Terms and Conditions of Trading.

The agreement between you and us is made on the following terms:

1. Definition of Terms
   'You' our client, whose name is specified over the page (and partner where any debts are in joint names).
   'Us' Advanced Debt Solutions Limited, Registered Office: Progress House, 396 Wilmslow Road, Withington, Manchester, M20 3BW. Licensed under Consumer Credit License Number 571446. 'Creditors' any and all of your unsecured creditors of whose details you provide us in accordance with section 3.
   'Debt Management Programme' a repayment plan produced by us in accordance with section 4.2.
   'Period' the period of time during which the Debt Management Programme is active. 'Fees' the fees to be paid from you to us in accordance with the Debt Management Programme.
2. Agreement
   You request us and we agree to provide you with debt counselling advice and an adjusting service in accordance with these terms and conditions. You authorise us to negotiate on behalf of yourself with your Creditors. This agreement will continue until the final payment to the Creditors is made in accordance with the Debt Management Programme, unless it should have been terminated prior to this time in accordance with section 6.
3. Your responsibilities
   3.1 You will provide to us upon our request with any information relating to your finances. This will include but will not be limited to details of your income and expenditure, your Creditors and any agreements you may have with them, any loans or mortgages you have, your dependants and any judgements made against you or any other enforcement action being taken against you.
   3.2 You will sign any necessary forms of authority or any other documentation so that we can negotiate with your Creditors on your behalf and
   3.3 You will pass copies to us of all correspondence from your Creditors and keep us updated in any dealings you have with any Creditors, whether we are negotiating with them or not. When the Debt Management Programme is active, you will not make any expenditure over and above your reasonable living expenses as calculated in the Debt Management Programme. You will not use your credit cards and not incur further debts.
   3.4 You will inform us in relation to your Debt Management Programme of repayments or alterations to it or reviews of it. Your payments to us will need to be changed to reflect any reasonable changes which your financial position dictates. You will make payments to us under and in accordance with the Debt Management Programme promptly and without any deductions.
   3.5 Occasionally your Creditors may not provide us with balances of your accounts due to their internal company procedures. If these circumstances arise we will ask you to obtain this information for us.
   3.6 We cannot be held responsible for any legal action taken against you by your Creditors as a result of fraudulent or incorrect information provided by you at the time of acquiring a loan, HP agreement, credit card or any other form of credit.
   3.7 Non contact from you will not be considered cancellation of the agreement. If any funds held by us are owing then written confirmation will be required to release them to you in accordance with section 6 of this agreement.
   3.8 If you do not keep up regular payments we will stop any action and payments on your account. Your Creditors may have to be informed that payments are not being made to us. This could result in your Creditors continuing legal action against you for which we cannot be held responsible.
   3.9 You remain responsible for continuing to pay any secured loans, mortgages or Hire Purchase agreements and all household bills (including insurances).
4. Our responsibilities
   4.1 We will review your finances, covering your income, expenditure, debts, and assets. These must include all debts secured on property or products, which we will take into consideration but cannot negotiate reduced payments on. We will calculate your disposable income, based on reasonable living expenses. All financial statements will be reviewed by our Administration Manager.
   4.2 In consultation with you we will service a Debt Management Programme that you can use to pay off your Creditors out of your disposable income at rates you can afford. The Debt Management Programme will let you make weekly/monthly payments to us and will take account of your Creditors and of our Fees. It will not take account of any matters you have not told us about in accordance with section 3. It will also take account of the differing needs of your Creditors, if there are more than one.
   4.3 We will discuss with your Creditors and attempt to agree a repayment plan with them regarding the amounts outstanding. In doing so we shall use the Debt Management Programme and we shall ensure that the periodic payments that we agree with your Creditors on your behalf do not surpass your disposable income (minus our fee) as calculated by us for the same period.
   4.4 We shall try to agree with your Creditors, where appropriate, that they freeze or reduce the interest charges and that they suspend or withdraw enforcement procedures issued in relation with your agreements with them. In rare instances County Court proceedings may still be levied against you. In these cases we will assist in completion of all applicable paperwork as required. We cannot guarantee to stop legal action by your Creditors.
   4.5 We shall make payments to your Creditors in accordance with the Debt Management Programme.
   4.6 The payments made to your Creditors can be seen on the statements you will be given from them. A full breakdown of all payments we have made can be obtained on request to us. On all Creditors accepting the offers of repayment we will issue you with a breakdown of these. In addition we will issue quarterly statements showing all payments and receipts on your account with us.
   4.7 Should your situation or any other relevant matter change during the Period, we shall, in discussion with you and your Creditors, review the Debt Management Programme and if necessary shall make changes to it in agreement with you and with any Creditors concerned.
   4.8 Creditors may request an update of your financial situation. We will contact you to review your recent financial circumstances and update your Debt Management Programme accordingly. To assist this process we request that payslips are regularly forwarded to us for review.
   4.9 All payments to us will be made into our Advanced Debt Solutions ‘Client Account’. This account is independent to our own business accounts and funds held for distribution to your creditors will be reserved for that purpose only. No interest will be payable to you on funds that we hold. At all times balances held for distribution to your Creditors will be classed as client monies.
   4.10 During the negotiation process some Creditors may keep on charging interest and other recovery charges. We cannot always stop these charges. These will however be paid off as part of your Debt Management Programme.
   4.11 We can only provide advice on the services that we offer.
   4.12 The Company takes any grievance regarding its practices very seriously. Any complaints can be sent in writing to the Directors of the Company and will be dealt with personally by them. The Directors of the Company will reply to any correspondence within 14 days.
   
