Secret Commission Claims

Over 3,400 claims successfully settled for our clients for over £17 million

A secret commission claim arises when a third party (often a financial adviser, broker, or agent) receives a commission or fee from a provider or seller without the knowledge and consent of their client. These claims are commonly associated with financial products, loans, insurance policies, or other financial transactions where the adviser is expected to act in the best interest of the client but fails to disclose that they’re receiving additional compensation.

In a secret commission situation, the commission can influence the adviser’s recommendations or choices, leading them to recommend products or services that might not be the best fit for the client. This is seen as a breach of fiduciary duty, as the adviser’s duty of loyalty to the client has been compromised. In the UK, secret commission claims can be filed if the client feels they were misled and financially disadvantaged because of this undisclosed payment.

Existence of a Fiduciary Relationship: The client must have trusted the adviser to act in their best interest.
Undisclosed Commission: The adviser received a payment or commission without informing the client.
Breach of Duty: This undisclosed payment led to a potential conflict of interest or breach of the adviser’s duty to the client.
Financial Impact: The client must demonstrate that the undisclosed commission influenced the transaction and caused financial harm.

If successful, secret commission claims can result in compensation for financial losses or even render the original contract void, allowing clients to claim the money paid to the adviser.

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March 2015, the Court of Appeal gave judgement in the McWilliam & McWilliam v Norton Finance (UK) Limited case [a full copy of the judgement can be found here]. The case has huge implications for customers who have entered a loan agreement that has been introduced by a credit broker.

Should a customer go through a credit broker to arrange a secured loan, then the consumer is entitled to the “single minded loyalty” of the credit broker;

They must act in good faith
A secret profit must not be taken
They must not place themselves in a position where their duty and their interest may conflict

Therefore, where a credit broker is paid a secret commission by the lender, the broker and / or lender should disclose the amount to the borrower (customer) for this secret profit. Consumer Reclaim Ltd can investigate and assess whether a secret commission has been paid.

Prior to the credit crunch, the secured loan market was a £7billion a year industry. Loan brokers were paid handsomely with average commissions of £3,000. Neither lenders, (who paid the commission) nor brokers, (who received the commission) provided sufficient information to borrowers to ensure that these payments did not cause any conflict of interest. Consumer Reclaim Ltd can recover commission that were not disclosed to the borrower.

Should Consumer Reclaim Ltd find evidence of a secret commission then the team will begin to prepare your claim to ensure the secret profit is paid back to you. Consumer Reclaim Ltd have dealt with claims between lenders and their brokers with an average commission of £3,000 plus, per case. Taking statutory interest into account, a typical claim would be £5,400.

If you have taken out a loan in the last 20 years or would like Consumer Reclaim Ltd to investigate secret commission claims involving the following transactions then get in touch;

Second Charge loans
Insurance sales via a broker
Mortgages entered into before 2014
Buy-to-Let Mortgages
Commercial Mortagages

Secret Commission Claims

Secret Commissions: The Supreme Court has enhanced the scope for recovery

The Supreme Court has enhanced the scope for recovery of bribes or secret commissions The Supreme Court has enhanced the scope for recovery of bribes or secret commissions received by an agent. It is in breach of its fiduciary duty to its principal. Confirming that the principal will have a proprietary claim. The past few…

July 19, 2021

Blemain Finance. Client of Consumer Reclaim awarded £10,351.41

Blemain Finance, now Together Finance, found guilty of secret commission within their loan to customer that they paid to the broker. The broker was supposed to have been acting in the customer’s best interest in finding a loan that was the best for the customer. District Judge Pithouse at Dartford County Court found that the…

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About Secret Commission Claims

1. Have you taken out any loan where you believe you were not clearly made aware of a commission payable to an intermediatory, such as broker or salesperson, where the loan is either current or paid off within the last 6 years? YesNo

“Unfortunately we are unable to help you with this matter” 2. If Yes, how many of these loans have you taken out?

3. Do you have a copy/copies of the loan agreement(s)? YesNo

It is possible that you may have been mis-sold by not being properly informed of a commission to the intermediatory and so you could be entitled to compensation.

