Terms of Business
About our services and costs
This document explains the service you are being offered and how you will pay for it. It also addresses how we will use your data and keep it safe, along with confirmation of your marketing options.
Who We Are
Viking Mortgages is an independent mortgage and insurance brokerage. We are not limited in the range of mortgages we will consider for you. We provide holistic advice on mortgages and non-investment insurance products, priding ourselves on our reputation for offering a superior service based on honesty, integrity and a clear, transparent work ethic that ensures we treat every client fairly and professionally.
We are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who are the independent watchdog that regulates financial services.
We will confirm to you in writing the basis of our recommendations. We will also provide you with an illustration, which is a personalised description of the costs and features of the mortgage or product that we are recommending. You may ask us to provide you with additional illustrations for any mortgage or product for which you are eligible.
Our Obligations
Financial crime
We are obliged to put in place controls to prevent our business from being used for money laundering and other forms of financial crime.
We will verify your identity before undertaking any business with you. To do this we may use electronic identity verification systems, and we may conduct these checks from time to time throughout our relationship, not just at the beginning. The check may leave a ‘footprint’ on your credit file, but it will not affect your credit rating.
Conflict of interests
Although we will always try to act in your best interests, there may be situations where we or one of our other customers have some form of interest in the business being transacted for you. If this happens, or we become aware that our interests or those of one of our other customers conflict with your own interests, we will write to you and ask for your consent to proceed before we carry out any business for you. We will also let you know the steps we will take to make sure you are treated fairly.
The Products and Services We Will Provide
Insurance
We will advise and make a recommendation for you after we have discussed your needs in relation to protecting you, your family, your home or your business. We advise on non-investment protection products, e.g. term assurance, income protection, critical illness and home insurance, from a range of providers.
Mortgages
We provide an unlimited mortgage service. We will search the whole of the marketplace to find the most appropriate mortgage to suit your particular needs. We provide mortgages in both the non-business and business markets. Where required, we can also provide advice and make a recommendation on equity release mortgage products.
Please note: the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) does not regulate some buy-to-let mortgages.
Alternative finance options
Where we provide services in relation to increased borrowing on an existing mortgaged property, there may be an alternative option available that may be more appropriate. For example, you may be able to obtain a further advance from your existing lender or obtain an unsecured loan for the additional funds.
Equity release
Equity release is a way of releasing the wealth tied up in your property. With an equity release scheme, you have to be over a certain age (typically over 55) and own your own home. There are two main types of equity release plans on the market — lifetime mortgages and home reversion plans.
Where you are eligible for equity release, we advise on equity release products. This means we will provide advice and make a recommendation after we have assessed your needs. We provide advice from a comprehensive range of equity release products across the market.
What We Will Charge for Our Service
Insurance
We will not charge a fee for insurance. You will receive a quotation which will tell you about any other fees relating to any particular insurance policy. We will also be paid a commission from the provider after the policy is in force.
Mortgage
We offer a selection of fee structures dependent on individual circumstances and requirements:
- No fee will be charged. We will be paid by commission from the lender; or
- A fee of £199 is payable upon application of the mortgage. We will also be paid commission from the lender. This fee generally applies to standard mortgages.
You will receive an illustration when considering a particular mortgage, which will tell you about any fees relating to it.
If we are paid a commission from the lender, you have the right to request information on the levels of commission we will receive from the different lenders in relation to any mortgage product recommended.
Equity release
A fee of 1% of the mortgage loan is payable upon completion, subject to a minimum fee of £1,000. This means that on a mortgage of £50,000 a fee of £1,000 is payable upon completion. As a comparison, on a loan of £200,000 a fee of £2,000 is payable on completion. We will also be paid a commission from the lender.
You will receive an illustration when considering a particular equity release product, which will tell you about any fees relating to it.
Refund of fees
If we charge a fee on application or offer and your mortgage does not go ahead, you will receive no refund if we have carried out credit searches, research or product options and sourced a suitable mortgage provider.
Communications & Consent
Communicating with you
- Our normal ways of communicating with you are by telephone, post, email, SMS text message or in person. Our communications will be in English.
- We may ask you to confirm your instructions to us in writing, as this helps to avoid any future misunderstandings.
Recording telephone calls
- To ensure we carry out your instructions accurately, to help us continually improve our service, and in the interests of security, we may record and monitor your telephone communications or conversations with us.
- Copies of our telephone recordings will be available on request, for a period of 5 years after the recording was made.
Protecting your personal information
- To provide our services properly we’ll need to collect information about your personal and financial circumstances. We take your privacy seriously and will only use your personal information to deliver our services.
- We may include, as part of your personal information, basic information such as the name and age of any dependants under the age of 16. Any dependant over the age of 16 will be required to give their own consent.
