1. Meanings

1.1 In these Terms, when the following words begin with a capital letter, they shall mean:

1.1 Claim: a claim for a tax rebate that we submit to HMRC on your behalf.
1.2 Claim Form: the HMRC “R40 Tax Claim Deed of Assignment” or “P87 Tax Claim Deed of Assignment” form which includes your Claim and a Deed of Assignment
1.3 Claim Pack: a Claim Form and a Tax Agent Authority.
1.4 Claim Period: the tax years listed on your Claim Form
1.5 Confirmation: the action that forms a Contract between the parties.
1.6 Contract: a binding legal agreement between you and us that is subject to these Terms.
1.7 Cooling-Off Period: a 14-day period commencing on the day following your Confirmation, during which you have the contractual right to cancel the Contract.
1.8 Deed of Assignment: a form that transfers to us the right to receive all refunds from HMRC on your behalf for the tax years specified on the form.
1.9 Digital Tax Records: digital services offered by HMRC which allow the user to view and manage a person’s tax information online.
1.10 Fees: the fees (including any applicable VAT) that we charge for performing the Services.
1.11 HMRC: Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs
1.12 Refund: money you may be owed by HMRC for overpaid tax.
1.13 Services: services or matters we specify in these Terms that we will undertake (including, without limitation, the submission of a Tax Agent Authority, Tax Return, or Claim Form to HMRC, and tax agent services including but not limited to the annual tax review).
1.14 Tax Agent: a person or organisation whom you authorise to discuss your tax affairs with HMRC on an ongoing basis.
1.15 Tax Agent Authority: an official HMRC form (Form 64-8 “Authorising Your Agent”) authorising us as your Tax Agent that we submit to HMRC on your behalf.
1.16 VAT: a value-added tax of 20% (figure correct at the effective date of these Terms listed at the start of this document).

2. Contract

2.1 When a Contract is created: A Contract will be created each time you accept our Terms and press the “Submit” button on the Website to:

i. complete an Application;
2.2. What is considered a Confirmation: The actions set out in Paragraph 2.1 are in each case known as your Confirmation.
2.3. What a Confirmation is not: The Confirmation of a Contract does not constitute an agreement by us to submit a Claim to HMRC except in accordance with these Terms.
2.4. A binding agreement: Upon the Confirmation of a Contract, both you and we will be bound by these Terms and we will commence the relevant processes outlined in Paragraphs 3 and 4.

3. PAYE Claims

3.1 The Claim Pack: Following a Confirmation under Paragraph 2.1(i) this Paragraph 3 applies.
ii. You must sign the digital and/or physical Claim Form for us to process your Claim.
iii. We can proceed with either a signed digital or signed physical Claim Form.

3.2 Our assessment of your Claim: Once we receive your signed Claim Form, we will assess your Claim. This allows us to determine whether we will pursue your Claim. The assessment is for internal use only and uses several automated methods to assess your Claim.
3.3 Digital Tax Records: We will request that you grant us access to your Digital Tax Records to assist us with our assessment. If you grant us access:

i. We will also use this to investigate whether you are eligible to claim any further expenses. If you are eligible, we may contact you with a link to submit these additional expenses.
ii. We will perform an annual check for overpaid tax and notify you of the result.
3.4 If we can’t access your Digital Tax Records: If you do not grant us access to your Digital Tax Records, we may be unable to provide an annual update on your tax account or contact you with a link to submit additional expenses.
3.5 Alternative methods of assessing your Claim: If you do not give us access to your Digital Tax Records, we may use alternative methods (including automated decision making) to perform our assessment. Please see our privacy policy for more information.
3.6 Our decision to submit your Claim: We will submit your Claim if it satisfies our assessment parameters. However, a decision to submit your Claim is not a guarantee of a Refund or a specific Refund amount.
3.7 Our decision not to submit your Claim: If we decide not to submit your Claim, we may write to you and inform you of our decision. A decision not to submit your Claim is not indicative of any potential outcome should you choose to submit it independently.