For us to investigate the matter for you, we will just need a few details from you and for you to provide your authorisation below for us to contact your lenders upon your behalf to investigate if you are eligible to make a claim and for you to agree to our No Win – No Fee Terms. If we are able to pursue a claim for you then our fees are set by the Financial Conduct Authority and are:

Our Fees

Band	Settlement Amount of Claim	Maximum percentage of Settlement Amount we will charge for settling your claim	The maximum amount we will charge you
1	£1 - £1,499	30%	£420
2	£1,500 - £9,999	28%	£2,500
3	£10,000 - £24,999	25%	£5,000
4	£25,000 - £49,999	20%	£7,500
5	£50,000 or above	15%	£10,000

*The above fees are plus VAT

Customer 1:

Address:

Post Code:

Email:

Mobile No:

Landline No: (If applicable)

Customer 2:(If joint accounts)

Address:(if different to Customer 1 address)

Post Code:(if different to Customer 1 post code)

Email:

Mobile No:

Landline No: (If applicable)

Sample of the Letter of Authority can be viewed here. Once you fill up your data it will be emailed to you as a completed PDF in to your inbox.
[ LETTER OF AUTHORITY ]

Letter of Authority

“I agree to Consumer Reclaims Terms”

Terms and Conditions

PARTIES

This Agreement is made between:

Consumer Reclaim, a trading style of Consumer Reclaim Limited, whose registered office is at 207 Knutsford Road, Warrington, Cheshire, WA4 2QL (“Consumer Reclaim”); and
You, the account holder(s), whose name(s) and address(es) are set out overleaf (“You”)

RECITALS

Consumer Reclaim is a Claims Management Company which investigates the circumstances, merits and foundation of claims in relation to financial products or services with a view to using the results in pursuing such claims. You wish to engage Consumer Reclaim to investigate and pursue any Claims You have in relation to any financial products and services that have been recommended or supplied to You. This Agreement sets out the terms and conditions upon which You engage Consumer Reclaim.

DEFINITIONS

In this Agreement, including the Recitals, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

“Claim” means any claim against a Third Party in relation to financial products or services they have recommended or supplied to You, including but not limited to any claim arising from: the mis-selling of Payment Protection Insurance (“PPI claim”); the mis-selling of Packaged Bank Accounts (“PBA claim”); an unfair relationship pursuant to section 140A of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (“Unfair Relationship claim”); and the payment and/or receipt of undisclosed commission (“Secret Commission claim”).

“Compensation” means any compensatory credit, deposit or payment recovered from a Third Party in full and final settlement of a Claim, which may take the form of a cash payment or a reduction of the amount outstanding, future repayments, or arrears in a form of credit.

“Fees”means Consumer Reclaim’s fees for supplying the Services to You, which are 28% plus VAT of any Compensation or financial benefit that you receive as a result of the services of Consumer Reclaim. For the avoidance of doubt, these Fees are charged on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis so, subject to clauses 2.8, 8.1 and 8.2, if no Compensation or financial benefit is recovered in a Claim, there will be no Fees for that Claim. Where it is necessary for your Claim to be referred to Consumer Reclaim’s panel solicitors their fee’s may vary, but you will not be obliged to accept their representation on your Claim if you do not want to, the choice will be yours. Where you accept any representation from Consumer Reclaim’s panel solicitors then you will no longer be required to pay Consumer Reclaim’s fees.

“Invoice” means Consumer Reclaim’s invoice in respect of the Fees, which will be sent to You after Compensation has been recovered in a Claim or, alternatively, in respect of Consumer Reclaim’s reasonable expenses of pursuing the Claim, which will be sent to You after any settlement or termination under clauses 2.8, 8.1 or 8.2.

“Letter of Authority” means the letter of authority included in the claim pack to be completed and signed by You and sent by Consumer Reclaim to the Third Party named therein, which authorises the Third Party to correspond and negotiate with Consumer Reclaim in relation to a Claim;

“Panel Solicitor” means any firm of Solicitors chosen by Consumer Reclaim to whom You may be referred in the event that court proceedings against a Third Party are required to progress a Claim.

“Services” means the services that Consumer Reclaim will supply to You, which consist of: investigating whether You have any Claim against a Third Party; advising you in relation to a Claim; representing You in bringing a Claim against the Third Party; negotiating with the Third Party in order to obtain an offer of Compensation in full and final settlement of a Claim; if Consumer Reclaim and You agree that it is appropriate, submitting a Claim to the Financial Ombudsman Service for determination (at no extra cost); and, if required, referring You to a Panel Solicitor so they can progress a Claim via court proceedings against the Third Party. For the avoidance of doubt, the Services do not include the conduct of litigation by Consumer Reclaim.

“Third Party” means the financial institution and/or individual to whom a Letter of Authority is addressed, being the insurance company, bank, building society, finance house, credit card company, car finance company, financial adviser, financial intermediary/broker or other entity that recommended or supplied the financial products and services to You, including any directors, employees, agents, representatives or associates of the entities, together with any predecessor or successor entity in connection with the financial products or services recommended or supplied to You.

Words in the singular shall include the plural and vice versa.

Headings are for convenience only and shall be ignored in interpreting this Agreement.

TERMS OF ENGAGEMENT

2.1 The Parties agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions.

2.2 You engage Consumer Reclaim to supply the Services and Consumer Reclaim agrees to supply the Services to You for such period as is required to recover Compensation from a Third Party in full and final settlement of a Claim.

2.3 You agree to sign and return a Letter of Authority authorising a Third Party to correspond and negotiate with Consumer Reclaim in relation to a Claim.

2.4 You agree to pay the Fees in respect of the Services within 14 days of the date of the Invoice.

Consumer Reclaim Fees

Redress band	Consumer redress obtained		Max % rate of charge	Max total fee
	Lower (£)	Upper (£)
1	£1	£1,499	30%	£420
2	£1, 500	£9,999	28%	£2,500
3	£10,000	£24,999	25%	£5,000
4	£25,000	£49,999	20%	£7,500
5	£50,000	NA	15%	£10,000

2.5 If the Compensation consists of a cash payment You agree to pay the Fees directly from the Compensation recovered. If the Compensation consists of a reduction of the amount outstanding, future repayments, or arrears in a form of credit You agree to pay the Fees indirectly from Your own funds whilst taking the full benefit of the reduction.

2.6 If You fail to pay the Fees within 14 days of the date of the Invoice then You agree to pay statutory interest on the outstanding balance from the date when the Fees became due for payment until the date when You pay, or agree terms to pay. If the agreed terms are subsequently broken by You such interest will again accrue from the date when You broke the agreed terms until the date when You pay, or agree further terms to pay.

2.7 If any Fees and/or statutory interest remain unpaid by You and You have failed to agree terms to pay them for a period of 28 days after the date of the Invoice then You agree to pay any legal costs Consumer Reclaim incurs in recovering the Fees and/or statutory interest from You, including but not limited to: solicitors’ fees, court fees, enforcement fees and Consumer Reclaim’s administration fees calculated at a rate of £100.00 per hour (charged in units of 1/10 of an hour) plus V.A.T.

2.8 In the event that a Claim commenced by Consumer Reclaim is settled by You and a Third Party direct (without Consumer Reclaim’s involvement) You agree to pay the Fees unless You can clearly demonstrate that the Compensation could not have been recovered by Consumer Reclaim or the Panel Solicitors, in which case You agree to pay Consumer Reclaim’s reasonable expenses of pursuing the Claim up to the date on which Consumer Reclaim is notified of the settlement, calculated at a rate of £100.00 per hour (charged in units of 1/10 of an hour) plus V.A.T and disbursements, within 14 days of the date of the Invoice.

2.9 You are aware that You may either complain directly to the Third Party at no cost, with the ability to refer Your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service in the event that the complaint is not upheld by the Third Party, or else use another Claims Management Company to pursue the Claim. You have nevertheless chosen to engage Consumer Reclaim to pursue the Claim for You. You have 14 days from the date You signed these Terms and Conditions to cancel this engagement. If You choose to do so within this cooling off period there will be no Fees.

YOUR DUTIES

3.1 You:

Give Consumer Reclaim Your consent and full authority to deal with the Third Party on Your behalf and to obtain relevant information from whatever source on a continuing basis in connection with the Claim;

Will deal promptly with every reasonable request by Consumer Reclaim for authority and information and will promptly provide any documents and further instructions that Consumer Reclaim may from time to time require;

Give Consumer Reclaim the right to deal exclusively with the Claim unless otherwise agreed in writing by You and Consumer Reclaim.

CONSUMER RECLAIM’S DUTIES

4.1 Consumer Reclaim will:

Rely on the information and documents provided by You as being true, accurate and complete and will not audit, test or check such information or documents except where under a legal obligation to do so;

Use all reasonable endeavors to successfully complete the Claim and to obtain the maximum Compensation in respect of the Claim;

Have no liability to You for any loss to the extent that it arises as a result of the information provided by You being inaccurate or incomplete;

Promptly notify You if the Claim is not to be pursued or is to be discontinued;

Promptly notify You of the outcome of the Claim;

Preserve confidentiality of Your personal information (even after termination of this Agreement), save as expressly or implicitly authorised to the contrary by You, including where disclosure of such personal information is made at Your request or with Your consent for the purposes of pursuing the Claim or where otherwise required by

DISCLAIMER

Consumer Reclaim shall not be liable for any delay or failure to perform any part of the Services as a result of any factor beyond its control.

COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

6.1 Consumer Reclaim’s aim is to handle the Claim fairly, consistently and as quickly as practically possible, in particular ensuring that we have understood the nature of Your concerns and the type of redress that You are seeking. However, if You have any complaint You can to contact Consumer Reclaim by letter at Consumer Reclaim, 2nd Floor Station House, Stamford New Road, Altrincham, WA14 1EP; by email at enquiries@consumer-reclaim.co.uk; or by telephone on 0800 988 8822.

6.2 Consumer Reclaim will acknowledge Your complaint within 5 business days from receipt of the complaint by letter, email or telephone call.

6.3 Your complaint will be investigated by a senior member of staff and Consumer Reclaim’s office manager. Consumer Reclaim will be as thorough as possible and will aim to resolve the complaint promptly, giving reasons for its decision.

6.4 Consumer Reclaim will endeavour to issue a final response to Your complaint within 4 weeks. If Consumer Reclaim needs further time to investigate the complaint they will advise You in writing but will provide a final response within 8 weeks.

6.5 Consumer Reclaim’s final response will include details of Your options if You are unhappy with the outcome of the investigation. If You remain unhappy, or if Consumer Reclaim has been unable to reach a decision within the timescale You have been given, You can contact the Claims Management Ombudsman, which is a Financial Ombudsman Service, at http://cmc.financialombudsman.org.uk

ASSIGNMENT

7.1 Consumer Reclaim may assign this Agreement or any right or obligation of this Agreement, by operation of law or otherwise, without Your prior written consent.

TERMINATION

8.1 If this Agreement is terminated by You for any reason after the 14 day cooling off period You must pay Consumer Reclaim’s reasonable expenses of pursuing the Claim up to the date on which Consumer Reclaim is notified of the termination, calculated at a rate of £100.00 per hour (charged in units of 1/10 of an hour) plus V.A.T and disbursements, within 14 days of the date of the Invoice. This Agreement will automatically terminate under this clause if You instruct anyone other than Consumer Reclaim or the Panel Solicitors to pursue a Claim commenced by Consumer Reclaim on Your behalf.

8.2 Consumer Reclaim has the right to terminate this Agreement if You fail to provide instructions that allow Consumer Reclaim to carry out the Services properly; if You are uncooperative; if Consumer Reclaim believes that the relationship with You has irrevocably broken down; or in the event of a conflict of interest. Prior to terminating this Agreement under this clause Consumer Reclaim will write to You not less than twice informing You of the problem and advising You of the consequences. Where this Agreement is terminated on any of these grounds You must pay Consumer Reclaim’s reasonable expenses of pursuing the Claim to the date of termination, calculated at a rate of £100.00 per hour (charged in units of 1/10 of an hour) plus V.A.T and disbursements, within 14 days of the date of the Invoice.

8.3 Upon giving You notice Consumer Reclaim has the right at any time to refuse to pursue or to discontinue the Claim if in its absolute discretion Consumer Reclaim considers that the Claim has no reasonable prospect of success, but Consumer Reclaim must act reasonably in reaching any such decision. Where this Agreement is terminated on this ground there will be no Fees.

GOVERNING LAW

9.1 This Agreement shall be subject to the law of England and Wales.