Terms & Conditions of Use

Business Conditions are located below these website Terms and Conditions.

Definitions

“Conditions” means these terms and conditions: “Personal Information” means any personal details provided by you via the Website; “User(s)” means (a) user(s) of the Website either collectively or individually, as the context requires; “We/us/our” means Fidelitas Ltd, “Website” means the website located at www.hamiltonlocke.co.uk or any subsequent URL which may replace it; and “You/your” means you as a user of the Website.

1. Access

We will provide you with access to the Website in accordance with these Conditions.

2. Your Obligations

2.1 You:
2.1.1 agree not to use the Website (or any part of) for any illegal purpose and agree to use it in accordance with all relevant laws;
2.1.2 agree not to upload or transmit through the Website any computer viruses, macro viruses, trojan horses, worms or anything else designed to interfere with, interrupt or disrupt the normal operating procedures of a computer;
2.1.3 will not upload or transmit through the Website any material which is defamatory, offensive, or of an obscene or menacing character, or that may cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety;
2.1.4 will not use the Website in a way that may cause the Website to be interrupted, damaged, rendered less efficient or such that the effectiveness or functionality of the Website is in any way impaired;
2.1.5 will not use the Website in any manner which violates or infringes the rights of any person, firm or company (including, but not limited to, rights of intellectual property, rights of confidentiality or rights of privacy);
2.1.6 agree that in the event that you have any right, claim or action against any Users arising out of that User’s use of the Website, then you will pursue such right, claim or action independently of and without recourse to us.

3. Indemnity

3.1 You agree to be fully responsible for (and fully indemnify us against) all claims, liability, damages, losses, costs and expenses, including legal fees, suffered by us and arising out of any breach of the Conditions by you or any other liabilities arising out of your use of the Website, or the use by any other person accessing the Website using your PC or internet access account.

4. Our Rights

4.1 We reserve the right to:
4.1.1 modify or withdraw, temporarily or permanently, the Website (or any part of) with or without notice to you and you confirm that we shall not be liable to you or any third party for any modification to or withdrawal of the Website; and/or
4.1.2 change these Conditions from time to time, and your continued use of the Website (or any part of) following such change shall be deemed to be your acceptance of such change. It is your responsibility to check regularly to determine whether the Conditions have been changed. If you do not agree to any change to the Conditions then you must immediately stop using the Website.
4.2 We will use our reasonable endeavours to maintain the Website. The Website is subject to change from time to time. You will not be eligible for any compensation because you cannot use any part of the Website or because of a failure, suspension or withdrawal of all or part of the Website due to circumstances beyond our control.

5. Third Party Links

In an attempt to provide increased value to our users, we may provide links to other websites or resources. You acknowledge and agree that we are not responsible for the availability of such external sites or resources, and do not endorse and are not responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for the privacy practices or the content (including misrepresentative or defamatory content) of such websites, including (without limitation) any advertising, products or other materials or services on or available from such websites or resources, nor for any damage, loss or offence caused or alleged to be caused by, or in connection with, the use of or reliance on any such content, goods or services available on such external sites or resources.

6. Monitoring

We have the right, but not the obligation, to monitor any activity and content associated with the Website. We may investigate any reported violation of these Conditions or complaints and take any action that we deem appropriate (which may include, but is not limited to, issuing warnings, suspending, terminating or attaching conditions to your access and/or removing any materials from the Website).

7. Your Data

7.1 We respect your personal information and undertake to comply with applicable UK Data Protection legislation from time to time in place.
7.2 You should be aware that:
7.2.1 if we are requested by the police or any regulatory or government authority investigating suspected illegal activities, or upon receipt of a court order, to provide your Personal Information and/or information concerning your activities whilst using the Website we shall do so; and
7.3 We reserve the right in our reasonable discretion to disclose details of your use of the Website in relation to any, or any threatened, Court Proceedings in connection with your use, or the use of anyone under your control, of the Website whether in connection with the matters set out in these Conditions or otherwise.
7.4 Please view our Privacy Policy (below), which forms part of these Conditions.

8. Intellectual Property and Right to Use

8.1 You acknowledge and agree that all copyright, trademarks and all other intellectual property rights in all material or content supplied as part of the Website shall remain at all times vested in us or our licensors. You are permitted to use this material only as expressly authorised by us.
8.2 The Website is Copyright Fidelitas Ltd 2008. All rights reserved.

9. Notices

9.1 You may send us notices under or in connection with these Conditions:
9.1.1 by post to Fidelitas Ltd, Marsland House, Marsland Road, Sale Cheshire, M33 3AQ;
9.1.2 by email to info@hamiltonlocke.co.uk
9.2 As proof of sending does not guarantee our receipt of your notice, you must ensure that you have received an acknowledgement from us, which will be sent within 3 working days of our receipt and should be retained by you.

10. Limitation of Usability

10.1 WHILE WE WILL USE REASONABLE ENDEAVOURS TO VERIFY THE ACCURACY OF ANY INFORMATION WE PLACE ON THE WEBSITE, WE MAKE NO WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED IN RELATION TO ITS ACCURACY.
10.2 The Website is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis without any representation or endorsement. Unless specified in separate terms and conditions related to a particular product or service, we make no warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, in relation to the Website, or products or services offered on the Website whether by us or on our behalf (including free software downloads) including but not limited to, implied warranties of satisfactory quality, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, compatibility, security, accuracy, condition or completeness, or any implied warranty arising from course of dealing or usage or trade.
10.3 Unless specified in separate terms and conditions related to a particular product or service, we make no warranty that the Website or products or services offered on the Website whether by us or on our behalf (including free software downloads) will meet your requirements or will be uninterrupted, timely, secure or error-free, that defects will be corrected, or that the Website or the server that makes it available or products or services offered on the Website whether by us or on our behalf (including free software downloads) are free of viruses or bugs or are fully functional, accurate, or reliable. We will not be responsible or liable to you for any loss of content or material as a result of uploading to or downloading from the Website.
10.4 Notwithstanding any other provision in the Conditions, nothing shall limit your rights as a consumer under United Kingdom law.
10.5 You acknowledge that we cannot guarantee and therefore shall not be in any way responsible for the security or privacy of the Website and any information provided to or taken from the Website by you.
10.6 We will not be liable in contract, tort or otherwise if you incur loss or damage connecting to the Website through a third party’s hyper-text link.
10.7 We will not be liable, in contract, tort (including, without limitation, negligence), pre-contract or other representations (other than fraudulent misrepresentations) or otherwise out of or in connection with the Website or products or services offered on the Website whether by us or on our behalf (including free software downloads) for:
10.7.1 any economic losses (including without limitation loss of revenues, profits, contracts, business or anticipated savings); or
10.7.2 any loss of goodwill or reputation; or
10.7.3 any special or indirect or consequential losses; in any case whether or not such losses were within the contemplation of either of us at the date on which the event giving rise to the loss occurred.
10.8 Nothing in the Conditions shall exclude or limit our liability for death or personal injury resulting from our negligence or that of our servants, agents or employees.

11. Severance

If any part of the Conditions shall be deemed unlawful, void or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed to be severable from these Conditions and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any of the remaining provisions of the Conditions.

12. Waiver

Nothing shall be construed as a waiver by us of any preceding or succeeding breach of any provision.

13. Survival

Each provision of these Conditions shall be construed as separately applying and surviving even if for any reason one or other of those provisions is held to be inapplicable or unenforceable in any circumstances.

14. Entire Agreement

These Conditions (as amended from time to time) contain the entire agreement between you and us relating to the subject matter covered and supersede any previous agreements, arrangements, undertakings or proposals, written or oral, between you and us in relation to such matters. No oral explanation or oral information given by either of us shall alter the interpretation of these Conditions. You confirm that, in agreeing to accept these Conditions, you have not relied on any representation save insofar as the same has expressly been made a representation in these Conditions and you agree that you shall have no remedy in respect of any misrepresentation which has not become a term of these Conditions save that your agreement contained in this Clause shall not apply in respect of any fraudulent misrepresentation whether or not such has become a term of these Conditions.

15. Law

The Conditions will be exclusively governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of United Kingdom whose Courts will have exclusive jurisdiction in any dispute, save that we have the right, at our sole discretion, to commence and pursue proceedings in alternative jurisdictions.

