PDF Version | Complaints Policy | Website Terms & Privacy Policy Terms of Business

Introduction

We want your decision to use Valour Financial Management services to be the best decision you have ever made towards regaining control of your financial situation. To that end we aim to be completely transparent in all our dealings with you, hence the terms of business explain our obligations to you and yours to us. They will be at the heart of our relationship, and our contract with you so please read them carefully.

Important Note

These Terms Of Business apply to Valour Financial Management clients and explain our obligations to you and yours to us. They may be added to or changed by particular terms from some of our other services. These other terms will be brought to your notice at the appropriate time.

Definition of terms

Agreement means the agreement between You and Us made mainly on these Terms of Business.

Cleared Funds means (i) any cash, postal orders or bankers draft 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 standing order, direct debit or 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.

Client Authority Form means the form enclosed with these terms of business which We ask You to sign to give Us authority to contact your Creditors and to act on your behalf.

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 Monthly Fee or any other Fees which we advise you in writing for any of our services.

Initial Fee Means the initial fee used to cover the costs reaching an agreement with your creditors and setting up your management programme. This fee is 100% of your first payment and 85% of your second payment. The 15% of your second payment will be distributed to your creditors within five days of receipt of your second payment subject to our normal minimum distribution fee.

Monthly Fee means the monthly Fee payable for our Services. This is an amount equal to 17.5% of your Monthly Payment, subject to a minimum of £29 and a maximum of £100. This minimum payment distribution fee will be charged every time payments are distributed to your creditors.

Monthly Payment means the total amount which is paid every month by You to Us throughout the Payment Programme. Our only Fees taken from this are our Initial Fee and our Monthly Fee.

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 under this Agreement.

Term means the period running from the start of this Agreement as explained in section 1.2 until we stop providing You with Services. An estimate of how long the Term will last is set out in your draft Payment Programme issued by Us in accordance with clause 2.1 below.

Terms of Business means these terms of business.

Us and We means Ventures in Finance Limited Registration No 5676067 trading as Valour Financial Management, whose registered address is 3rd Floor Dale House, Tiviot Dale, Stockport, Cheshire, SK1 1TB. ‘The Company’ or anyone to whom we transfer our obligations and rights under the Agreement.

You means you, the person entering into this Agreement named in the Payment Programme or signed client authority form.

1. Appointment and Term

1.1	You appoint Us and We agree to act on your behalf, as debt counsellors and debt adjusters and to provide the Services.
1.2	This Agreement will start when You confirm your acceptance of these Terms of Business either by telephone or by returning the completed Client Authority Form or, if earlier the day when We receive the Initial Fee from You in Cleared Funds.
1.3	This Agreement will continue for the Term, unless ended earlier by You as set out in sections 1.4 and 7 or by Us as set out in section 8.
1.4	You have a right to cancel our agreement at any time during the first 14 days of the Term. “Days” here include Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. You can do this by writing to Us at the above address saying You wish to cancel.

2. What We will do

2.1	Based upon information provided by You to Us, We will review your income, outgoings and living expenses and prepare and issue You a draft Payment Programme in respect of those types of debt which do not fall within the exclusions set out in clause 5.2 below. This will indicate a Monthly Payment which We believe You can afford. It may also include an estimate of the total Fees payable by You to Us for the Services which We provide under this Agreement.
2.2	Once the Agreement starts We will notify your Creditors of our involvement and will attempt to agree with them revised payment terms on your behalf. We will in particular attempt to persuade your Creditors, where appropriate, to accept reduced monthly payments from You, not to charge interest and to either suspend or withdraw any recovery or similar proceedings which they may already have taken against You. We will endeavour to provide as much assistance to You as We can based on our expertise and experience of dealing with creditors.
2.3	Following the receipt of the Initial Fee in Cleared Funds We will prepare and issue a Payment Programme, normally within 28 days.
2.4	If your circumstances change and You are unable to meet the payments set out in the Payment Programme, We shall attempt to re-negotiate with your Creditors and will arrange with You a revised Payment Programme. We will in any event periodically review your situation, normally every twelve months or earlier if your Creditors insist, and We will prepare and issue a revised Payment Programme with You and your Creditors if this is appropriate.
2.5	You have access to Our Client Portal, which includes a statement listing your Creditors, and the Monthly Repayments made to them.
2.6	We shall keep You informed of all material communications between your Creditors and Us, and We shall deal with all communications from your Creditors to Us (or to You and provided by You to Us) appropriately and promptly.