4. The Tax Agent Authority

4.1 Signing the Tax Agent Authority: If you sign the Tax Agent Authority, we will:

i. Act as your sole Tax Agent until the Tax Agent Authority is replaced or removed.
ii. Receive and process correspondence regarding your tax details from HMRC.
iii. Receive and process your tax data from HMRC through digital means.
iv. Correspond with HMRC on your behalf to resolve issues related to your Claim.

4.2 Removing the Tax Agent Authority: You may at any time terminate or request that we terminate the Tax Agent Authority. However, this may affect our ability to manage your Claim(s) as we will no longer be able to communicate with HMRC to discuss your Claim(s) and address any issues that may arise.

5. Your Acknowledgements and Responsibilities

5.1 Your acknowledgements and responsibilities: You acknowledge that at the time of entering and for the duration of the Contract with us:

i. you wish for us to perform the Services.
ii. you are not aware of any reason you cannot enter that Contract.
iii. all information you provide to us is true, accurate, and complete.
iv. you are solely responsible for verifying your eligibility for any expenses or allowances detailed in a Claim.
v. your Claim includes a general claim to HMRC for any overpayment of tax in the Claim Period, in addition to any specific expenses you may be claiming.
vi. if you do not sign the Claim Form or approve a Tax Return, we will be unable to pursue your Claim.

5.2 Keeping us informed of any changes to your details: You will inform us without undue delay if any of your personal details change (and you acknowledge that failing to do so may affect your Refund or our ability to make payments to you).
5.3 Requests for information: You will respond promptly to any queries or information requests from us or HMRC that are related to your Claim. If you fail to do so, your Claim may be unsuccessful, or we may be unable to perform the Services.
5.4 Actions that may delay or affect your Claim: Some actions you take may adversely affect or delay your Claim including:

i. appointing another Tax Agent to act on your behalf
ii. contacting HMRC directly to request any Refund related to your Claim

6. Our Responsibilities

6.1 Standards: We will perform the Services with reasonable care and skill.
6.2 Timescales: We will use reasonable resources to perform the Services in a timely manner.
6.3 Who we can claim for: We only claim overpaid tax in the UK, and we assume no responsibility for any of your tax obligations in other jurisdictions.
6.4 Anti-money laundering checks: We may undertake financial crime checks relating to you or your Claim. If you or your Claim fail any such check, we may seek more information from you. We may be unable to perform the Services until you successfully pass these checks.
6.5 Late or inaccurate filings: We are not liable for any penalties that HMRC may issue for late or inaccurate filings except to the extent that we have negligently caused the delay or inaccuracy.
6.6 HMRC fines or penalties: We take no responsibility for informing you of any fines or penalties set by HMRC where we reasonably believe that HMRC has also contacted you directly.
6.7 HMRC action: We are not responsible for any tax assessment or debt that HMRC may pursue.

7. Fees

7.1 Our fees: If we do not reclaim any money, no fees are payable, and you won’t pay a penny. If you are due a Refund, we will charge you a fee of 35% plus VAT of your Refund, subject to a minimum fee of £30 plus VAT. Your authority will allow us to claim tax rebates on your behalf in future years.

7.2 No win, no fee: If you are not due a Refund, we will not charge a fee for the Services.
7.3 Refunds below our minimum fee: If the value of your Refund is less than £35 we will revert to charging 35%+VAT of your refund
7.4 Multiple refunds: If we receive on your behalf more than one Refund, we will apply our fee structure documented in 8.1, to each refund obtained.
7.5 HMRC sends the Refund to us: If HMRC sends a Refund directly to us we will deduct our Fees and send you a cheque for the balance of your Refund to the address provided in your Application.
7.6 HMRC sends the Refund to you or a third party: If HMRC incorrectly sends a Refund directly to you or a third party, we will

i. contact HMRC and ask that the Refund is reissued to us in accordance with the Deed of Assignment; or
ii. send you an invoice for our Fees.

