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help with financial advisor
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nicnak66
Posts: 57 Forumite


i recently sold my house to ex husband
we had agreed a price between us so no advertising etc.
i said i would pay all fees etc as ex didnt have deposit
financial adviser is now/has charging me
£395 product fee (he said for the halifax at start)
£395 application fee (again he said for halifax)
£500 network fee (said he charged by banks and building societys and he passes on to customer)
all above have been paid
he also wants £1200 as his fee as well.
after i questions first set of fees he said the 2 x £395 were for the application to be processed and go through smoothly (which it didnt due to his wrong advice) so these charges not for halifax at all like he said. i wrote to the halifax re fees and have it in writing none of these fees were charged by the halifax.
i have asked for a receipt for the first 3 payments and he said id get it after i pay the rest ie £1200 (which i am refusing)
so all in all he would get £2490
this doesnt include the solicitors fees, survey fees etc.
i would greatly appreciate any help and advice
thank you
we had agreed a price between us so no advertising etc.
i said i would pay all fees etc as ex didnt have deposit
financial adviser is now/has charging me
£395 product fee (he said for the halifax at start)
£395 application fee (again he said for halifax)
£500 network fee (said he charged by banks and building societys and he passes on to customer)
all above have been paid
he also wants £1200 as his fee as well.
after i questions first set of fees he said the 2 x £395 were for the application to be processed and go through smoothly (which it didnt due to his wrong advice) so these charges not for halifax at all like he said. i wrote to the halifax re fees and have it in writing none of these fees were charged by the halifax.
i have asked for a receipt for the first 3 payments and he said id get it after i pay the rest ie £1200 (which i am refusing)
so all in all he would get £2490
this doesnt include the solicitors fees, survey fees etc.
i would greatly appreciate any help and advice
thank you
0
Comments
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I would write an email raising my concerns and threaten yo take it to the financial ombudsman.0
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http://www.halifax.co.uk/mortgages/buying-a-home-fixed-75LTV.asp
It doesnt seem like halifax charge fees of £395.
There is no such thing as a Network fee that banks charge us... if they did, why would they then pay us commission?
He may have fees to pay to his network, but not £500 a go and he should not be lying about where its going.
You also cant charge a fee to make sure your application goes through smoothly - it should be going through smoothly anyway! There can be problems, but that shouldnt change because someone has paid a £400 fee!
Have you got all of this in email format?
If not, send him an email detailing the fees and asking what they were charged for, who they went to and when... you have a right to know, its your money.
Then, he should have given you a document called an IDD - this explains his fees, the service he offers you and this is a requirement - no 2 ways about it and it should have been given when you first met.
There should be a bit about what to do if you have a complaint - if he is an appointed representative of a network - speak to the network. If he hasnt given you a document, is it on his website, in his email footer or on the KFI you received from the lender (usually where it explains about commission on the back page).
If he isnt an appointed representative, once you an emailed response back from him (hopefully he will have hung himself...not literally...or maybe - depending on how annoyed you are), ask him what the complaints process is and that your debating going to the financial ombudsman.I am a Mortgage AdviserYou should note that this site doesn't check my status as a mortgage adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice.0 -
unf i lost all emails as hard drive crashed but i do have all the letters i sent querying these fees.
i paid the £1290 up front thinking they were halifax fees.
i knew his fee was £1200. well his fee is £600 if you take the life insurance but £1200 if you dont. i didnt need life insurance as i was selling.
i have asked for a breakdown and thats what he told me. i got nothing in writing during the one and only meeting i had with him. stuff said verbally though. he has now said as in page blah blah that i am liable to pay any additional fees. ive signed nothing and ex husband signed nothing.
in all honesty ex husband owes most of the fees as he was the purchaser but as i said i offered as he didnt go for my pension when we divorced.
i offered £600 but he wrote back and said no way but he would settle for £1000 as he did admit one small error!!
he said he will be taking it further if i dont pay!
again i asked in writing for a receipt and again he said once i had paid everything in full.
i dont want to post too much personal info on the forum but will do via pm if anyone can help
thanks to those that replied
its appreciated0 -
If he has mentioned this in an email and you never disputed it im sure he could argue you were aware of it if he wanted to go that far.
He should have gone through a document that looks similar to this with you:
http://fshandbook.info/FS/docs/cobs/cobs6_annex1_20121231.pdf
This version is quite messy as its a template for all brokers to use so it would get changed and tidied up a little.
Part 3 - This mentions fees... although it sounds like there is no dispute here as such. You just want evidence of where your money has gone so far. In all honesty, any fees should be paid directly to the lender, its unlikely hes allowed to "hold" any of your money.
Part 4 - Who regulates us. Is he directly authorised or an appointed representative of a network.
Part 6 - What to do if you have a complaint.
It seems like he may have broken the rules on:
Not given you an IDD document,
Holding your money that is meant for the lender (Presuming the money has actually gone to halifax).I am a Mortgage AdviserYou should note that this site doesn't check my status as a mortgage adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice.0 -
Sorry I don't know enough about this to advise.
But with regards to your e-mails, who is your internet provider, do they have a web mail service, because if you log into that all your emails should still be there on the server, even without webmail your ISP should be able to retrieve your e-mails for you.
Just a quick one though if you FA hasn't provided you with the required documentation as mentioned by ACG then I would call his bluff and see him in court especially if you have documented proof in the form of e-mails that he has lied to you on other matters.0 -
Your FA should have given you a document right at the beginning outlining all the fees/charges he would make. AFAIK this is a legal requirement, and if he didn't do it, then you have grounds for complaint, and can probably also report him (to whoever regulates FAs, I guess). If he did, and you didn't read it, then you'll probably have to pay up.0
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As above, he should have shown you a fee structure and asked you to sign it when you first went to him.
Do you remember signing anything when you first saw him, or discussing fees?0 -
^^^ good point you have to sign the form which lays out what he will/can/cant do for you.0
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FWIW you don't have to sign anything when you first see a broker.
For example, at first point of contact I supply an Initial Disclosure Document (IDD) which sets out our fees and how our service works. I normally issue this electronically, together with a short data capture form to establish the basics. It is made clear our fee is payable on application.
After some investigation, I then source a lender/product and produce a key facts illustration (KFI). This is again issued to the client electronically.
Once we are ready to proceed to application, the documentation is printed up and a copy of the IDD and KFI is given to the client, with a copy to be signed and given back to me. At that time, I also provide an invoice for our fee, again one for them to keep and one to sign and give back. The invoice explains the fee is payable within seven days and provides the payment methods available.
I also get a copy of the factfind, suitability letter, express consent, mortgage application etc signed at that time, giving the client copies of each.
I am sure by the time the invoice is presented to them, they have been told about our fee on at least three separate occasions and how/when it is payable.I am a mortgage broker. You should note that this site doesn't check my status as a Mortgage Adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice. Please do not send PMs asking for one-to-one-advice, or representation.0 -
^^^ good point you have to sign the form which lays out what he will/can/cant do for you.
That document is called an IDD, it only has to be given to the client as a bare minimum. I trun through it with my clients but ive worked at companies where they just literally give it them and say "thats for you."
There can also be a fee agreement, i rarely get this signed by clients, but i discuss it upfront (as it appears in the IDD) so everyone knows about it... ive never had any come backs on it. But if it is being disputed from a brokers point it helps to have it. If he has emails though saying thats my fee and the OP hasnt gone back and said what fee we never agreed to anything - it then becomes hard to argue that she wasnt aware of it down the line.I am a Mortgage AdviserYou should note that this site doesn't check my status as a mortgage adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice.0
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