Terms of Business - Appointed Representative
About us
These Terms of Reference will apply to the provision of goods and services by:
The Compliance Guys Limited, a private limited company, incorporated and registered in England and Wales, with company number 12533924, whose registered office is at Office 28, Cleveland Street, Wolverhampton, West Midland, WV1 3HT, trading as The Compliance Guys.
The service we will provide
We will assess your business for the purposes of becoming an Appointed Representative (AR) of The Compliance Guys Ltd (Principal Firm); we will complete the registration with the FCA and any relevant applications for Approved Persons. If your application with us and the subsequent registration with the FCA is successful, you will be allowed to carry out the following regulated activities:
- Credit Broking
- Debt Adjusting, Limited to adjusting – settlement vehicle finance.
- Debt Counselling, Limited to counselling – settlement vehicle finance.
Our service will include:
Onboarding/ Application Stage | If Authorised as an AR (by The Compliance Guys Ltd AND the FCA) |
|---|---|
| Reviewing your application to become an AR | Initial instruction to apply correct disclosures to your website |
| Registering your details as an AR with the FCA | Monthly website checks |
| Making an application for Approved Persons | Monthly social media reviews |
| Carrying out DBS checks for Approved Persons and any individual with over 20% shareholding | “Klassify” (bespoke compliance system) walkthrough |
| Gaining an understanding of your business, including financial stability and staff have the required skills and knowledge | Use of “Klassify” for logging all your sales, complaints and for all mandatory compliance training |
| A basic check of your website and customer reviews | Use of the “Test Drive” App, additional charges for verifications will apply. |
| Credit checks for all shareholders | Templates for core policies and procedures |
| Remote premises check via video call | Advice on best practice and FCA expectations |
| Creating your AR agreement | Guidance on relevant sections of the FCA handbook |
| Monthly review meeting | |
| Annual credit checks | |
| Annual reviews of all shareholders | |
| Annual DBS checks (this may attract additional cost) |
What we need from you
We require the following commitment from you:
- Completed application form with your business and personal contact details, work history, etc.
- 3 proofs of Identification for DBS checks for every individual with 20% or more shareholding in the business (driving licence, passport and utility bill dated in the last 90 days).
- Basic research into the FCA’s rules and guidance (particularly around ARs).
- Commitment to an initial fact find call (30 minutes) for us to gain an understanding of your business.
- Making yourself available for follow-up calls and video meetings as needed.
- Ensure you do not have any financial promotions in the public arena until you are authorised as an AR (website, social media etc.) Please let us know if there is anything that might cause an issue.
- Supply an organisational chart/ list of employee names for us to set up log-in details for Klassify.
If authorised as an AR, you MUST:
- Send ALL financial promotions to us for approval.
- Make yourself available for a walkthrough of the Klassify system.
- Log ALL sales to Klassify at the point of sale.
- Ensure ALL customers applying for finance consent to commission being earned in good time before the finance agreement is completed (by digitally signing the IDD document) .
- Log ALL complaints on Klassify in a timely manner.
- Complete your online training courses within a month of authorisation.
- Commit to a monthly meeting to discuss feedback and provide support.
- Be open and honest with us and highlight any regulatory issues that you are aware of at the earliest opportunity.
- Advise us immediately of ANY changes to the company.
IMPORTANT
Please understand that we will use our experience and knowledge to assist you with your application, but we cannot guarantee that the FCA will approve it.
All communications from the FCA will be with you as the named person making the application.
We will provide guidance and advice in responding to the FCA but rely on you to tell us when they contact you, providing copies of email requests from them as soon as you receive them as they usually have a 5 working day deadline. We take no liability for missing deadlines where FCA correspondence has not been provided within a reasonable timescale.
Documents we provide to you are for your use only and should not be shared with other firms.
The FCA may do a credit check on any individuals who are applying for a Senior Management function.
Timescales
We expect to complete the onboarding checks within 4 weeks. Your details will be submitted to the FCA the following week (week 5). The FCA require 30 days notice for a new AR, however they may wish to carry out checks of their own which means the application could potentially take longer.
The upfront cost to become an Appointed Representative of The Compliance Guys is £1150+VAT onboarding fee and your first month subscription payment determined on size of your dealership.
If for any reason, The Compliance Guys or the FCA do not accept your application to become an Appointed Representative, we will refund you the first month subscription payment.
The ongoing subscription for you to remain as an AR of The Compliance Guys Ltd is:
£495 + VAT per month.
If accepted an agreement is required to be completed, which covers a minimum term of 12 months. If you decide to end the relationship with The Compliance Guys before the end of the initial 12-month period, you will be invoiced for the full 12 months. Your subscription payments will start 30 days after the date you are authorised by the FCA, this will be classed as your second month subscription payment.
Price includes access to “Klassify” our Bespoke Compliance System, which will allow you to log sales, create invoices, log complaints, complete your mandatory training and much more. Included in the above subscription is 4 users of the Klassify system. If you have more than 4 staff that will be dealing with Finance, these will be charged at an additional £15 +VAT per month, per additional user.
Privacy
Personal data that you provide to us as part of this application will be used to complete your application on Connect. Please read our Privacy Policy in full on our website Privacy – The Compliance Guys Ltd. By signing these Terms of Business, you are consenting to our use of your data for the purposes of obtaining authorisation from the FCA for you to become an Appointed Representative of The Compliance Guys Ltd, and for the monitoring and oversight of your business as the Principal Firm thereafter.
Your ongoing responsibilities
If you are authorised, please remember your ongoing responsibilities as an Appointed Representative are:
- You MUST send all financial promotions to us for approval
- You MUST add all sales to Klassify at the point of sale
- You MUST log all complaints on Klassify in a timely manner
- You MUST complete all training within a month of authorisation and annually
- You MUST advise us of any change to the business or any regulatory issues you encounter
- You MUST ensure all customers sign to consent to commission disclosure in good time before their finance agreement is completed (IDD)
It is important that you understand your responsibilities as an Appointed Representative, breaches to these terms of business or the signed agreement may result in termination of your Appointed Representative status which may incur further charges.