7.7 Fees for submission before cancellation/termination: Fees will still apply to any Claims submitted to HMRC before the cancellation or termination of a Contract.
7.8 Unrelated payment administration fee: If HMRC sends us a payment unrelated to a Claim, we will send you a cheque for that payment less an administration fee of up to £60 (including VAT) to cover our costs in processing your payment.
7.9 Replacement payment fee: If you request a replacement payment, we will cancel the original cheque (if issued) and reissue the payment to you. This may be subject to an administration fee of up to £36 (including VAT) to cover our costs including bank charges.
7.10 International payments: We are unable to transfer monies outside the UK.
7.11 Recovery of unpaid Fees: We may take steps, including but not limited to legal action, to recover any unpaid Fees. This may include deducting any outstanding Fees from future Refunds received from HMRC on your behalf.
7.12 Verification and identity checks: We may perform security checks, including verifying your identity and/or the identity of any nominated recipients, before making a payment.
7.13 Issues with your Refund or cheque: You have 12 months from the date we issue a cheque to notify us in writing of any issues relating to your Refund or request a replacement cheque. If you fail to contact us within that time, we may be unable to review your issue or reissue a cheque.
7.14 Uncashed cheques: We reserve the right to cancel any cheque that is uncashed 12 months from the date of issue and retain the entire Refund amount.

8. Our Liability

8.1 What we are liable for: If we fail to comply with these Terms, we will be responsible for reasonable loss or damage which you suffer if it is a foreseeable result of that failure. Loss or damage is foreseeable if either it is obvious that it will happen or if both parties knew it was a reasonable possibility when they entered the Contract.
8.2 What we are not liable for: We will have no liability to you for any loss of profit, loss of business, business interruption, or loss of business opportunity related to our Services.
8.3 No liability for consequential damage or loss: We accept no liability for any consequential damage or loss arising from or in connection with any act or omission by us.
8.4 What we are liable for with no limits or exclusions: Notwithstanding Paragraphs 8.2 and 8.3 above and 8.5 below, we do not seek to exclude or limit our liability where such liability cannot be excluded or limited by law.
8.5 Limits of our liability: Subject to Paragraph 8.4, our total liability for any claim you have against us in connection with the Contract or otherwise (e.g. tort, misrepresentation, or restitution) shall in all circumstances be limited to the greater of:

i. £500; or
ii. the amount of your Refund.

10. Events Outside Our Control

9.1 We are not liable for events or circumstances outside our control: We will not be liable or responsible for any failure or delay in performing our obligations under these Terms if this was caused by an event or circumstances outside our control. We will notify you as soon as reasonably possible if this happens.
9.2 Suspension of our obligations: If an event or circumstances outside our control occurs, our obligations under the Contract will be suspended while the situation is ongoing.
9.3 Termination of the Contract: If after 90 days we remain unable to perform our obligations, we reserve the right to terminate the Contract in writing without incurring liability.

11. Personal details and statement of data protection
11.1. We recommend that You read this statement carefully as it describes how We use your personal information. For further details, please see the full privacy notice on our website at https://www. investorcompensation.co.uk/privacy-policy/ or ask Us for a copy and we will provide it to You.
11.2. We will use your personal information for the purpose of providing You with our services and for direct marketing if You consent to it. [or if we rely on the legitimate interest lawful basis under the GDPR]. The personal information You must provide for the purpose of the contract is indicated on the letter of authority: without it, We cannot provide our services. We need a basis in law to use your personal information. In your case, that basis is that(a) our use of your personal information is necessary for Us to enter into or perform a contract with You; (b) You have given consent or explicit consent to our use; and/or (c) the use (for example customer relationship management) is in our legitimate interests, which overrides your own interests, rights and freedoms.
11.3. Please be aware that We will record and monitor your calls to maintain or improve our services.
11.4. We can confirm that all personal information supplied by You will not be passed on to anyone other than:
11.4.1. as required or permitted by law or a court order including as requested by any government or law enforcement authority, or to our suppliers, service providers and advisers so they can provide Us with services or advice;
11.4.2. any company or other entity to whom We may either transfer or subcontract any or all of our obligations or rights to You under this Agreement; or

