terms of business

I am pleased to confirm that CLOVER MORTGAGES Ltd fully subscribes to the Mortgage Code and thereby offers a comprehensive and professional service to all our clients. This is an outline of the terms upon which we transact mortgage business. This is only a summary and your Consultant will be more than happy to elaborate on any points you require.

The Mortgage Code came into effect for intermediaries such as ourselves on 1st May 1998 and is a voluntary Code. The Code sets minimum standards of good lending and advisery practice, which are to be followed by all lenders and mortgage intermediaries. With this letter you will also be given a leaflet summarising the Code and explaining what you can expect from us.

Our registration number with the Mortgage Code Compliance Board (MCCB) is 5691479 In addition we also hold a Consumer Credit Licence number 556584. We are authorised by the FSA and our number is 305257.

Please note that in all your dealings with Clover Mortgages we will act on your behalf and not for any lender.

Our Service

We place business through a Mortgage Packager, SQ2, who constantly review the mortgage market in order to select the most appropriate lenders to meet your individual circumstances. We currently use a panel of lenders who consistently provide our customers with a competitive product range and high standards of service. The panel cover the whole of the market. If the panel lenders cannot meet your specific requirements we will access the market further.

Under the terms of the Code there are three levels of service available. These are:

Full advice and recommendation
Information on different types of mortgage products available to allow you to make a choice
Information on a single product only, where no advice is given.

We offer a full advice and recommendation service in all cases in order that together we can make an informed decision about the most appropriate mortgage for your needs. As a result, during our initial discussions, we will be completing a detailed mortgage questionnaire to enable appropriate advice to be given.

Provision of Information

We will provide you with information relevant to your mortgage needs, covering such items as an explanation of the main repayment methods and the implications of taking out a mortgage. A full information list can be found in Section 3.2 of the Mortgage Code, a copy of which can be made available on request. Please note that some types of mortgage require special investment vehicles to repay them, although we will provide general information on such products we are not authorised to advise or recommend such products.

Once we have made our recommendations to you, we will confirm our advice in writing. You should keep this as it will be a record of the transaction, and will be confirmed by your lender's formal offer of a loan.

Confidentiality

We are fully registered under the Data Protection Act 1998 and you have the right of access to your personal information held on our files. We will treat all your personal information as private and confidential (even if you are no longer a customer) except where we are required by law to disclose such information or where the disclosure is made at your request or with your consent in relation to arranging your mortgage.

As part of the MCCB's duties we may be asked to provide them with access to our client records in order that they can carry out an audit of our procedures. The MCCB's ability to inspect client records promotes best practice in our industry and ensures that you continue to receive the best possible service. If we disclose your personal information to the MCCB then it has been agreed with us that it will only use it for the purpose of checking our compliance with the Mortgage Code and not for any other reason. If you would like us not to disclose any of your personal information to the MCCB then please write to us informing us of this within 21 days of receipt of this document.

Fees

We normally receive a procuration fee from the packager, on completion of the mortgage, in recognition of the work we do on behalf of the lender.

We will advise you in writing as to whether or not we receive a fee we will tell you the exact amount of the fee. We may also receive commissions from insurers for any protection policies that we may put in place on your behalf. Details of these commissions, if any, will be provided to you if requested.

For the time spent gathering information, valuing your property, researching the market and the administration involved in submitting the application to the appropriate lender on your behalf and ensuring the transaction is completed to suit your requirements we will charge you a fee. This fee is payable in part with the submission of your application and part only on completion of the mortgage.

We will advise you of all fees and costs that you may be required to pay for any of the products or services that we offer before you are committed to making any payment at all.

Complaints

Our aim is to provide you with a first class professional and confidential service, however, should you wish to make a complaint about the mortgage advice given or the information we have given you in connection with your mortgage, you should write to The Mortgage Code Compliance Officer, Squirrel Mortgages Management Ltd, Drey House, 338 Lichfield Road, Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, B74 4BH. An oral complaint should be made to the The Mortgage Code Compliance Officer, our telephone number is 0121 3081152. we will reply to

you within 5 working days. This response will provide an answer to the complaint if this is possible. If the complaint is of a nature that needs further investigation then we will send you a letter of acknowledgement confirming the following: