Terms of Business | Smartr Finance

We offer a full advice and recommendation service to you, alongside support with providers. This means we will:

understand your needs and circumstances
find out information about your finances, lifestyle and likely requirements over the life of the mortgage
raise any questions about inconsistencies we’ve found, which we'll discuss to clearly establish your priorities
advise and recommend products that are appropriate for you based on our factfinding
assist you with the lender’s process to secure your recommended mortgage
keep you updated about any progress with providers, like lenders and insurance companies
liaise with all parties including the lender, solicitors and estate agents to ensure all relevant issues are dealt with
continue to manage your mortgage to ensure you are on the most appropriate deal and not paying more interest than you have to

We will charge a fee of £495 on application for a mortgage that we have recommended to you, and that you have agreed to proceed with
The fee is fully refundable should the recommended lender decline your application for a mortgage. The fee is not refundable under any other circumstances.

Residential mortgages have been regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) since 1st April 2013.
General Insurance has been regulated by the FCA from the same date.
Buy-to-Let and commercial mortgages are not regulated by the FCA (under certain conditions a Buy-to-Let mortgage may be regulated, we will advise you if this applies to your application).
smartr finance do not charge a fee. Lenders will usually charge fees, some of which may be added to the loan. Where any fees are payable to the lender, they will be outlined clearly in the illustration (called an ESIS or KFI). Any fees added to the loan may incur interest – this will be outlined to you prior to proceeding with any mortgage.
If we are required to recommend a mortgage from a lender that specialises in providing mortgage funds for clients with impaired credit, a charge by smartr finance may apply. This will depend on the circumstances but any charges will be clearly disclosed prior to proceeding with an application.

We will provide you with an explanation of the main repayment methods (e.g. capital and interest or interest only)
If you select a repayment option that includes an investment product that is regulated by the FCA we will recommend you seek advice from an appropriately authorised Independent Financial Adviser (IFA).
Details of an IFA near you can be obtained from www.unbiased.co.uk or by calling 0800 085 3250.

We constantly review the mortgage market in order to select the most appropriate lenders to meet your individual circumstances.
We use lenders who consistently provide our customers with a competitive product range and high standards of service; however, the standards of service can vary over time.
Smartr finance is not liable for any delays incurred in the processing of your mortgage and/or insurance application that are caused by the product provider, however we will actively work to assist the smooth processing of your application.
Smartr finance works very closely with a select panel of conveyancers that we can recommend to you. The mortgage recommended to you may offer the option of free or subsidised conveyancing (whether appointed by you or your proposed new mortgage provider); in both cases you are responsible for checking the appointment of the conveyancer and on-going progress of the legal work.

During the mortgage journey we will complete ask you to answer questions to enable appropriate advice to be given on your mortgage and other related insurance products.
Once we have made our recommendations to you, we will confirm our advice in writing. You should retain this confirmation as a record of the advice given.
Details of any products applied for will be confirmed by the mortgage lender on a formal Offer of Mortgage, and by the insurance provider in Acceptance Terms. It is your responsibility to check that the formal offer/acceptance is correct before you exchange contracts.

We require our clients to give us instructions in writing to avoid possible disputes. If the matter is urgent, we will accept oral instructions provided they are confirmed in writing.
You, or we, may terminate our authority to act on your behalf at any time without penalty. Notice of this termination must be given in writing.
No variation of this agreement will be valid unless confirmed in writing by one of the directors of smartr finance.
We will forward documents to you as soon as practicable after we receive them. Where a number of documents relating to a series of transactions are involved, we will normally hold the documents until the series is complete and then forward them to you.
We keep records of all our business transactions for a minimum of seven years. You (or your agent) may inspect contract notes, vouchers and entries in books (whether kept manually or electronically).
We treat all our clients' records as confidential (even when you are no longer a client), so we reserve the right to give you copies of your particular records rather than allowing access to files containing records about other clients.
You have rights of access under GDPR to your personal records.

As your mortgage broker, we reserve the right to discuss your personal circumstances with any lender or insurer (where you have asked us to arrange insurance) in order to determine the most appropriate product for your needs.
We or the lender may undertake a credit check upon receipt of your mortgage application, or in some cases before an application is submitted, to enable the preparation of a "Mortgage Ready" certificate.
We will seek your permission before this credit check is undertaken. This check may be registered as part of your credit record.
The lender may also supply information to a Credit Reference Agency regarding the way your account is managed.

Our internal auditing procedures include monitoring and compliance with Financial Conduct Authority guidelines.
We maintain Professional Indemnity Insurance in accordance with Financial Conduct Authority requirements.
We are required to verify your identity in accordance with Anti-Money Laundering regulations
No mortgage offer or insurance acceptance terms will be produced until such verification has been obtained.

Smartr finance is a trading name of SRFG Limited. From time to time we'll tell you about new services from SRFG group companies.
You can choose not to receive this information when you engage with us during the arrangement of your mortgage.
We may also want to provide you with related information from third parties that we think may be of interest to you or whose products or services may be of interest to you. We will only do this if we have your permission.
You can change your instructions at any time by writing to:

The Data Protection Officer

SRFG Limited

The Glade

Woodside

Chilworth

Southampton

SO16 7LB

For the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998, the Data Controller in relation to any personal data you supply is SRFG Limited.

If you email us, we will keep a record of your contact and your email address.
In addition to specific services that you request, we may also contact you with details of relevant products and services, as well as information about the Company.
If you do not want us to do this please let us know via the marketing preferences for