About D'Arcy

D'Arcy is able to offer you Independent Protection Advice, which includes being able to provide solutions from the whole of the market, with the exception of Private Medical Insurance and Whole of Life policies, where we have limited the number of insurers we offer.

D'Arcy is focussed on:

• Business Protection and Personal Protection
• Providing a personal and professional on-going service to you with a high level of integrity
• Meeting face to face to gain a true understanding of your circumstances
• Discussing and reviewing your protection planning on a regular basis to ensure the solutions remain appropriate to your needs
• Referring you to specialists at Sykes Ihlenfeldt Limited for all your Pension, Mortgage, Investments and Estate Planning requirements should you request assistance in these areas

We provide a personal, face to face service on an on-going basis. Once any requirements are implemented, it is important to review them on a regular basis to ensure that your protection requirements remain appropriate. This is why we offer a regular review service to our clients.

Please feel free to contact me, Ian D'Arcy, via telephone or e-mail for a no obligation discussion regarding protection planning.

Financial Services Authority (FSA)

The FSA, to give it its shorter title is the government watchdog that regulates all financial and insurance firms – this ranges from the largest multinational bank, to the financial adviser operating as a sole trader. The FSA handbook of rules and guidance lays down the laws to which all Independent Financial Advisers must adhere, and the way they treat customers is governed by the 'Conduct of Business' (COBS) rules. The rules are freely available from the FSA's website – www.fsa.gov.uk. (Please note by clicking on this link you will leave our website and enter into a third party website, the content of which we are not responsible for.)

Consumer Protection

The regulation of financial services is designed to protect customers at every stage. We will work on your behalf (rather than for any insurance company or bank) and will provide appropriate solutions in line with your stated circumstances and requirements.

What protection do I have?

We will always endeavour to do the very best for you. Whenever you deal with us you will receive details on the complaints procedures offered by us. If you wish, you can request a copy of these procedures at any time.

When we are advising you on regulated products (including insurance) you have the protection of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

If you are unhappy about the advice or service you have received you should firstly contact us outlining your concerns. This gives us the opportunity to put things right and / or to provide our own version of events. Should you remain dissatisfied you can refer your complaint to FOS who will investigate the complaint independently and make a ruling. FOS work with customers and financial advisors to resolve a complaint, and when they do have to make a ruling, it is binding upon the firm.

If you try to contact a business about a complaint, and the business is dissolved, or unable to meet its obligations you may have recourse to the FSCS. This is a service funded by all the companies within the industry to protect customers where firms have closed or gone into liquidation.

Anything else I should know?

All financial advisers have to provide their customers with the relevant important disclosure documents, detailing the following: information on services provided by the firm, how the firm is paid for the business it conducts, their complaints procedure, Data Protection and coverage under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). You can ask to see our disclosure documents at any time, simply contact us for these.

Some financial advisors do give advice on products that are not regulated by the Financial Services Authority – such as buy-to-let mortgages or general taxation advice. We will explain to you when you are receiving advice on an unregulated product. It is important you are happy with the advice, as you do not have the added protection of FOS or FSCS when dealing with unregulated products.

The Financial Services Authority does not regulate taxation advice and some forms of mortgages.

Disclaimer

This website and the information provided on the website are intended to provide you with general information only and not advice. Please contact Ian D'Arcy for specific protection advice. D'Arcy endeavours to ensure that the content on this website is accurate and believes that the content is based on reliable sources of information. Certain of the information on this website has been obtained from various sources including the 'Money Made Clear' website, which is part of the FSA's initiative to promote consumer awareness in relation to financial services. There may be changes in the future such as legislative changes, which may affect the information on this website and it is therefore very important not to base any decisions on the content of the website. D'Arcy cannot be held responsible for the content and privacy policies of any third party websites that may be linked to this website.