Business conditions

Definitions: “Conditions” means these terms and conditions: “Us” and “We” and “The Company” means Fidelitas Group Limited, Hamilton Locke, or any of its associated or subsidiary companies or divisions, or anyone to whom we transfer our obligations and rights under this Agreement. “You” means you, the person entering into this Agreement named in the Payment Programme. “Agreement” means the agreement between You and Us made mainly on these Terms of Business. “Cleared Funds” means (i) any cash, postal orders or banker’s drafts made payable to Us which We have received from You; (ii) any monies which We have received into our bank account or Client Account from You by electronic transfer (such as by standing order, direct debit, bank giro credit transfer) and which have not been returned unpaid within four working days, and/or (iii) any cheques which We have received from You which have not been returned unpaid within seven working days. “Client Account” means the account where any monies held on behalf of our clients are kept and which is not used for the purpose of our own business. “Creditors” means all of the people or businesses You have told us You owe money to and who are included in your Payment Programme. “Fees” means the Initial Fee and the subsequent Monthly Fee. “Initial Fee” means your first two Monthly Payments, which is paid by You to Us. This represents our fee for establishing your arrangement, and therefore is not distributed to your creditors, and can be paid in two separate instalments. “Monthly Fee” means the monthly Fee payable for our Services. This is an amount equal to 17.5% of your Monthly Payment (apart from your first two Monthly Payments which is the Initial Fee), subject to a minimum payment of £30 for disposable incomes of 0 – £100, and £35 for disposable incomes of £101 – £200. “Monthly Payment” means the total amount which is paid every month by You to Us throughout the Payment Programme, once your Initial Fee has been paid in full. “Monthly Repayment” means the part of the Monthly Payment to be paid by Us on your behalf to your Creditors. “Payment Programme” means the programme of Monthly Payments by which You repay your Creditors through Us and pay for our Services, prepared by Us based on the information provided by You, as revised from time to time. “Services” means the services We agree to provide You with under this Agreement. “Terms of Business” means these terms and conditions of business.

2. These terms and conditions are between the Company and the Client and are deemed to be accepted by the Client by virtue of
The Client forwarding to the Company the first agreed monthly payment (notwithstanding the Client’s statutory rights as described in
Clause 9c) No variation of these terms and conditions is valid.

3. The Company agrees to do the following, subject to receipt from the Client of the agreed monthly payment each month:-
(a) Provide a Debt Management Programme which is designed to facilitate the repayment of debts owed by the Client at a reduced rate under an informal arrangement with the Clients’ creditors including the provision of repayment administration services and the provision of advice and assistance in the negotiation and implementation of an informal reduced payment plan (see Clause 8a). Only unsecured debts may be included on the programme – if a debt is with your existing bank it may be necessary to open a new account with a new bank. Mortgages, secured loans, Hire Purchase agreements and day to day household bills may not be included on the Programme – by analysing your financial situation, (based on information provided by you – as detailed in Clause 4b, 4c) we can ensure that you can make the essential payments such as mortgage, rent and other priority household expenses yourself so that you don’t risk falling behind with these payments and risk losing your home, imprisonment or disconnection of services.
(b) Retain all monies received from the Client, pending distribution of the monies to the Clients’ creditors, in a designated Client account separate from the funds of the Company
(c) Deduct from the agreed monthly payment a sum equal to £30.00 for monthly payments of between
£0.00 – £100.99, a sum equal to £35.00 for monthly payments of between £101.00 – £200.99, a sum equal to 17.5% of the agreed monthly payment for payments of £201.00 and over as consideration for the services provided by the Company. The aforementioned charge may, at some future time and at the discretion of the Company, be subject to change.
(d) To distribute promptly (normally within 5 working days) to the Clients’ creditors such cleared funds as are available for distribution
out of the designated Client Account.
(e) To provide to the Client on a quarterly basis a full Statement of Account detailing all payments distributed to the Clients’ creditors.
(f) In the event of the Client terminating the Debt Management Programme, to refund to the Client any monies held on behalf of the
Client for distribution to creditors and which have not been distributed to the Client’s creditors, without deduction of our fee.
(g) To retain all relevant documentation received from the Client until such time as the Programme is complete or the Agreement
terminated, at which point, we will keep your documents safe on your file for 12 months after termination of our agreement.
Thereafter, you agree that title in those documents passes to us for the purpose of secure confidential destruction. Alternatively all such
documentation may be returned to the Client if requested.
(h) To always treat its Clients fairly and to act honestly and reasonably in all dealings with the Client, and to conduct its business lawfully with regard to the current law and regulations of England and Wales.

4. The Client agrees to:-
(a) Pay to the Company each month the agreed monthly payment.
(b) To notify the Company of any changes in the financial circumstances of the Client forthwith upon any such change occurring.
(c) Notify the Company forthwith in the event that the Client becomes unable to maintain the agreed monthly payment for whatever reason.
(d) To forward to the Company all correspondence received from the creditors in order that the Company may take the appropriate action on behalf of the Client in respect thereof.
(e) To pay to the Company a fee equal to two of the agreed monthly payments for the initial administration and setting up of the Debt Management Programme, such fee to be the first two monthly payments due from the Client to the Company.
(f) To act honestly, fairly and reasonably in all dealings with the Company.

5. (a) All information held by the Company in respect of the financial circumstances of the Client will be confidential.
(b) Notwithstanding the above, unless specifically instructed otherwise in writing, all information held by the Company regarding the client (address, creditors, balances, etc.) may be disclosed to the Client’s creditors for the purpose of setting up and running the Debt Management Programme.

