1. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
The FCA is the independent watchdog that regulates financial services. Guide Mortgages is a trading name of Asset Guide Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Our Firm Reference Number is 918369. Our permitted business is advising and arranging mortgages and non-investment insurance contracts, as well as credit-broking. You can check this on the Financial Services Register by visiting the FCA’s website at https://register.fca.org.uk.
Business Buy to Let mortgages, where the borrower is acting by way of business, are not regulated by the FCA and therefore the provision of our service does not hold this additional level of consumer protection, unlike for residential mortgages.
2. Whose products do we offer?
For residential (owner occupier) or consumer buy to let mortgages – we offer a comprehensive range of mortgages from across the market but not those that you can only obtain by going directly to the lender.
For business buy-to-let or commercial mortgages – we only provide mortgages from a limited range of lenders from across the market, which does not represent the whole market. We only sell bridging products from a limited range of lenders from across the market, which does not represent the whole market.
For Product Transfers – we can advise on and arrange residential, buy-to-to let and commercial product transfers in line with the level of service outlined in section 3 below.
For General Insurance (i.e. Homeowners or Landlords Buildings Insurance) – we offer a range of products from a limited range of insurers from across the market which does not represent the Whole of Market. A list of Providers we offer General Insurance products from is available at the end of this document.
For Pure Protection (i.e. Life Insurance, Critical Illness and Income Protection) – we offer a range of products from a range of insurers from across the market which represents the Whole of Market. A list of Insurers we offer Pure Protection products from is available upon request.
Consumer Credit – where we have arranged an insurance policy on your behalf, we can arrange credit to cover up to 90% of the policy premium. We only arrange credit from a limited range of lenders from across the market, which does not represent the whole market.
3. Which service will we provide you with?
For residential (owner occupier) or consumer buy to let mortgages – you will receive advice or a recommendation from us as to which is the most suitable product for your requirements, once we have assessed your needs for the respective product.
For business buy-to-let or commercial mortgages – we will ask you some questions to help us ascertain your demands and needs, and we will then provide you with sufficient information on what we believe to be ‘a suitable product’, but not necessarily ‘the most suitable product’, for your demands and needs. The information we provide is intended to help you make an informed decision about how to proceed. Ultimately, you will need to make your own decision about how to proceed, and it is your responsibility to ensure that it meets your mortgage requirements.
For residential (owner occupier) or consumer buy to let product transfers – we will provide our services on an advised basis as we would for a standard residential mortgage or re-mortgage. However, we may also provide this service on an execution only basis if requested to do so.
For business buy-to-let or commercial product transfers – we will provide our services on a non-advised basis as we would for any other buy-to-let or commercial products. However, we may also provide this service on an execution only basis if requested to do so.
In all cases, we will arrange the product on your behalf.
For General Insurance – we will ask you some questions to help us ascertain your demands and needs, and we will then provide you with sufficient information on what we believe to be ‘a suitable product’, but not necessarily ‘the most suitable product’, for your demands and needs. The information we provide is intended to help you make an informed decision about how to proceed. Ultimately, you will need to make your own decision about how to proceed, and it is your responsibility to ensure that any product that you take out is suitable for your insurance requirements. In all cases, we will arrange the product on your behalf.
For Pure Protection – we provide our services on an advised basis. You will receive advice or a recommendation from us as to which we believe to be the most suitable product for your requirements, from the range of providers whose products we offer, once we have assessed your demands and needs. In all cases, we will arrange the product on your behalf.
For Consumer Credit – you will not receive advice or a recommendation from us on the suitability of the provision of credit, unless you are a retail client.
In all cases, we will arrange the product on your behalf.
4. Disclosure of Information
It is important that you understand that any information, statements, or answers made by you to us or your Insurer are your responsibility and must be correct, as failure to disclose facts material to the insurance or any inaccuracies in your answers may invalidate your insurance cover. These facts must be disclosed at the earliest opportunity and certainly at each renewal. If you are a retail client you are duty bound to avoid any misrepresentation & if you are a commercial client you are duty bound to make a fair representation of risk, (more information is available upon request). Responsibility for this is solely yours as we cannot be expected to have known facts which have not been disclosed to us. Please keep copies of any documentation sent to you for future reference.