3. What You will pay

3.1	You will pay Us the Initial Fee, the Monthly Fee and the Monthly Repayments and any other fees agreed in writing between You and Us for additional services.
3.2	If You continue to pay the Monthly Payments promptly for the full duration of the Payment Programme, We shall, during the final six months of the Payment Programme waive our Monthly Fee up to the total value of your Initial Fee.
3.3	Examples of the costs of your debt management plan are as follows: If You are entering the plan with £15,000 of debt and your agreed monthly repayment is £300 per month, then the Initial Fee will be £555 and the Monthly Fee will be 17.5% of £300 which equals £52.50 per month. The total time taken to clear the debt will be 60 months and the total charges are £555 for the Initial Fee plus £3,150 in Monthly Fees. If You are entering the plan with £7,500 of debt and your agreed monthly repayment is £260 per month, then the Initial Fee will be £481 and the Monthly Fee will be 17.5% of £260 which equals £45.50 per month. The total time take to clear the debt will be 35 months and the total charges are £481 for the Initial Fee plus £1592.50 in Monthly Fees.
3.4	We may charge for additional Services including the completion of court forms. These charges will amount to no more than £15 per calendar month.

4. How We handle your money

4.1

All payments that We receive from You in Cleared Funds will be paid directly into our Client Account. The only payments which We will take out of our Client Account are: payment of our Fees; payment of the Monthly Repayments to your Creditors in accordance with the Payment Programme; and any other payments as instructed or agreed with You;

4.2

We will distribute the Monthly Repayments amongst your Creditors in accordance with the Payment Programme normally within five working days of receipt of the Monthly Payment from You in Cleared Funds. If there is a delay in any payment which is not beyond our control, We shall take the appropriate action to put You in the position You would have been in if the payment had been made within five working days in Cleared Funds and shall make good any additional interest which has accrued and any default charges that have been applied to the account as a result of the delay.

5. What We won't do

5.1	This agreement does not offer to lend You money or offer You any credit facilities.
5.2	We will not usually provide the Services in relation to secured credit (such as hire purchase arrangements, secured loans and mortgages), rent (including rent arrears), utility bill payments (including arrears), council tax payments (including arrears) and other similar debts.
5.3	We are not solicitors and cannot give You legal advice.
5.4	We will not arrange for anybody to attend any court hearing on your behalf unless We expressly agree with You to do so, and if so We will charge an additional fee for such service as agreed with You in advance of the court hearing.
5.5	Whilst We will attempt to agree revised payment terms with your Creditors in accordance with section 2, We cannot stop your Creditors from continuing to charge You interest and other charges or from continuing any current, or bringing any future, recovery proceedings against You if they want to do this.

6. What You will do

6.1	You must provide Us with full, accurate and truthful details, on the form We provide for You, of your net income, outgoings, Creditors and dependants and You must also provide Us with details of any outstanding judgements against You or any actual or threatened court proceedings. You must, where possible, send to Us copies or originals of documents to confirm these details.
6.2	You must make the agreed Monthly Payments on time to Us in accordance with the Payment Programme.
6.3	You must allow Us to negotiate on your behalf with the Creditors.
6.4	You must send Us originals or copies of all correspondence You receive from the Creditors so that We can deal with them on Your behalf. Your correspondence will be scanned and stored by Us as an electronic image and the original paperwork destroyed. If originals are provided We can only return them to You if You request this prior to posting.
6.5	During the Term You must not make any payments directly to the Creditors unless You have notified Us in advance that You propose to do so and We have agreed that such payment can be made.
6.6	You must tell Us if Your circumstances change such that You are or may become unable to maintain the level of Monthly Payments or if there has been an improvement in your circumstances such that You are able to increase Your level of Monthly Payments. We will require two weeks notice from You to make any amendments to any Direct Debit arrangements You make for the Monthly Payment You make to Us.
6.7	During the Term You must incur no further debts, whether on credit or otherwise, other than those relating to your normal living expenses.

7. How You may end this Agreement

7.1	You have the right to cancel this Agreement under section 1.4.
7.2	You may also cancel this Agreement at any time if the total Fees payable under the Payment Programme differ significantly from the Fees estimated in the draft Payment Programme issued by Us in accordance with clause 2.1 above submitted by You
7.3	In addition to your right to cancel under sections 7.1 and 7.2, You may also end this Agreement at any time by giving Us two weeks prior written notice which You may serve at any time whether or not You believe We may have been in breach of our obligations under this Agreement. In the event of cancellations under this section 7.3, We reserve the right to retain the Initial Fee.

8. How We may end this Agreement

8.1

We may end this Agreement at any time by giving You two weeks prior notice if any of the following happens: You fail to make two successive Monthly Payments; or You are otherwise in serious breach of this Agreement or have persistently committed a series of minor breaches (even if any one individual breach would not necessarily be regarded as a serious breach on its own); or You become bankrupt, file a bankruptcy petition, make an arrangement or composition with the Creditors generally, or make an application to a court of competent jurisdiction for protection from the Creditors generally.

