This document discusses the gereral terms and conditions of all products sold via the Best Pension Annuity website. Individual product variations will be highlighted in the initial disclosure documents issued with product quotes.

Our Relationship
Platinum Financial Consulting is an independent financial services company. We offer whole of market research for annuities and a limited panel for income drawdown products. These terms and conditions relate exclusively to the products and services featured on our Best-Pension-Annuity website.

We run a range of websites focused on providing information on specific financial products.

Authorisation Statement
Platinum Financial Consulting’s administration offices are located at The Old School House, East End Road, Bradwell-on-Sea, Essex, CM0 7PY and can be contacted on 0845 83 87 811. We offer pension and annuity products from the whole of the UK market. We choose to limit our income drawdown products to just two providers.

Platinum Financial Consulting is Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Services Authority. You can check this on the FSA’s Register by visiting the FSA’s website www.fsa.gov.uk/register FSA No. 227014 or by contacting the FSA on 0845 606 1234.

The Financial Services Authority regulates the financial services industry in the UK and their address is 25 The North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5HS.

Client Classification
Each client with whom the firm does business is categorised to identify the level of regulatory protection. We propose to classify you as a ‘Retail Client’ for Investment purposes. This is a pre-defined term of the Financial Services Authority which recognises you as a private individual as opposed to a business or other organisation.

Communications
We will communicate with you in English both verbally and written for the sending and reception of orders.

Services to be provided
We offer two levels of service. These are described in full in our initial disclosure document which is included in this booklet and are referred to as Service A and B.

Service A is for customers who want us to provide them with quotes based on the requirements given to us by the customer. We are not required to make a personal recommendation as the customer will make their own decision about whether any product meets their needs. This service is provide without advice.

Service B is for customers who require us to recommend and advise on any retirement contract based on their personal, financial and lifestyle situation.

Further details on these services will be available in the Initial Disclosure Document provided to you.

Unless you select service B, we do not ask for any information about your wider financial circumstances but just focus on the product or service you requested.

Service level A assumes that without advice from Platinum, you have decided to buy an annuity or income drawdown product and have selected the benefits you want. We have not made a “personal recommendation”. Having received our information pack and our “Your Retirement Options” booklet you have made an informed decision about your annuity or income drawdown product and its features.

If you choose Service level B, we will make a “personal recommendation”. In such a case you need to provide other personal and financial information besides the information provided via our website. You will also need to authorise us to talk to your existing pension provider. If you fail to provide this additional information then our service defaults to Service A. In such a circumstance we will make you aware of the change in service so that you can either provide the required information or agree to a different level of service.

With very few exceptions, we will confirm to you in writing the key features of the product arranged on your behalf.

In the case of an impaired life or smoker’s annuity, the provider may request that your doctor provides a medical report. You may also need to attend a medical. Enhanced rates cannot be guaranteed if you are not willing or able to cooperate with this process.

Please note that annuity and income drawdown products available and providers’ general Terms and Conditions are subject to frequent change. If you select an advised service (Service Level B) any recommendation, is based on the information provided by the pension providers, market conditions and the products available at the date of this letter. It is also based on present legislation which may change, as well as our understanding of current tax law and practice.

When arranging your new contract under Service level B we will ask you to give us permission to obtain details from your existing pension provider. We do this to make sure you are not giving up benefits you may be unaware of or incurring additional cost. If you ask us to undertake your new contract without obtaining details from your existing provider, we cannot be liable for any early redemption penalties, loss of guaranteed annuities or any other benefits lost resulting from the transfer.

The customer should understand that it is their responsibility to ensure that information entered onto an application form is correct. This condition applies even if Platinum Financial Consulting has completed the application form on your behalf. It is the client’s responsibility to check all information is correct.

We must receive your signed original application form, and any required supporting documentation before we can begin to set up your annuity or income drawdown contract.

In relation to annuities only, as your new annuity provider will only guarantee the annuity rate they are offering you for a period of time, it is in your own interest to return your application form as quickly as possible. Sending back your application form does not guarantee you will receive the annuity rate offered by your new provider. Even if your fully completed application is with your new annuity provider before the guarantee date, other factors beyond our control could cause the guarantee not to be honoured. Delays in the administration between the ceding provider and your annuity provider could cause your fund to be transferred after the guaranteed date. This would cause your annuity to be issued at the annuity rate applicable at the time the funds were received and could be more or less than the amount you were originally quoted. You should therefore your ceding provider receives your instruction to deinvest your fund as soon as you have made up your mind to buy an annuity.

For both annuity and income drawdown contracts, while your pension fund remains invested with your existing pension company, it is liable to fluctuations in investment markets. The amount transferred to your new provider could be higher or lower than the amount contained in your quote. This would result in the benefits you receive being accordingly higher or lower.

