Terms of Business

This page sets out the basis on which we operate, as well as our responsibilities to you.

How we work

About us:

ISA.co.uk is a trading name of Fair Investment Company Limited (of 2 Portland Street, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 4JH), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Our FSA registration number is 192852. You can check the company’s registration by consulting the FSA website at www.fsa.gov.uk or by writing to: The Financial Services Authority, 25 The North Colonnade, London, E14 5HS.

Advice:

This Terms of Business document relates solely to our non-advisory service, which provides customers with information to assist them in selecting products that they feel are most appropriate for their needs. Nothing on the www.fairinvestment.co.uk website or in any of the documentation/information sent to you shall be deemed to constitute advice or a recommendation to purchase a particular product or service. If you are in any doubt as to the suitability of the product or service we suggest that you seek independent financial advice.

Our service:

Fair Investment Company Limited effectively acts as an ‘introducer’ and will make you aware of other companies who provide financial products and services. Our website provides you with the opportunity of researching and selecting financial products over the Internet. Investment products featured on the www.fairinvestment.co.uk website are promoted on a non-advised sale basis. This means that in many cases we will send to you, at your request, key features of a specific investment. If you decide to proceed, we will process the application for you.

Risk:

Please be aware that the value of investments can fall as well as rise, and that you may not get back the full amount invested. The price of investments may depend on fluctuations in the financial markets, which are outside our control. Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance.

Non-regulated products and services:

Please note that the FSA does not regulate all of the products featured on the website. For example, the FSA currently does not regulate commercial mortgages/finance, credit cards and some forms of buy-to-let mortgages and secured loans.

Client money:

We are not authorised by the FSA to handle client money. We never accept cheques made out to us unless it is in settlement of charges for which we have sent you an invoice. In addition, we do not accept or handle cash.

Investment documents:

We will register all investments in your name unless otherwise agreed in writing. All documents of title in respect of investments will be forwarded to you directly by the investment manager. We will aim to acknowledge receipt of your application form (except online application forms) within two working days of receiving it.

Financial Services Compensation Scheme:

We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). You may be entitled to compensation under the scheme if we cannot meet our obligations. Further information about the compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS website (www.fscs.org.uk).

Cancellation rights:

As no advice has been provided by Fair Investment Company Limited, please be aware that certain investments may not qualify for cancellation during a cooling off period. If any of the products or investments you take out have a right of cancellation, full details can be found in the individual product literature which should be read carefully. You should be aware that some investments will have no such rights. Again, this information can be found in the product literature.

Mode of communication:

We will enter into communication with you through whatever means are convenient to you and us, including face-to-face, telephone, email and other acceptable electronic communication methods.

Data protection:

Fair Investment Company Limited is registered under the Data Protection Act 1998. We will use the information you provide to us to process your application and provide you with information that we consider will be of interest to you.

Processing includes obtaining, recording or holding information or data, transferring it to other companies associated with us, product providers, the FSA or any other statutory, governmental or regulatory body for legitimate purposes including, where relevant, to solicitors and/or other debt collection agencies for debt collection purposes and carrying out operations on the information or data.

We may also process information about other individuals (e.g. your spouse) which you provide to us. In providing such information on other individuals you agree that you have obtained those individuals’ consent to our processing information about them.

Upon request, we will supply copies of entries in our records relating to your transactions. You may be charged a fee (subject to the statutory minimum) for supplying you with such data. We undertake to retain such records for at least six years (and many documents we retain for a significantly longer period) from the date of each transaction.

If at any time you wish us or any company associated with us to cease processing your personal data or contacting you for marketing purposes, please contact The Data Protection Officer at our address.

Complaints:

If you wish to register a complaint, please write to the Compliance Officer at: 2 Portland Street, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 4JH. Alternatively, contact us on 0117 933 5500.

If you are unable to settle your complaint with us, you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Accuracy:

Whilst every attempt has been made to ensure that the information on the website and that which is being sent to you is correct and up to date, no warranty or representation is given as to its accuracy or reliability. Whilst the website covers a wide range of products, you should also be aware that there may be other products available on the market, which are not shown on the site, and which may or may not be more competitive.

Paying for our services:

Fair Investment Company receives introductory fees, or commissions, or both, from third parties to whom introductions are made. Fair Investment Company is entitled to an introductory fee of up to 3% of the amount invested in respect of an investment. However, the actual amount that we receive will depend on the type of investment effected on your behalf.

For investments in collective investments – such as unit trusts, open ended investment companies (OEICs) and venture capital trusts (VCTs) – we have elected to receive no introductory fee, in order to enhance the terms to you. In addition, a trail commission of up to 0.5% each year may be payable to us and again this is included within the standard charging structure of the investment. For savings products we take an initial commission or a trail commission, but not both. You will receive full details of the introductory fee/initial commission payable/given up and the trail commission to be paid directly from the investment manager.

