.2    If any court or competent authority decides that any of the provisions of the Agreement are invalid, unlawful or unenforceable to any extent, the relevant term will, to that extent only, be severed from the remaining terms, which will continue to be valid to the fullest extent permitted by law.

9.3    If We fail, at any time while the Agreement is in force, to insist that You perform any of your obligations under the Agreement, or if We do not exercise any of our rights or remedies under the Agreement, that will not mean that We have waived such rights or remedies and will not mean that You do not have to comply with those obligations. If We do waive a default by You, that will not mean that We will automatically waive any subsequent default by You. No waiver by Us of any of the terms of the Agreement shall be effective unless We expressly say that it is a waiver and We tell You so in writing.

9.4    A person who is not party to these Terms shall not have any rights under or in connection with them under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.

9.5    We may vary these Terms and Conditions from time to time and will write to You to give You at least 28 days prior notice of any changes.

9.6    The Agreement sets out the entire agreements and understanding between You and Us.

9.7    We may transfer our rights and obligations under the Agreement by giving You written notice of such transfer. You are not entitled to transfer your rights and obligations under the Agreement unless We consent to You doing so in writing.

10. Jurisdiction

These Terms shall be governed by English law and You and We both agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

Smooth Financial Consultants Ltd, 4th Floor Jackson House, Sibson Road, Sale, Cheshire, M33 7RR
Company Registration Number: 5346052. Consumer Credit License Number: 567290
Smooth Financial is a commercial organisation, we charge a fee for our services.
Smooth Financial 2012©

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