- Processing of your personal data is necessary for the performance of our contract for services with you. Generally, this is the lawful basis on which we intend to rely for the processing of your data. Our policy is to gather and process only that personal data which is necessary for us to conduct our services appropriately with you.
- We adopt a transparent approach to the processing of your personal data. Sometimes we may need to pass your personal information to other organisations. If you apply to take out a financial product or service, we’ll need to pass certain personal details to the product or service provider.
- We may engage the services of third-party providers of professional services in order to enhance the service we provide to you. These parties may also need to process your personal data in the performance of their contract with us.
- The organisations to whom we may pass your details also have their own obligations to deal with your personal information appropriately. Sometimes a product or service may be administered from a country outside Europe. If this is the case, the firm must put a contract in place to ensure that your information is adequately protected.
- We will issue you with our Privacy Notice. This is a separate document which provides more information about the nature of our personal data processing activities and includes details of our retention and deletion policies, as well as your rights of access to the personal information that we hold on you.
- Special categories of personal data: there are certain categories of personal data that are sensitive by nature. These include data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, and data concerning health. Depending on the nature of the products and services you engage us for, we may need to obtain your sensitive personal data, particularly in relation to health. Our policy is that, should we require any special category of personal data, we will only gather this with your explicit consent.
- If you are concerned about any aspect of our privacy arrangements, please speak to us.
Consent and marketing
Where we need to process special category (sensitive) data, we will ask for your explicit consent to do so as far as it is necessary for the services you require from Viking Mortgages and its principal firm, Ingard Financial Limited. You may withdraw this consent at any time by notifying us.
From time to time we may wish to contact you to offer additional products or services which may be of interest to you. We will only do this with your consent, and you may choose how you are contacted (by email, telephone, text message or post). You may withdraw this consent at any time by notifying us. Your specific communication and marketing preferences are recorded as part of your client agreement when you engage our services.
Who Regulates Us
Viking Mortgages is a trading style of Torild Bastien, who is an Appointed Representative of Ingard Financial Limited, First Floor, Maple House, Park West, Sealand Road, Chester CH1 4RN, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), 12 Endeavour Square, Stratford, London, E20 1JN, www.fca.org.uk. Our firm reference number is 450731.
Our permitted business is recommending and advising on regulated mortgage contracts and regulated non-investment insurance contracts.
You can check this on the Financial Services Register by visiting the FCA’s website www.fca.org.uk/firms/systems-reporting/register or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768.
Ingard complies with its obligations under Consumer Duty, which sees the FCA setting out higher and clearer standards to protect consumers in retail financial services.
What to Do if You Have a Complaint
If you wish to register a complaint, please contact us:
- In writing: Write to Ingard, First Floor, Maple House, Park West, Sealand Road, Chester CH1 4RN
- By phone: 01702 533 400
- By email: info@ingard.co.uk
If you cannot settle your complaint with us, you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Full details of the FOS can be found on its website at www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.
Amendments to This Agreement
From time to time it may be necessary to amend the terms set out in this agreement where it is not necessary to issue a new agreement. If this is the case, we’ll write to you with details of the changes, giving you at least 28 business days’ written notice.
Product Cancellation Rights
Full details of any financial products we recommend to you will be provided in the relevant product information you will receive. This will include information about any product cancellation rights, along with any other early termination rights and penalties. Please note that there is no right to cancel a mortgage contract once the mortgage transaction has been concluded.
Ending This Agreement
We may terminate this agreement by giving you at least 28 business days’ written notice. You may terminate this agreement at any time, without penalty. Notice of termination must be given in writing and will take effect from the date of receipt. Any transactions already initiated will be completed according to this agreement unless otherwise agreed in writing. You will be liable to pay for any services we have provided before cancellation and any outstanding fees, if applicable.
Are We Covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)?
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is the UK’s statutory compensation fund for customers of authorised financial services firms who are unable to pay claims against them, usually because they have gone out of business.
You may be able to claim compensation from the FSCS if we can’t meet our obligations. The amount of compensation available will depend on the type of business and the circumstances of the claim. We can provide more specific information on request, but as a guide:
- Mortgages — eligible claims related to advising and arranging are covered for 100% of a claim up to a maximum limit of £85,000 per person per firm.
- Insurance — in the majority of cases, eligible claims related to advising and arranging of protection products are covered for 90% of the claim, without any upper limit.
Further information is available from the FSCS at www.fscs.org.uk.
Viking Mortgages is a trading style of Torild Bastien who is an Appointed Representative of Ingard Financial Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority No 450731.
Think carefully before securing other debts against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate some buy-to-let mortgages.
