First of all, check your mortgage, secured loan or finance
agreement. There should be a section that outlines all broker fees
and commission - it is the broker's legal duty to disclose this
information.
If there is no such section then your contract is fraudulent and
can be voided. Even where the broker verbally informed you that
he'd receive commission, if he didn't put it down in the agreement
then he acted illegally. Go to the next section of this guide to
find out how to make an undisclosed commission claim.
If the brokers' fee is disclosed on the agreement then this
doesn't necessarily mean that the broker didn't receive an
additional commission from the lender - this is where the "secret"
element comes in.
Your lender should have records of all fees included in the
agreement, including hidden ones. To get hold of these records you
must write to the lender directly and request that they provide you
with a copy of the underwriting sheet or any other documents
showing commissions they paid to the broker.
To do this, write them a letter quoting your account number and
include the following:
"I respectfully request that you provide me by return a true
copy of the underwriting sheet relating to the above account, or
any other documents showing any commissions paid by you to the
broker or by the broker to you. I require this as I have reason to
believe that there may be undisclosed commissions.
If your organisation has paid, or has been paid, an undisclosed
commission, I would be entitled to rescind the contract or seek
other remedies.
I must stress this request is made pursuant to the Civil Procedure
Rules ( Pre action protocols and Part 31.16) and therefore only a
copies of the original documents in its unaltered form will suffice
in these circumstances. I reserve the right to seek a court order
for your compliance should you refuse."
Say that you expect a response within three weeks. Remember to
send the letter by recorded delivery so you have proof that the
company received it.
Once you have the document, inspect and compare it with the
mortgage or loan agreement that you had signed with the broker. If
there are any broker's fees on it which you were unaware of and
weren't disclosed on your copy of the agreement then this is proof
that this fee was a secret or a hidden one and that the contract is
void.
Go to the next section
of our guide to find out what to do next.
Claims Financial
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