Allegiant Terms of engagement unaffordable lending

 

By signing our terms of engagement, you will be entering into a legally binding contract. If you change your mind, you have a 14 day cooling off period during which you can cancel without charge. In entering into this contract, you confirm that you have read our Pre-Contractual Information. You also confirm that you understand that we offer a professional paid-for claims management service but that you do not need to use a claims management company to make your complaint to the respondent, and that if your complaint is not successful that you can refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service for free (see https://financial-ombudsman.org).

 

  • 1. Definitions

    14 day cooling off period means the first to the fourteenth day inclusive after we receive your signed terms of engagement.

    cash in hand compensation means the actual cash in hand compensation that you receive from the respondent after debt and tax deductions have been applied by the respondent.

    claim means the pursuit of a complaint against the respondent to bring about compensation arising out of the actual or potential mis-selling of a high cost financial product.

    claims management service means any and all of the actions of the company in representing you to make a claim during which the company will undertake reasonable steps as may be necessary to progress the claim from time to time. This may include (but is not necessarily limited to) providing advice in writing or orally, investigating the facts and merit of a claim, presenting a claim, negotiating and relaying settlement information about a claim.

    compensation means each and every financial benefit to you from the respondent that is awarded or accrues as a result of the performance of the claims management service (we charge based on net compensation only – please see below)

    company/us/we/our means Allegiant Finance Services Limited whose present address is 400 Chadwick House, Warrington Road, Birchwood Park, Warrington, WA3 6AE, a claims management company that is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and whose Firm Reference Number is 836810. Check https://register.fca.org.uk/ to verify up to date details.

    high cost financial product means each and every agreement you have had with the respondent (whether past, present or those taken out during the claims management service) and relating to the product type that you have instructed us to pursue.

    product type is a defined category of high cost financial products such as (a) payday loan claims (b) doorstep loan claims (c) short term high cost credit claims (d) guarantor loan claims (e) high cost (bad credit) loans.

    respondent means {$leads__fsp_parent_company_name} whilst trading as {$leads__fsp_trading_name}, its predecessors, successors, assignees, servants and/or agents inclusive of any insolvency practitioners appointed from time to time.

    settlement proposal means an offer from the respondent, or a recommendation, adjudication or decision made by the Financial Ombudsman Service or another third-party organisation with binding authority to award compensation, whether or not the compensation due has yet been calculated or the offer yet communicated.

    success fee means the sum payable to us as regulated by Section 4 of the terms of engagement.

    terms of engagement means the terms and conditions set out within this document.

    you/your means the person signing the terms of engagement, or where acting as a power of attorney, the person on whose behalf the claim is made.

  • 2. What we will do

    2.1 In performing our duties, we will exercise the reasonable skill and care expected of a regulated claims management company and maintain all relevant regulatory permissions to enable us to perform our role lawfully.

    2.2 Once we are in receipt of appropriate information and documentation from you, we will submit a claim to the respondent. Should the respondent not respond within appropriate timeframes or disagree with the claim, we will reconsider the claim merits in all of the circumstances and, where reasonable, escalate the claim to the Financial Ombudsman Service or another appropriate third party alternative dispute resolution organisation with binding authority to resolve the claim on your behalf.

    2.3 We will communicate with you by email, live chat, post, SMS, via our website portal and/or orally (including by telephone).

    2.4 We will update you when there is a material claim update. This includes where the respondent acknowledges the claim, requests further information and/or makes a final decision. If your claim is referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service or another third party organisation with binding authority, we will update you when the claim is acknowledged and whenever there is a subsequent material development. In any event, we will update you in line with our governing regulatory requirements as in force from time to time.

    2.5 We agree to pay a respondent and any relevant third parties any such reasonable fees as may be necessary for us to access information required to pursue a claim.

    2.6 We will take instructions from you where they are necessary and always in relation to settlement proposals once compensation is calculated.

    2.7 We will reasonably assume that account information and calculations provided by the respondent are the best primary evidence of lending, are accurate, not misleading and/or not ­provided in bad faith unless you provide evidence to cast reasonable doubt on accuracy of this information.

