Frequently asked questions

Transcription

1 For whatever your future holds Frequently asked questions What is Mover Membership? Mover Membership is a unique package of member benefits which has been designed specifically for customers of Lifetime Financial Group. It provides the customer with access to unlimited consumer legal advice, a complimentary single or mirror Will drafted by expert solicitors, as well as Mover Protection, which could enable the member to reclaim costs they have paid if their transaction falls through. How does it work? When you agree to provide Mover Membership and have signed our terms of business every mortgage and remortgage application you submit will generate a referral to Lifetime Legal for us to call the customer. Every customer you refer will be entitled to activate a 3 months membership of Lifetime Legal, and benefits worth over 200 including unlimited legal advice, a professionally drafted single or mirror Will, and Mover Protection, as well as a secure online digital vault for storing important documents. You will be charged just 40 inc VAT for each referral. Why does membership need to be activated? We need to talk to the customer to ensure they understand the terms and benefits of membership and the principles of Mover Protection, and to gain an understanding of their estate planning requirements. By collecting a payment to activate membership we are able to ensure that at the end of their initial membership period we can manage the extension/renewal process as smoothly as possible and with no break in membership. How is membership activated? Membership is activated over the phone and costs the customer just 1, payable by credit or debit card. We will gather some basic information from them to create their secure online digital vault and run through some simple questions to determine the complexity of their estate. As part of this call we explain the cost and process for renewing their membership at the end of their initial membership period. Why does activation cost 1? The collection of a membership fee, albeit one which is clearly considerably less than the value of the benefits of membership, creates a contract between us and the member which is covered by the Terms and Conditions we send out with the membership pack.

2 What happens after membership has been activated? We ll send every member a membership pack, which explains their membership terms and benefits and gives details of how to access their vault. For members with a simple estate we ll also send a Will questionnaire for them to complete and return in order for us to draft their Will; for members with a more complex estate we ll arrange a further call to run through a much more detailed consultation with a member of our Wills team. Members requiring complex Wills will be given written advice at no extra cost. How long does the membership last? The initial membership period is for 3 months from the date of referral, after which the customer may extend to a full year for a further payment of 60. If they do not wish to extend their membership then the benefits will lapse. Beyond the first year they may renew their membership for an annual subscription of 90. We will write to the member 4-6 weeks before their renewal date reminding them that their subscription is due for renewal, and giving the option to cancel if they wish. If they do not cancel, their membership will be renewed automatically so that there is no gap in membership and, importantly, in their Mover Protection. What happens if they don t renew? If the member decides to cancel their subscription, all their membership benefits will cease at the end of their membership period. The digital vault will remain in place, but they will not be able to upload any new documents to it. If their move falls through after their membership has ceased they will not be eligible to claim on Mover Protection. What happens if they don t activate in the first place? We will make every effort to contact every customer you refer to us and encourage them to activate their membership. However, those that we either do not manage to speak to or who decide not to activate will not become members and will not receive a membership pack, nor will they be eligible for any of the benefits of membership. You can do your part to encourage them to activate by giving each customer one of our Activate your Mover Membership cards, and explaining the value of the benefits they will receive. What does Mover Protection cover? Mover Protection allows the member to reclaim costs they may have incurred in the event that their transaction fails for reasons beyond their control. This could be for reasons which range from a vendor withdrawing the property from the market, to an adverse valuation, or to a change in personal circumstances such as redundancy, relocation or even a death in the family. There are further details and a more comprehensive list of the circumstances which may give rise to a successful claim in our terms and conditions. Mover Protection covers fees which may be incurred early in the process, including fees for searches and surveys, valuations and mortgage applications, broker fees and even marketing costs such as EPCs and floorplans.