11.4.3. to a third party, with your consent.
11.5. If you consent or we rely on the legitimate interest lawful basis under the GDPR, We will contact You by post, email, text and telephone with details of our products and services which We think may be of interest to You.
11.6. If You wish to stop hearing about or receiving information on our products and services, please tell the caller or use the opt out in the email/texts or call Us. Please also see your rights in paragraphs 10.14 and 10.15.
11.7. If You give Us your email address and communicate with Us over the internet, We will assume that You accept the level of security in such communications and agree that We can communicate with You by email and other internet means. We set transport layer security (TLS) on our emails and We encourage You to do the same, so that the communications between Us are encrypted. Please also encrypt documents before sending them to Us, and provide the encryption key to Us by a means other than email, such as a call.
11.8. We will keep your personal information in the UK. We also have a call centre in South Africa, from where your personal information in the UK may be accessed over a private network. South Africa’s data protection laws are not considered to give the same level of protection for personal information as those in Europe. Your data is not stored or kept outside the UK.
11.9. We will keep your personal information for up to 10 years after the end of the contract between Us. After that we will review your personal information and delete it if there is no business need for Us to keep it for a longer period, for example for the purpose of a legal claim or for tax reasons.
11.10. You can contact Us at any time by writing for any information You require and also if You would like copies of any or all personal information.
11.11. You have rights to make a request to Us:
11.11.1. for access to your personal information as briefly described in paragraph 10.10
11.11.2. for rectification or erasure of your personal information
11.11.3. for restriction of processing concerning You
11.11.4. to object to our processing which is based on legitimate interests
11.11.5. to object to direct marketing
11.11.6. to port (transfer) data you have provided to Us, either to You or to another provider.
11.12. To exercise one of your rights please contact Us. There is not normally any charge. If there is going to be a charge, We will advise you beforehand
11.13. We may make “automated decisions” about You, that is a significant decision made by software or an algorithm without human intervention. For example, based on a certain criterion (defined by humans) our system makes automatic decisions, such as when to send You an email or SMS or close your case. The logic in our systems is best understood as the milestones throughout the customer journey, for example Your customer pack being returned, or the complaint being sent to a third party. We then set appropriately determined contact points to keep You updated or informed on any progress with your claim. The consequences of these automated decisions are limited as the triggers are removed where the customer journey finishes, i.e. when your case is closed, or is successful and You have settled your invoice.
11.14. If You give Us your consent, You have a right to withdraw that consent at any time To exercise your right please call Us. It would be helpful if You put “Withdrawal of consent” in the subject line of the email.
11.15. You have a right to object to our use of your personal information for our legitimate interests, including direct marketing. To exercise your right please call Us. If would be helpful if You put “Right to object” in the subject line of the email.
11.16. Please advise Us at the earliest opportunity if You have any medical conditions such that You might be regarded as particularly vulnerable and the nature of such status. In such circumstances We require your verbal or written consent to process your personal data. The nature of your status will not be disclosed by Us to third parties without your further explicit consent or as required or permitted by law.

12. Customer Complaint Procedure
12.1. We aim to provide the highest possible level of service to all clients. If You are unhappy with any aspect of the service, then please raise your concern with Us immediately. We operate a complaints procedure in accordance with rules made by the FCA which are designed to help Us to resolve any complaint you may have as quickly as possible. A copy of the complaints procedure is available at https://www.investorcompensation.co.uk/complaints-procedure/ or on request from Us. You have the right to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Details of which can be found at www. financial-ombudsman.org.uk/