    2.8 We will not provide financial or debt advice as we are solely authorised and regulated to provide claims management services.

  • 3. Your commitments to us

    3.1 You confirm that you have not pursued the claim previously, or where you have, that this has been brought to our attention and that all relevant correspondence and documentation will be passed to us promptly.

    3.2 You agree that we are appointed as your exclusive representative for the purpose of delivering the claims management service, meaning that at no time during the terms of engagement will you (i) have an ongoing contract with another representative relating to the claim; or (ii) attempt to pursue the claim yourself without cancellation (see Section 5).

    3.3 You agree not to contact the respondent, the Financial Ombudsman Service or other relevant third party organisation to withdraw our authority to provide the claims management service without first cancelling with us.

    3.4 You confirm that you are not, or have never been, declared bankrupt or subject to an IVA, DRO or sequestration. You agree to inform us immediately should there become a reasonable likelihood that you may formally enter into any such arrangement.

    3.5 You agree to provide us with prompt information about your personal details and financial situation as we may reasonably require in order to provide the claims management service and to immediately inform us of any change of information during the course of the claims management service.

    3.6 You agree to complete and sign all paperwork necessary to provide us with authority to pursue the claims management service.

    3.7 You agree to provide us with the documentary evidence reasonably required to investigate and/or pursue the claim including (but not limited to) bank statements, credit reports, relevant respondent related documentation and correspondence.

    3.8 You agree to inform us immediately should a respondent contact you directly to discuss a claim or make a payment to you directly.

    3.9 In the circumstances where a respondent pays you directly, you agree to pay the success fee (see further Section 4).

    3.10 You acknowledge that the making of a claim may lead to the respondent withdrawing your access to their financial products. You agree to make your own back up arrangements for this eventuality.

  • 4. The success fee

    4.1 The success fee is 30% inclusive of VAT calculated of cash in hand compensation. This means we charge on what you actually receive, not debt or tax deductions.

    How this works in practice:

    A B C D E
    Amount awarded in compensation Deductions the respondent makes for tax or money you owe them. Cash in hand compensation due (A less B) Success fee (30% of Column C) Cash left for you after you pay us
    £1,000 award £0 £1,000 £300 £700
    £1,000 award £200 £800 £240 £560 + reduction of money owed to the respondent / HMRC
    £1,000 award £1000 £0 £0 No Charge + reduction of money owed to the respondent / HMRC

    † A fee calculator is available at https://allegiant.co.uk/our-fees.

     

    4.2 You agree to pay us the success fee without undue delay upon receipt of funds paid to you by the respondent. You accept that payment of the success fee is not contingent on the completion of any further action, such as a respondent making a correction to a credit record. Where further settlement actions remain outstanding that form part of our claims management service obligations, we will continue to pursue these on your behalf and our contractual commitments to you will be unaffected by the payment you have made.

    4.3 Where cash in hand compensation is paid in separate parts or part paid (for whatever reason), we reserve the right to raise interim or modified invoices relating to the amount received by you.

  • 5. Cancellation rights

    5.1 You may cancel the claims management service without charge within the 14 day cooling off period.

    5.2 After the expiry of the 14 day cooling off period, you may ask us to cancel the claims management service. There is no cancellation charge but a success fee may be payable:

    • If there has been no settlement proposal(s) prior to cancellation, no success fee will be due; or
    • If there has been settlement proposal(s) but no acceptance prior to cancellation, the success fee will apply to the lowest of: (a) the settlement proposal with the highest compensation received prior to cancellation; or (b) the compensation that you achieve independently of us; or
    • If you have accepted a settlement proposal and cancel after acceptance, the success fee will be due in the normal way.

    In all scenarios above, the success fee would not be due for payment until you receive cash in hand.

    5.3 Where we have a reasonable belief that you are withholding information relating to a settlement proposal or claim resolution (including receipt of cash in hand) after cancellation, we reserve the right to raise an invoice based on our aggregated win statistics over the previous 12 month period relevant to the product type. We will amend or cancel any such invoice as appropriate should we subsequently learn the actual position.