3 What is not covered? All claims are judged on their own merits and Lifetime Legal has sole discretion over whether or not a claim is successful. This allows us to be flexible and fair in our approach and in fact our claims history shows that we have settled 95% of all claims completed in the last 18 months. In general terms, we would be unlikely to settle a claim from a customer who withdraws out of choice, or who causes a delay which results in the other party withdrawing, though our experience shows that the customers who cause their own transaction to fail are unlikely to claim. How much can a customer claim? The limit of costs which may be refunded is 720 for sale transactions or 1,850 for purchase transactions. The costs which may be refunded for purchase transactions are limited as follows: Maximum refund limits Sale Purchase Standard Premium Legal fees Estate agency marketing fee 250 Mortgage broker fees Mortgage lender application fees Survey fees Search fees Other fees Maximum refundable 720 1,850 2,850 If the client chooses to upgrade to Premium Mover Protection, the limit of costs which may be refunded is 2,850 on a purchase. How can my client upgrade to Premium Mover Protection? The client has the choice of upgrading to Premium Mover Protection at the point of activating their initial membership by paying an additional 59. Who provides members with legal advice? Legal advice is provided by our own panel of specialist law firms, so your customers can be sure that any advice they receive is completely impartial. Who writes the Will? All of our Wills are drafted by professionally qualified solicitors who are experts in the field of estate planning.

4 What supporting evidence might be needed for a claim? This depends very much on the reason for the transaction falling through. Where a search or survey has highlighted a problem that caused the purchaser to pull out, we would ask to see a copy of the survey and an estimated cost of rectification. Alternatively, if the transaction failed through the fault of the other party, we might ask the estate agent to verify the claimant s version of events. Or if a lender s valuation is significantly lower than the agreed purchase price we would ask for a copy of the valuation report. Each case is treated on its merits and it is not possible to give an exhaustive list of the pieces of information we might ask to see, but there should never be anything that is difficult for the appropriate person to provide. What happens if a claim is declined? In the rare cases that we are unable to agree to pay a claim a letter will be sent to you and the member detailing our reasons. An appeal can be made to the Managing Director of Lifetime Legal, who will consult with the CEO of Mortgage Advice Bureau before a final decision is made. Will you try and sell conveyancing to all of my referrals? No, we will only offer conveyancing if you ask us to. What other revenue opportunities are there? Lifetime Legal offers its members a wide range of discounted legal services, and every time a member you introduced uses one of our services, you will earn a referral fee. The table below shows the fees we typically pay: Service/Product Conveyancing Probate (Grant of Probate only) Probate (Full estate administration) Referral Fee 100 or 200, depending on feescale selected 15% of the legal fee. The legal fee on our Grant Only service can vary depending on the size and complexity of the estate, but is generally % of the legal fee. The fee varies depending on the complexity of the estate, but the average legal fee is around 2,000 Will Trust 30 Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) 30 Will Portfolio (Will with Trust and LPA) 30

5 Mover Protection Voucher Why do Lifetime Legal issue a voucher to clients? The voucher is issued to ensure that the client has to return to you, as their mortgage adviser, to have the voucher validated. This ensures that you have the best possible chance of retaining the client. How do I validate a voucher? You simply need to sign and stamp (with company stamp) the voucher where marked. The validated voucher can then be posted or ed back to Lifetime Legal who will then issue payment to the client. On what basis should I validate a claim? The idea of the voucher scheme is to encourage the client to return to you to take out a new mortgage. When they do so, you validate their claim. What happens if the client does not come back to have the voucher validated? If the voucher is not validated by the originating broker then the voucher is not deemed to be correctly validated and no payment will be made by Lifetime Legal. How long is a voucher valid for? A voucher is valid for 6 months or for as long as a client is a member of Lifetime Legal, whichever is longer.

6 Mover Protection Voucher redemption process Member Lifetime Legal Member contacts Lifetime Legal for claim form Lifetime Legal sends Mover Protection claim form Member returns claim form with invoices Lifetime Legal agrees claim NO YES NO Member contacts mortgage adviser to validate claim Claim validated? Voucher issued by Lifetime Legal to member* YES Member returns validated voucher to Lifetime Legal Lifetime Legal issues payment to member LL319-MAB-0614