DOMESTIC MANDATE TERMS & CONDITIONS

1. You (The Policyholder) undertakes to deal honestly in all representations, communications, discussions and engagements with Oakleafe and Insurers.

2. We agree to act on your behalf in connection with your claim including advising you, preparing your claim(s) and negotiating on your behalf with your insurers and/or third parties where applicable.

3. Our services are offered on a success fee principle – (you only pay us when you receive any form of payment from the claim(s)).

4. You (The Policyholder) are required to provide Oakleafe with such assistance as it reasonably asks for, including access to properties, provision of documents, information and written authority to deal with Insurers or to obtain relevant protected data from the parties involved including but not limited to accountants, brokers, Insurers and mortgagees.

5. We shall, to the best of our ability, obtain a speedy and satisfactory settlement on your behalf. However, being your agent, and not the agent of the insurance company, we cannot give specific time frames for obtaining settlement or at all.

6. Please note our minimum fee is £2,000.00 for any settlements obtained *ALL FEES PLUS VAT *

If you choose to use our complete range of services provided by the Oakleafe contractor network incl. mitigation, Surveying, building contractors, restoration, drying or decontamination the fee for the above claims handling may be reduced or waived.

7. You will identify to us, directly or through an introducer, the circumstances of the Claim(s) and have it known that your principal objective is to make a proper and fair presentation to agree recompense with your Insurers as expediently as possible.

8. Oakleafe reserves the right to withdraw its services and those of any Professional Services or Consultant at any time should there be a reasonable suspicion that the Claim(s) or any part thereof is fraudulent, dishonest or not properly founded. If this is established, you (The Policyholder) will be liable for any monies due for any Professional services, Consultants or disbursements incurred in the progress of your claim(s) including any associated Tax/Vat.

9. The terms and conditions set out herein shall apply under English Law in the event of any recovery, whether in contract or in tort, from insurers or a third party. You will be required to pay any policy excess deducted by your Insurance company under the policy

10. By signing our mandate, you irrevocably appoint Oakleafe as attorney and agent to prepare, manage and conclude the Claim(s) on your behalf. In doing so you agree that Oakleafe can negotiate with Insurers the cost of each element of the claim(s) and any works to be effected. In signing this you agree to the use of all media for the purposes of the claim.

11. It may be necessary to require the services of other specialists to assist with supporting the claim(s) such as forensic scientists, surveyors, contractors, solicitors etc. You are at liberty to instruct each separately. In this event such specialists will at all times be your agent and not our agent whether introduced or not by us. We accept no liability for any negligent errors or omissions of these specialists.

12. If you cancel our engagement after Liability has been accepted, the agreed percentage stated will be set against any sums claimed/paid /processed to be settled in full to Oakleafe. In such circumstances payment of Cancellation Fees will still be due to Oakleafe, and any professionals or consultants as above. For all subsidence or repudiated claims, estimated advance fees of £75 p/h (Excluding VAT) will be invoiced to cover some of our costs for these matters. In the event we are successful, these hourly charges will be deducted from any % fee we have agreed with you.

13. You acknowledge that if you are VAT registered, any settlement figure from insurers may be net of VAT. In the case of net fees being paid, you will settle the VAT proportion directly to Oakleafe by way of invoice. You claim this back upon your next submission. All payments must be made on time in full without deduction, off set or counterclaim. We will charge interim fees on interim recoveries, to include any interim recoveries agreed prior to our engagement.

14. You may terminate this agreement by providing written notice to us within 14 days of appointing us to represent you in the claim(s). In these circumstances, there will be no charge for our services. In the event of you terminating the agreement after 14 days or you take action to prevent us from being paid our fees, then you agree we shall be entitled to charge you in respect of all the work carried out on your behalf calculated on the basis of £150 (excluding VAT) per hour of our time.

15. In the event of default of payment of any due fees, costs, expenses and disbursements outlined above (the Debt) Oakleafe will refer the matter to others for recovery which will incur a surcharge of 15% of the debt plus VAT at the prevailing rate. You (The Policyholder) agree to pay that surcharge.

16. By signing our mandate, you irrevocably appoint Oakleafe as attorney and agent to prepare, manage payments via our client account and conclude the Claim(s) on your behalf. In doing so you agree that Oakleafe can negotiate with Insurers the cost of each element of the claim(s) and any works to be effected. You also agree to the use of all media relating to your property for the purposes of the claim.

17. Late Payments : All customers shall indemnify Oakleafe Claims (Northern Ireland) Ltd against all costs and expenses (including any legal costs and expenses on a full indemnity basis) incurred or sustained by Oakleafe Claims (Northern Ireland) Ltd in recovering sums due in each case without prejudice to any other rights or remedies available to the business. Should a payment (be that by BACS, cheque or any other means) be returned by the payee’s bank, Oakleafe Claims (Northern Ireland) Ltd reserves the right to charge a £10 administration fee towards the cost of dealing with the collection of the amount outstanding.

18. Oakleafe Claims (Northern Ireland) Ltd reserves the right to make late payment charges composed of simple interest calculated on a daily basis equivalent to the Bank of England’s base rate plus 8%, on the unpaid balance from the due date for payment until receipt of the full amount outstanding

19. We recognise the importance of service and set high standards. If there is an occasion when we do not meet your expectations, we are equally committed to dealing with any complaint thoroughly and in a professional manner. Please send an email to [email protected] where it will be resolved immediately.

A Loss Assessor usually obtains up to 40% more than you would by handling the claim yourself.

GET IN TOUCH

If you have been declined while trying to claim on your domestic or commercial insurance, we can help. We can also help with professional services, for example, Brokers, VAR Valuations and Managing Agents.

CALL OUR 24 HOUR INSURANCE CLAIM HELPLINE: 028 9600 5134

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