6. The Company shall not be liable under any circumstances for any loss, damage or expenses suffered or incurred by the Client arising from or in any way connected with the Company performing its obligations under these terms and conditions.

7. If any provision of this Agreement is deemed by a judicial or other competent authority to be void, voidable, illegal or otherwise unenforceable, the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect unless the Company in its discretion decides to the contrary in which case the Company shall be entitled to terminate this Agreement forthwith by Notice to the Client.

8. (a) Whilst the Company will use every reasonable endeavour for the purpose of achieving a Debt Management Programme for the Client no guarantee of success in this regard can be given notwithstanding any representations made to the contrary by the Company to the Client or acceptance of any payment by the Company from the Client. Creditors are not obliged to accept reduced offers or to freeze interest and, should they fail to do so, repayment of the same debt over a longer period of time will lead to an increase in the total amount to be paid. Furthermore, collection actions, including default notices and litigation (which may incur costs), can ensue and the Company cannot guarantee that any existing or threatened proceedings will be suspended or withdrawn.
(b) Furthermore, if you have already missed payments it is likely that your creditors have recorded the information on your credit file. Any changes to the contractual payments and any default notices issued will be recorded for six years. Until you have cleared your debts, or you are able to resume full contractual repayments, it is unlikely that you will be able to obtain further credit.

9. Termination:

(a) The Company may terminate this Agreement at any time by Notice in Writing to the client under the following circumstances:
(i) Repeated failure by the Client to make the agreed monthly payment to the Debt Management Programme.
(ii) Refusal by the Client to cooperate with reasonable requests by the Company necessary for the running of the Debt Management Programme.
(iii) Abusive or threatening behaviour by the Client towards any employee of the Company.
(iv) Reasonable suspicion or evidence of fraudulent activity by the Client.

(b) The Client may terminate this Agreement at any time by telephone or Notice in Writing to the Company. The Client may claim a refund of any or all fees paid under this Agreement if the Company has failed to conduct negotiations, on behalf of the Client, with the reasonable care and skill required by section 13 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act; or is guilty of misrepresentation; or if there has been a total failure of consideration.
(c) The Client’s statutory rights include a ‘cooling off’ period of 7 (seven) days from the date the Agreement was deemed to have commenced in which the Client may cancel the Agreement and receive a full refund of any monies paid. You will be deemed to have accepted the terms of business when you sign, return and we receive the Letter of Authorisation form authorising us to act on your behalf.

10. Should the Client feel they have cause for complaint, a full copy of the Company’s complaints procedure is available upon request. The complaints procedure can also be viewed below:

Complaints procedure

Our aim is always to provide our customers with a first-class service. However, we are aware that, occasionally, it is possible that we may fail to meet your expectations. If you need to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact us either in writing to:

The Complaints Officer
Hamilton Locke & Co Ltd
Marsland House
Marsland Road
Sale, M33 3AQ

or, by phone on telephone number 0870 444 6386 or by fax, on fax number 0870 444 6387.

Where a complaint arises we will, wherever possible, endeavour to resolve the matter by close of business the next day. If this is not possible, to enable us to remedy the situation in a speedy and efficient manner, we have a documented, formal complaints procedure, details of which are shown below.

1) We will acknowledge your complaint as a matter of urgency, and always within five working days, giving you the details of who will be handling the matter in our office.

2) In the event that your complaint relates to activities or services provided by another party, we will ensure that your complaint is appropriately forwarded, and will track the progress of the complaint and responses of that party.

3) We will aim to make a final response to you within four weeks, or keep you informed as to why this is not possible. If, because our investigations are still outstanding, we are unable to issue our final response at this time, we will tell you when we will contact you again.

4) Within eight weeks we will issue you with our final response, or issue a response that gives the reasons for the delay and indicates when we will be able to provide a final response. If you are dissatisfied with our response, or the delay at this time, you will have a period of six months in which you can refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service, whose details are shown below.

When we provide our final response letter, we will endeavour to ensure that we have taken into consideration any financial losses you may have suffered. If we do not feel that your complaint is justified, we will advise you of the reasons for our decision and we will also advise how you may pursue the complaint if you remain dissatisfied. At that time, if we do not hear from you within eight weeks, the complaint will be treated as closed.
The Financial Ombudsman Service provides consumers with a free, independent service for resolving disputes with financial firms. The FOS Consumer Helpline is on 0845 080 1800 and their address is:

Financial Ombudsman Service
South Quay Plaza
183 Marsh Wall