For Example:

Regular contributions E.g. £100 a month investment
Collective investments (unit trusts, OEICs, etc) Nil initial commission plus up to 0.5% of your fund value each year; e.g. £0 initial commission plus £6 trail commission in year two and so on (the actual amount in later years will vary in line with the value of your fund). The trail commission is included within the standard charging structure of the investment.
Structured products Not applicable – regular contributions are not permitted
Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) Not applicable – regular contributions are not permitted
Savings Accounts Accounts pay either initial commission (up to 1.2%) or trail commission (up to 0.4%), but not both. Therefore, depending on the product, this could mean £1.20 initial commission, or £4.80 trail commission in year two and so on (actual amount will vary in line with the value of your savings account).
Lump sum investment E.g. £30,000 investment
Collective investments (unit trusts, OEICs, etc) Nil initial commission, plus up to 0.5% of your fund value each year; e.g. £0 initial commission plus £150 trail commission in year two and so on (the actual amount in later years will vary in line with the value of your fund). The trail commission is included within the standard charging structure of the investment.
Structured products Initial commission of up to 3% – so with a £30,000 investment, Fair Investment Company will receive £900. This commission will be paid directly to us by the product provider and is taken into account within the standard charging structure of the product. No annual trail commission will be payable.
Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) Nil initial commission, plus up to 0.5% of your current fund value, or initial investment each year, e.g. £0 initial commission plus £150 trail commission in year two and so on (the actual amount in later years may vary in line with the value of your fund). The trail commission is paid directly to us by the investment manager and is included within the standard charging structure of the investment.
Savings Accounts Accounts pay either initial commission (up to 0.3%) or trail commission (up to 0.4%), but not both. So, depending on the product, it could be £90 initial commission or £120 trail commission in year two and so on (actual amount will vary in line with the value of your savings account).

Links to other sites:

The Fair Investment Company website contains links to other websites. Fair Investment Company cannot accept responsibility for any information given or advice provided by these other sites.

UK residents:

The Fair Investment Company (www.fairinvestment.co.uk) website is aimed at UK residents and those ordinarily resident only and the terms and conditions are governed by English Law. Those considering investing through Fair Investment Company, but who are currently residing outside the UK, should contact Fair Investment prior to proceeding.

Fair Investment Company Limited, 2 Portland Street, Clifton,Bristol, BS8 4JH
Tel: 0117 933 5500
Email: helpdesk@fairinvestment.co.uk

Registered in England no. 3980180 V.A.T no. 814365927
Fair Investment Company Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority

Website Disclaimer and Privacy Statement

(a) Website Disclaimer

These Terms apply to your use of our website. If you are not over 18 or not living in the United Kingdom you will not be able to use this website and you should not attempt to make an application, although subject to your acceptance of these Terms you should feel free to browse. If you do not agree to be bound by the Terms set out below you should not use this website.

Definitions

The following words have the following meanings:

“Terms” means these terms and conditions;

“Product Provider” means any insurance company, life office, broker and administration provider, operator of a collective investment scheme, fund manager, bank, building society or any other financial institution;

“Us/Our” means Fair Investment Company Limited;

“You” means the user of the website.

Copyright Trademark and site content

You acknowledge and accept that all copyright, trademarks and all other intellectual property rights in all material or content provided as part of the website belong to us, or a Product Provider. You may download material from this site for your own use only. No right, title or interest in any downloaded materials is transferred to you by such downloading.

Any other use of the material and content of the website is strictly prohibited and you agree not to copy, reproduce, transmit, publish, display, distribute, commercially exploit or create derivative works of such material except for the purpose of applying for shares or with our written consent.

Our Liability to you

While we will use all reasonable endeavours to ensure the accuracy of any information placed on the website, we make no representations or give any warranties of any kind with respect to this site or its contents and we disclaim all representations, except where fraudulently made, and warranties. In addition we make no representations or warranties about the accuracy or the information contained on this website. The information provided to you in connection with the products is provided by the Product Providers and you acknowledge that we have no liability to you with respect to the accuracy of such information. As we rely on information given to us by third parties there may be a time delay in keeping that information up to date. You should therefore check the accuracy of the information.

The website may only list the Product Providers with whom we have arrangements and may not cover all Product Providers in the market. These disclaimers do not attempt to disclaim liability for matters that cannot be excluded under any applicable English law or the rules of the Financial Services Authority.

We make no warranty that the website will meet your requirements or will be uninterrupted, timely, secure or error-free, that defects will be corrected, or that the site or the server that makes it available are free of viruses or bugs or represents the full functionality, accuracy or reliability of the materials. We will not be liable to you for any loss of content or material uploaded or transmitted through the website.