5. What will you have to pay for the service?
Residential (owner occupier) or consumer buy to let mortgages: A non-refundable administration fee of £99 is payable prior to submitting a mortgage application. A further £150 is payable upon receipt of the mortgage offer. We will also be paid a commission by the lender (which will be disclosed to you if greater than £250). We do not provide any refund once you have received the mortgage offer. This does not affect your statutory rights.
Business buy-to-let or commercial mortgages: A non-refundable administration fee of £199 is payable prior to submitting a mortgage application. A further 0.5% of the loan amount is payable upon receipt of the mortgage offer. We will also be paid a commission by the lender (which will be disclosed to you if greater than £250). We do not provide any refund once you have received the mortgage offer. This does not affect your statutory rights.
General Insurance: We do not charge you a fee for this service, but we will receive a commission of up to 30% from the Insurance provider. In cases where we have assisted in the arrangement of finance, the firm may also receive an over-ride payment of up to 2.5% of the finance amount from the Finance Provider.
Pure Protection: We do not charge you a fee for this service, but we will receive a commission from the Insurance provider, which will be disclosed to you in the insurance documentation. In cases where we have assisted in the arrangement of finance, the firm may also receive an over-ride payment of up to 2.5% of the finance amount from the Finance Provider.
Payment of Fees: Our Fees can only be paid by bank transfer to Asset Guide Limited, Account Number – 43828336, Sort-code – 20-82-13, reference: your last name and post code.
We will also ask you to supply debit or credit card details and will use these card details to process any payments due to the lender or surveyor or third party as needed to process your application as detailed in the mortgage illustration. Please let us know if you wish to pay by an alternative method. We reserve the right to charge interest at the rate of 8% per annum for any amounts due to us which remain unpaid after the due date.
6. Professional Indemnity Insurance
We conform to the FCA requirements in respect of Professional Indemnity Insurance. This type of insurance is mandatory for mortgage and insurance intermediaries.
7. Cancellation rights
Mortgages & Consumer Credit: We do not provide any refund should you decide not to proceed with the mortgage or loan after the offer has been issued. You do however have the right to withdraw from your mortgage or loan within 7 days of accepting the offer. This does not affect your statutory rights.
Insurance: If you wish to cancel your policy please contact us in writing at Asset Guide Limited, Cancelations Department, 68, Sale Road, Manchester, Lancashire M23 0DE or by phone on 07435154117. We reserve the right to charge a fee of £20 upon cancellation of a policy unless the cancellation is within 14 days of inception or renewal of the policy.
Please note that we operate on an auto renewal basis, in that all policies will be automatically renewed upon at renewal date, unless otherwise specified or unless you have informed us of your intention to lapse the policy.
Your statutory rights are not affected.
8. What to do if you have a complaint?
If you wish to register a complaint, please contact us in writing at:
Asset Guide Limited, Complaints Department, 68, Sale Road, Manchester, Lancashire M23 0DE or by phone on 07435154117.
If you wish to obtain a copy of the firm’s Complaint Handling Procedure, please be in contact with Asset Guide Limited.
9. We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)
We are covered by the FSCS. You may be entitled to compensation from the scheme if we cannot meet our obligations. This depends on the type of business and the circumstances of the claim.
Mortgage: Mortgage advising and arranging is covered up to a maximum of £85,000. Further information about the compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS.
Insurance: Advising and arranging of optional insurance policies is covered for 90% of the claim, without any limitation. Compulsory insurance policies are covered 100%.
10. Data Protection
Asset Guide Limited is registered with the Information Commissioners Office and we comply with the relevant Data Protection legislation. If you provide Asset Guide Limited with Personal Data of a third party, you should only do so if you are authorised to release such information by the data subject. The information you provide is subject to the Privacy Notice of the firm, which is available upon request. You may request confirmation of the information we hold about you, to which we will respond within 30 days. You consent to us or any company associated with us, processing your personal data in accordance with the Privacy Notice of the firm. If you wish to obtain a copy of the firm’s Privacy Notice, please be in contact with us in writing at Asset Guide Limited, , 68, Sale Road, Manchester, Lancashire M23 0DE or by phone on 07435154117.
We may undertake checks via credit reference and fraud prevention agencies to manage your account with us. Please note that these checks should not affect your credit rating. Furthermore, any of our Product Providers (including Credit Providers), may also undertake checks via credit reference and fraud prevention agencies to obtain information with regards to your credit profile. This may affect your credit rating.