    5.4 You can serve notice of cancellation as follows:

    • by post: Allegiant Finance Services Limited, Freepost RTYU–XUTZ–YKJC, 400 Chadwick House, Warrington Road, Birchwood Park, Warrington, WA3 6AE;
    • by email: helpdesk@allegiant-finance.co.uk;
    • by telephone: 0345 544 1563; or
    • online at https://allegiant.co.uk/legal/cancellation

    We may ask you why you are cancelling and use this information for service improvement. However, you are under no obligation to tell us why you cancelled.

    5.5 Where you cancel an agreement with us, we will ask you whether you wish for us to withdraw the claim or whether you wish to continue it yourself. We will then update the respondent and where necessary the Financial Ombudsman Service and/or other relevant third party organisation as appropriate. Where you are continuing the claim yourself, it is solely your responsibility to make enquiries of relevant deadlines and steps that are required to be undertaken.

    5.6 We may cancel the terms of engagement 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.

  • 6. Complaints

    6.1 Complaints may be made either:

    • by post: Allegiant Finance Services Limited, Freepost RTYU–XUTZ–YKJC, 400 Chadwick House, Warrington Road, Birchwood Park, Warrington, WA3 6AE;
    • by e-mail: helpdesk@allegiant-finance.co.uk; or
    • by telephone: 0345 544 1563.

    6.2 Our full complaints procedure can be viewed at https://allegiant.co.uk/legal/complaints and is available in other mediums on request.

    6.3 If you are not satisfied with our response, or if a complaint is not resolved after eight weeks, you may refer the complaint to the Claims Management Ombudsman (a part of the Financial Ombudsman Service) to independently assess your complaint:

    • by post: Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, Harbour Exchange, London, E14 9SR;
    • by email: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk; or
    • by telephone: 0800 023 4567.

    Further information about the Claims Management Ombudsman can be found at: https://cmc.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.

    6.4 Time limits apply to complaints. 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.

  • 7. Limitation of our liability

    We will not be liable for any costs or losses caused to you as a result of:

    • your lack of co-operation
    • your 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
    • your failure to give us accurate or up to date information in a timely manner
    • delays or loss of information caused by your or our use of postal, telephony or email service providers
    • matters that we cannot reasonably control
    • losses which cannot be reasonably foreseen or which you could have taken steps to mitigate
    • the expiry of limitation dates caused by previous complaints unless we have specifically agreed to work to those deadlines and you have provided us with all reasonable information relating to the previous complaint.

  • 8. Termination

    The terms of engagement will terminate upon completion of the claims management service and upon payment by you of any fees or charges due to us. These terms of engagement will be resurrected upon our written notice to you in the circumstances 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 respondent’s error or concealment or some other relevant basis).

  • 9. General

    9.1 We reserve the right to recover the cost of solicitor fees, tracing fees, court fees and/or enforcement agent fees where it is necessary to enforce our right to payment of the success fee.

    9.2 In the event of conflict, the provisions of this agreement will be interpreted in line with prevailing statutory and regulatory rules as in force from time to time.

    9.3 Nothing within this agreement is intended to confer a benefit on a third party.

    9.4 The company may assign or subcontract any or all of its rights and benefits arising from the terms of engagement with 21 days prior written notice (or shorter where required to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation).

    9.5 If any part of the terms of engagement is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the other terms of this agreement will not be affected and will be read to give effect to the intended spirit of the overall agreement.

    9.6 The terms and conditions in these terms of engagement will apply post termination where necessary to give effect to the agreement, its purpose and intention.

    9.7 This agreement is subject to the laws and exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

  • Acceptance

    Your acceptance of our terms of engagement

    I, (first name) (last name), confirm that I have read and I accept the Pre contract information, Service Summary, Privacy Policy and these Terms of Engagement

    *** Important: if there is anything that you do not understand it is important that you contact us before signing this document ***