We cannot guarantee that a Product Provider will be able to provide an investment at any particular time. We do not accept any liability in the event of withdrawal of any offering of an investment or for rejection of your application by the Product Provider for any reason whatsoever.

Neither we, nor any of our directors, agents or employees will be liable for damages arising out of or in connection with your use of this site. This is a comprehensive limitation of liability that applies to all damages of any kind, including, without limitation, compensatory, direct, indirect or consequential damages, loss of data, income or profit, loss or damage to property and claims of third parties. We do not exclude any liability for death or personal injury resulting from our negligence or that of our directors, agents or employees.

This website is designed to provide you with general information only and does not attempt to give you advice on any particular investment or to recommend any particular investment to you. If you have any doubt as to whether a particular investment is suitable for you, you should contact an Independent Financial Adviser.

Indemnity

In using this website, we require that you abide by these Terms. If you fail to abide by them, and this failure causes us to suffer a claim, action, liability, or loss because of your failure to abide by these Terms, you agree to indemnify us, on demand, for all costs and expenses, including legal fees, which arise out of your failure to abide by these Terms.

Our Rights

We reserve the right at any time to modify or withdraw, temporarily or permanently, the website or any part of it without notice to you and we will not be liable to you in any way for any modification or withdrawal of the website. We also reserve the right to modify these Terms without reference to you.

We reserve the right at any time to refuse to process a transaction for any reason. We will not be liable to you or any third party by reason of our failing to process a transaction.

By making an application for any investment or insurance you expressly authorise us to transmit information or to obtain information about you from third parties from time to time, including but not limited to your credit reports, in order to authenticate your identity.

Third Party Links

In the event that there are third party links to other websites for your convenience, you acknowledge and agree that we are not responsible for the availability or functionality of such external sites. We do not endorse the content of any external sites and are not responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any loss however caused to you by your use of any external site.

Miscellaneous

The information on this website is for residents of the UK only.

We shall not be liable to you where performance of any of our obligations to you is prevented, frustrated or impeded by any circumstance or cause beyond our control.

If any part of these Terms is found to be unenforceable as a matter of law, all other parts of these Terms shall not be affected and shall remain in force.

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English law and the English courts shall have jurisdiction over any disputes between us.

(b) Privacy Statement

Fair Investment Company Ltd takes the issue of privacy very seriously. This statement sets out our practice concerning data processing.

What data do we hold about You?

This website is provided by Fair Investment Company Limited (“FIC”) to help you to select products to meet your individual needs. To do this we must obtain certain information from you about your personal and financial circumstances. The information that you give us will then be passed by us to potential providers and researchers who will use that information and respond with the terms they are prepared to offer.

How we use your data?

The nature of our service means that depending on the nature of your enquiry we have to share your personal data with our partners who provide the products and services that you request. For example if after using a comparative service on the website you wish to speak to an adviser or request a financial product, we will pass on your relevant personal data to the partner concerned to fulfill your request.

If you have requested to receive our regular newsletter we may contact you by telephone or by email to inform you of products and services which may be of interest to you. If you wish to opt out of this direct marketing activity please contact support@fairinvestment.co.uk so that we may remove your personal details from the database.

What are “cookies” and how we use them?

For each new visitor to the website we automatically log certain information about how you are using our website. If your computer browser is set up to accept them, we use a feature known as a “cookie” which contains information that is stored on your computer hard drive for record keeping purposes. Cookies allow us to make our website more useful based on stored information about your preferences when you visit our website. If you do not wish for information to be recorded in this way, you are able to configure your browser to refuse cookies or to notify you when you have received one. You can do this for example on Internet Explorer by clicking “tools”, go to “Internet Options”, go to the “Privacy” tab and select “Block” for “first party cookies” and then “Block” again for “third party cookies” and un-check “always allow session cookies”.

We use Google analytics and Omniture analytics to analyse visitor behaviour on our website. These analytical systems generate data about visitor behaviour by using cookies which are stored on users’ computers. The information generated relating to the use of our website is used to create reports that are used internally by the Company. Google and Omniture store this information. For further information about Google’s privacy policy go to http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/ and for Omiture go tohttp://www.omniture.com/en/privacy/policy

Where is your data stored?

Fair Investment Company Ltd is the registered data controller of your personal data for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998.

All personal data provided by you is held securely and in confidence by us in our computerized records. You have the right to inspect the data we hold about you at any time. If you wish to do so, please write to the Compliance officer at:

The Compliance Officer
Fair Investment Company Ltd
Kings House
14 Orchard Street
Bristol

BS1 5EH