1.1
Veriwise Limited is a registered company (company number 09664644) in England and Wales, and our registered office is at: Floor 5, 30 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5EU.
1.2
Veriwise Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number 826387). This can be verified on the Financial Services Register, along with the permissions we hold at: www.fca.org.uk/register or by telephoning 0300 500 8082.
1.3
Further information and details of the services we offer can be found at www.veriwise.co.uk.
Veriwise Limited has permissions from the FCA to carry out the following financial services:
2.1
to act as a Claims Management Company for Housing Disrepair claims;
2.2
to act as a Credit Broker in order to refer you to a credit firm to provide Disbursement Loans, and
2.3
to act as an insurance broker to refer you to an insurance company to provide you with After The Event Insurance.
3.1
Veriwise Limited will provide you with an account via our online portal at: www.veriwise.co.uk;
3.2
we will inform you in advance of any changes to the online portal if these might effect the way you make your claim (including, but not limited to, changes to relevant laws or other legal requirements) or the progress of your claim (see also §8.4 below on how to cancel your agreement with us);
3.3
we will keep you updated regularly on the progress of your claim via the online portal;
3.4
we will add additional information requests to your online account as required to progress your claim;
3.5
if there is any likely delay to your claim due to circumstances beyond our control we will contact you as soon as possible to inform you of this delay;
3.6
we will carefully review your claim (including any documents/evidence submitted) once you have opened your online account;
3.7
This review will consider the basis and merits of your claim;
3.8
we may request that you submit further information in support of your claim;
3.9
if after the initial review, or review following the submission of additional information we decide that your claim is not valid, we will inform you immediately in writing and close your account;
3.10
if we accept the validity of your claim, we will then contact your landlord;
3.11
we will inform you as soon as possible of the landlord’s response;
3.12
if the landlord accepts your complaint and claim we will obtain compensation on your behalf;
3.13
we will charge you our fees at the successful conclusion of your claim. Please also see the Fee Illustration given in §6 below and the information given in the documents: “Key Facts and Summary Information”, “Important Information about your potential claim” both provided with these Terms and Conditions of Business;
3.14
if we are unable to resolve the issue with your landlord we may refer your case to a solicitor;
3.15
the solicitor will review your claim under a “conditional fee arrangement”. This review will reconsider the merits of your claim and whether further legal action is needed. You will NOT be charged for this review;
3.16
if the solicitor advises that you should take further legal action, Veriwise Limited may offer the following additional services:
3.16.1 a Disbursement Loan, and/or
3.16.2 After The Event Insurance.
3.17
For the purposes of the Disbursement Loan Veriwise Limited is acting as a credit broker only and is introducing you to a credit provider. We will receive a commission for doing this should you decide to proceed. Details of this commission will be sent to you upon request.
3.18
For the purposes of After The Event Insurance Veriwise Limited is acting as an insurance broker only and is introducing you to an insurance provider. We will receive a commission for doing this should you decide to proceed. Details of this commission will be sent to you upon request.
3.19
If we are unable to successfully resolve you claim and obtain compensation on your behalf, we will not charge you any fees (see §8.3 below also).
3.20
We may end our agreement with you and cancel your claim if you do not follow the requirements given in §4 below.
By accepting these Terms and Conditions of Business with Veriwise Limited you are confirming that you will:
4.1
only provide information to us about your claim that is true and accurate to the best of your knowledge;
4.2
maintain the security of your online Account by keeping usernames and passwords confidential and not allow third parties to submit information on your behalf;
4.3
not permit any third party to upload any documents or provide any information that:
4.3.1
contains any content that is libellous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic or sexually explicit, abusive or otherwise violates any laws, statutes, regulations or codes from time to time in force;
4.3.2 infringes the intellectual property rights of any third party, and
4.3.3 contains viruses, trojans, worms, logic bombs or other material which is malicious or technologically harmful, or any other codes, files or programs designed to damage, interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software, hardware or telecommunications equipment.
4.4 Not permit any third party to:
4.4.1 reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble or otherwise attempt to discover the source code, object code or underlying structure, ideas or algorithms of the Services or any software, documentation or data (provided that reverse engineering is prohibited only to the extent such prohibition is not contrary to applicable law), and
4.4.2 modify, translate, or create derivative works based on the Services or the Veriwise Platform.
4.5 Accept responsibility and liability for all activity made on your account;
4.4 Inform Veriwise Limited of any change of circumstances that may effect your claim.
4.5 Respond to any requests for additional information made by Veriwise Limited as soon as possible.
4.6 Inform Veriwise Limited if you:
4.6.1 owe your landlord any monies;
4.6.2 are in an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) or are waiting for one to be agreed by your creditors;
4.6.3 have been declared bankrupt in the last twelve months or there is a bankruptcy petition pending against you, or
4.6.4 are subject to debt relief order.
Please see also “Important information about your potential claim”.
5.1
Your claim process will begin once you create your profile on our online platform. We will review the evidence that you submit on the portal and may ask you to upload additional information if required;
5.2
we will advise you on the validity of your claim and ask for your consent to continue (if so advised) with it;
5.3
if we cannot resolve the issue with your Landlord, we will ask if you want us to refer your case to a solicitor. If you agree, we will offer you other financial products to assist in making your claim (Disbursement Loans and After The Event Insurance, see §3.17 and §3.18 above) in order to reduce your financial risk, and
5.4
you may have to attend Court to provide evidence of your claim.
6.1
Our fees become payable at the successful conclusion of a compensation claim and are deducted from the gross amount recovered for you at the rate of 25%.
6.2
Fee illustrations:
|
Amount recovered for customer: |
Our fees to be deducted (inc VAT): |
Amount received by you: |
|
£500 |
£125 |
£375 |
|
£1000 |
£250 |
£750 |
|
£3000 |
£750 |
£2,250 |
|
£10,000 |
£2,500 |
£7,500 |
6.3
The amount recovered may not be the amount that you have claimed, and where this is the case, we will tell you before accepting the offer.