To avoid the risk of your fund falling in value while your new contract is arranged you may ask your existing pension to switch your fund into less volatile cash funds. While this would protect you from investment downturns, equally you would not benefit from any investment increases that occurred before you purchased your new product.

Typically you have the right to cancel an annuity or income drawdown contract within 30 days of it being set-up, please check your provider’s key features document. Your original pension provider is not obliged to take your fund back. In such circumstances you would need to find another provider to take your fund as you could not take it as a personal lump sum.

Neither the customer nor Platinum can be responsible for delays with the Royal Mail or problems with other entities that are not under their direct control.

Platinum Financial Consulting is permitted to handle clients’ money. However in case of any income drawdown, annuity or pension business (which is the scope of this agreement) we never handle cash or accept a cheque made out to us, unless the cheque is in settlement of charges or disbursements for which we have sent you an invoice. Where we hold money as an agent of an insurer, we are restricted to holding premiums only. Any interest we receive for credit balances will be retained by the business and not passed on to customers.

Material Interest
We will act honestly, fairly and professionally, known as conducting business in ‘Client's best interest’ regulations. Occasionally situations may arise where we or one of our other clients have some form of interest in business transacted for you. If this happens or we become aware that our interests or those of one of our other clients conflict with your interest, we will write to you and obtain your consent before we carry out your instructions, and detail the steps we will take to ensure fair treatment.

In accordance with the rules of our regulator, The Financial Services Authority, we are prohibited from accepting any payment (commission or other non-monetary benefits) which is likely to conflict with the duty of the firm to its clients.

The principals of Platinum Financial Consulting have a minority shareholding in Capital Reward Ltd. Capital Reward Ltd is a subsidiary of our compliance support company and generates its income from the placement of business with certain product providers. The business placed is intended to add value to the shares in that company and the long term aim is for the shares to be sold, thereby providing a deferred cash benefit to the shareholders. The existence of the shareholding and any potential benefit will in no way influence our recommendation in relation to the most suitable product or provider.

On request we will be pleased to provide you with a list of the providers from whom such benefits may be earned. We can also confirm that the provision of the shares and their potential benefits do not affect your product terms.

Rights to Cancel
We will inform you of your statutory right to cancel. The Distance Marketing Directive normally grants you 30 days in which you may cancel a life or pension contract. However there will be occasions where no statutory rights are granted, however this will be explained before any contract is concluded.

Data Protection
The information you have provided is subject to the Data Protection Act 1998 (the “Act”). By applying to us to assist you with your retirement options you consent to us or any company associated with us for processing, both manually and by electronic means, your personal data for the purposes of providing advice, administration and management.

“Processing” includes obtaining, recording or holding information or data, transferring it to other companies associated with us, product providers, the FSA or any other statutory, governmental or regulatory body for legitimate purposes including, where relevant, to solicitors and/or other debt collection agencies for debt collection purposes and carrying out operations on the information or data.

As you are a remote customer, to protect you and ourselves we may need to verify your identity electronically. This is NOT a credit check and it will not make any impact on your credit rating.

The information provided may also contain sensitive personal data for the purposes of the Act, being information as to your physical or mental health or condition; the committing or alleged committing of any offence by you; any proceedings for an offence committed or alleged to have been committed by you, including the outcome or sentence in such proceedings; your political opinions, religious or similar beliefs, sexual life; or your membership of a Trade Union.

If at any time you wish us or any company associated with us to cease processing your personal data or sensitive personal data, or contacting you for marketing purposes, please contact The Data Protection Officer on 0845 83 87 811 or in writing at The Old School House, East End Road, Bradwell-on-Sea, Essex, CM0 7PY.

You may be assured that we will treat all personal data and sensitive personal data as confidential and will not process it other than for a legitimate purposes. Steps will be taken to ensure that the information is accurate, kept up to date and not kept for longer than is necessary. Measures will also be taken to safeguard against unauthorised or unlawful processing and accidental loss or destruction or damage to the data.

Subject to certain exceptions, you are entitled to have access to your personal and sensitive personal data held by us. You may be charged a fee (subject to the statutory maximum) for supplying you with such data.

Law
This client agreement is governed and shall be construed in accordance with English Law and the parties shall submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.

Termination
The authority to act on your behalf may be terminated at any time without penalty by either party giving seven days notice in writing to that effect to the other, but without prejudice to the completion of transactions already initiated. Any transactions effected before termination and a due proportion of any period charges for services shall be settled to that date.

YOUR CONSENT
By applying for any product featured on the Platinum Financial Consulting websites, it is agreed that you have read the above terms and fully consent to the terms imposed and authorise the transfer of information, on a confidential basis when warranted between any such third parties. You acknowledge that these Terms of Business come into effect from the date you first make contact with us.

Platinum Financial Consulting is committed to ensuring that our dealings with our customers are transparent, fair and professional. If you feel any part of our service falls short of these standards please contact us immediately.