9. Effects of ending this Agreement

9.1

When this Agreement ends: Our duties and obligations under this Agreement will come to an end; Your liability to the Creditors will continue to the extent that any amounts You owe to the Creditors remain outstanding over and above the repayments made to them under the Payment Programme; and You may within 30 days of the end of this Agreement request Us to send You copies of all paperwork received from You or the Creditors that has been retained by Us as an electronic image.

10. Personal Information

10.1

We agree to keep confidential all information received from or about You. We will not pass this information on to anyone else without your permission, except in line with our Data Protection statement contained in section 11 or to such of your Creditors as is necessary in order for Us to negotiate repayments with such Creditors, including Creditors who may process your data outside the European Economic Area (EEA).

10.2

If You have opted to receive information from Us by text messaging (or e-mail), You are responsible for the security of your mobile telephone (or personal computer) and must take all reasonable precautions to prevent anyone else from accessing your information, including using all security features available on your mobile telephone (or personal computer); and for informing Us immediately if your mobile telephone (or personal computer) is lost, your telephone number (or e-mail address) changes, or if You suspect someone may have access to the information We send to You.

11. Data Protection Statement

11.1	Please read this statement carefully as it explains what persoanl information We collect about You and how We use this information.
11.2	We collect personal information about You both directly from You when You apply for out Services and from Your Creditors as authorised by Your Client Authority Form. We may also collect further information as a result of managing your Payment Programme.
11.3	We will use Your personal information to provide our Services to You, and in particular to: Prepare and Issue to You Your Payment Programme Negotiate with Creditors on your behalf; and Keep You informed about Your Payment Programme and Our Services.
11.4	Subject to section 11.5 We may also use your personal information to contact You to provide You details of other services which We think may be of interest to You, including those offered by selected third parties. We may share personal information with these selected third parties and they may contact You directly to provide You with details of such products and services.
11.5	You may let Us know if You do not want Us to disclose your personal information as set out in section 11.4 above or if You wish to amend the way We communicate with You.
11.6	Other than as set out above We will only disclose your personal information to the extent required by law, court order or as required by other government or law enforcement authority, or to any company or other entity to whom We either transfer or subcontract any or all of our obligations to You under this Agreement.
11.7	You may contact Us by writing at any time to the Data Protection Officer at our address given above for further information, or if You want to request a copy of the personal information which We hold about You or to ask Us to ament any inaccurate informated held by Us. If You request a copy of the personal information which We hold about You We will charge You a fee of £10.
11.8	Please note that We may record and monitor Your calls to Us to help Us to improve our service.

12. Other Terms

12.1	All Fees are exclusive of any applicable value added tax (VAT) or other sales tax. Please note that although the provision of our Services is currently VAT exempt (as of August 2007), this position could change in the future. If it does change We will notify You and amend Your Payment Programme accordingly.
12.2	We may transfer our rights and obligations under this Agreement by giving You notice of such transfer.
12.3	All notices sent under this Agreement shall be valid if sent by second-class post or by e-mail or text message to the addresses or telephone numbers We have on Our file.
12.4	This Agreement sets out the entire agreement and understanding between You and Us and supercedes all prioir agreements, understandings or arrangements (whether oral or written) relating to the provision of the Services.
12.5	You acknowledge that You have entered into this agreement in reliance only on the representations, warranties and promises specifically container or incorporated in this Agreement and, except as expressly set out in this Agreement, We shall have no liability in respect of any other representation, warranty or promise made prior to the start of this Agreement unless it was made fraudulently.
12.6	We shall not be deemed in breach of this Agreement or otherwise liable to You if We are prevented or hindered from performing our obligations under this Agreement by reason of any event beyond our reasonable control.
12.7	This Agreement is governed by English law.

Exclusions

We shall not in any circumstances be liable for any breach of obligation or decision not to lend to You by any lender, financier, bank, counterparty, intermediary or other third party with whom You do business during or after our agreement. You will solely be liable for any direct and indirect effects to your credit score as a result of entering into our monthly management plan.

In the event that any of these terms (each of which is severable) is for any reason illegal, invalid or unenforceable, such provision is to be deemed modified sufficiently to render it enforceable, legal and valid and of similar effect as We intended. Apart from provisions expressly covering associate companies, nothing in these terms is enforceable by anyone who is not a party to them.

Marketing and Market Research

We may contact You about services or products offered by Us or other companies We approve which We believe You may be interested in or to carry out market research about our services or products or those of other companies. We may also pass on information to other companies approved by Us so that they may contact You about services or products which they believe You may be interested in. Contact for these purposes may be by post, email, SMS or by other means. This will override any registrations You may have with any preference services. To determine which services or products You might be interested in, You agree that We may analyse information about You and your conduct including your payment record.