5. How we will be paid
   5.1 Unless we agree otherwise with you, we will take from each monthly payment under the Debt Management Programme a gross fee equal to 15% of the payment received.
   5.2 Because the majority of work done on your behalf is done at the start of the Period, we will retain as a fee the first monthly payment to cover the cost of starting up your Debt Management Programme.
   5.3 If this agreement is ended in accordance with section 6, we will return any undistributed funds after having deducted the above fees and you will not have to pay us any more money. This will be done within 30 days of receipt of written confirmation in order to allow us time to process all receipts and payments on your account.
   5.4 In the case of weekly payments, four and a third times the weekly payment will equate to one monthly payment.
   5.5 On receiving your first payment to us, we will issue an estimated fees schedule to you. This will be based on your estimated Creditor balances that you will provide to us. This will also contain an estimated repayment term based on the assumption that interest and charges will be stopped on these accounts. We will also include projections based on these balances being 25% and 50% greater than the estimated balances we have been given.
   5.6 On receiving actual balances from your Creditors an Actual Fees Schedule will be issued to you. Our fees will then be capped at the total fees then shown (provided there are no material differences or omissions of the Creditor balances used in the calculation). This will also show the estimated term of your Debt Management Programme. Where Creditors persist in charging interest or making charges, this term will be extended but our fee cap will ensure that no further fees are charged by us to mirror the increased payments to your Creditor companies.
6. Termination of agreement
   6.1 On receipt of your first payment we will send to you a key features document and estimated fees schedule. If for any reason you wish to cancel, we offer a seven-day cooling-off period from the date of this letter in which we offer a full refund of any fees which we have taken.
   6.2 After the seven-day cooling off period you may end this agreement by giving us four weeks notice in writing.
   6.3 We may end this agreement by giving you four weeks notice in writing if any one of the following events occur:
   1. You breach this agreement and do not fix the breach within seven days of our making you aware of the breach;
   2. A bankruptcy petition is levied against you;
   3. You enter into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement / Trust Deed;
   4. Where the information provided to us is knowingly fraudulent;
   5. The information provided by you at the time of getting a loan (HP agreement, credit card or any other form of credit) is deemed incorrect or fraudulent by any Creditor; or
   6. If we are affected by Force Majeure