6.4
Please see the attached document “Important information about your potential claim”. This leaflet explains how the amount you receive might be less than the illustrations given above. Also see §4 above.
You can contact us via email, through your online account, by post to the address above in §1.1 or by telephone 020 3923 0220.
8.1
You may cancel your agreement with us at any time. You must do so in writing, either by email, post or through your Account and we will then confirm when your Account has been closed;
8.2
where we have accepted a Claim you have the right to cancel our appointment for any reason within 14 days under your rights in the Consumer Contracts Regulations (2013);
8.3
however, if you decide to terminate our appointment within this 14-day period in accordance with §8.2 above and this is after we have started to work on your Claim, you may be liable for any costs reasonably incurred by us during this time in working on your Claim;
8.4
if you are cancelling for one of the reasons given in §8.5 below, your account will be closed immediately and no fees charged, and
8.5
immediate cancellation reasons:
8.5.1 we have told you about an upcoming change to the Service or these Terms which you do not agree to;
8.5.2 there is a risk that supply of the Service may be significantly delayed because of events outside our control;
8.5.3 we have suspended supply of the Service for technical reasons, or notify you we are going to suspend them for technical reasons, in each case for a period of more than 3 months; or
8.5.4 you have a legal right to end the Contract because of something we have done wrong.
9.1
A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction you make. This can be done by telephone, email, by letter or on the Veriwise Platform. We will:
9.1.1 acknowledge your complaint within three working days, and
9.1.2 send you our final response letter within eight weeks of the date of your complaint (“Final Response Letter”).
9.2
If you have not received our final response within eight weeks, or you are not happy with our Final Response Letter you have the right to make a complaint against us with the Financial Ombudsman Service (see §9.4 below for contact details);
9.3
all complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service must be made within six months of the date of our Final Response Letter or six months from the date the eight-week period expired from your original complaint if you have not received our Final Response Letter.
9.4
How to contact the Financial Ombudsman Service:
9.4.1 for Housing Disrepair Claim complaints, you can visit:
https://cmc.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/ to start your complaint online;
9.4.2 for other financial services complaints you can visit:
https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumers/how-to-complain;
9.4.3 by telephone on: 0800 023 4567 (their phone lines are open 8am – 5pm on Monday to Friday);
9.4.4 send an email to: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk, or
9.4.5 write to:
Financial Ombudsman Service
Exchange Tower
London
E14 9SR
An easy read guide to how to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service can be found at: https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/files/10963/consumer_leaflet_easy-read.pdf
10.1
The type of information we have:
We currently collect and process the following information:
10.1.1 personal identifiers such as name, address, contact details (email, telephone number);
10.1.2 details about your claim, which may include certain medical information and this sensitive personal data will only ever be recorded and/or shared with your specific consent, and
10.1.3 we may hold information about you sent to us by third parties such as your landlord, letting agent, insurer, for example copies of correspondence between you, details of proposed AST.
10.2
How we get the information and why we have it:
Most of the personal information we process is provided directly to us by you for one or more of the following reasons:
10.2.1 for account set up and administration on our website, and
10.2.2 we will share your personal information with third parties in pursuing your housing disrepair claim, such as for the completion of court documents, detailing your claim to your landlord, a solicitor, previous tenancies.
10.3
How do we use your personal information:
Under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), the lawful bases we rely on for processing your information are:
10.3.1 your consent. You are able to remove your consent at any time. You can do this by contacting: Customer Services by email at customerservices@veriwise.co.uk or by telephone on 020 3923 0220;
10.3.2 we have a contractual obligation to you, and
10.3.3 we have a legal obligation.
10.4
What do we do with the information we have:
10.4.1 we use the information that you have given us in order to process your housing disrepair claim;
10.4.2 we share your information with other (third party) businesses in order for them to offer you financial services that may help you in making your claim, such as After the Event Insurance (ATE) or a Disbursement Loan;
10.4.3 we share your information with third parties, including your proposed landlord, and/or agent, and insurer.
10.5
How we store your information:
10.5.1 our information will be stored within the EEA only. Personal data will be stored in an encrypted form to protect against unauthorised access or processing. Veriwise will not disclose any information to any third parties other than those mentioned above or to help prevent fraud, or if required to do so by law.
10.5.2 We will keep your personal information for:
· 7 years following a successful claim and compensation award;
· 1 year following an unsuccessful claim or application and closure of your account.
· We will, subject to the conditions above dispose of/delete your information by running a query which will replace all the data in the database with "GDPRDelete".
10.6
Under data protection laws, you have the following rights:
10.6.1 Your right of access – you have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information;
10.6.2 Your right to rectification – you have the right to ask us to rectify and correct any information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete;
10.6.3 You right to erasure – you have the right to ask us to erase and delete your personal information in certain circumstances;
10.6.4 Your right to restriction of processing – to have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your information in certain circumstances;
10.6.5 Your right to object to processing – you have the right to object to the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances;
10.6.6 Your right to data portability – you have the right to ask that we transfer the information you gave us to another organisation, or to you, in certain circumstances.
10.7
You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, we have one month to respond.
Please contact Customer Services by email at customerservices@veriwise.co.uk or by telephone on 020 3923 0220 if you wish to make a request.
You are NOT required to use the services of Veriwise which carries on regulated claims management activity to pursue your claim; and it is possible for you to present the claim yourself for free, either against the landlord in person or to the Housing Ombudsman Service or to a “designated person” such as your MP, local councillor or a tenant panel.
By clicking “SUBMIT” on the online portal to create your online account you are agreeing to the terms and conditions given above.