Terms of business

1. Who this agreement is between

This agreement is between Penmores Ltd (“we”, “us” or “our”) and you, the customer who asks us to act. Your claim is the pension or National Insurance issue you ask us to look into. Your accepted instruction and our fee agreement set out the work included.

2. What we help with

We check for missing years in National Insurance records, missing Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) and possible State Pension underpayments. We will confirm which issues we are looking into. We do not give investment advice or manage pension funds.

You can do this yourself for free. You can contact HMRC or the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) directly without using our paid service. Penmores is independent of HMRC, DWP and the government.

3. Starting the service

We explain the work, our fee and the documents we need before you decide to go ahead. We only act once you have instructed us and signed the permissions we need. We give you a copy of these terms and the fee agreement. Any work outside the agreed scope needs a separate agreement.

4. Information and signed permissions

Please give us accurate information, tell us about any earlier applications or representatives, and share letters you receive. If anything changes, please tell us promptly.

We may ask you to sign an HMRC authority (form 64-8), a DWP letter of authority or consent to get your records. These documents set the limits of what we can do for you. We will never ask you to sign an incomplete form, and we will show you any important correction for fresh approval.

5. How we handle your case

We review your information, find any gaps, prepare the agreed applications and answer reasonable requests for more evidence. If the information doesn’t support going ahead, we will tell you. We take reasonable care, keep a record of our work and tell you about important developments.

HMRC and DWP decide whether your record is corrected and whether any money is paid. Their processing times are outside our control. We cannot promise a result, a particular payment or a completion date.

6. Our fee and paying us

Our fee is 30% of the qualifying back payment you receive, plus VAT at 20%. That is 36% in total. For example, on a £5,000 back payment our fee is £1,500 plus £300 VAT, so £1,800 in total, and you keep £3,200.

A qualifying back payment is backdated money paid to you because of our work, after any deductions made by DWP. We never charge on your weekly pension going forward or on future increases. If a correction produces no back payment, there is nothing to pay.

DWP pays any money straight to you. We never ask for your bank details. Please tell us when you receive an award and send us the payment breakdown so we can check the figures. We will then send an itemised invoice, payable within 14 days. You can pay by bank transfer, card over the phone or cheque, and we can agree a payment plan if that helps.

Before we take your case on, we will explain how we tell apart a result that comes from our work and a matter already being resolved without us. If you query an invoice or need help paying, please contact us.

7. Changing your mind

You can cancel within 14 days of signing up, at no cost. Just email or write to us. You don’t need to use any special wording.

If you want us to start work during those 14 days, we will ask you to confirm that. After 14 days, you can end our instruction at any time by telling us in writing. If a back payment later results from work we completed before you cancelled, our fee agreement explains what is payable. There is no separate cancellation charge.

8. Pausing or ending the service

We may pause work while essential information or permissions are missing. We may end the service if you withdraw your authority, ask us to do something unlawful or don’t give us information we need. We will explain our decision and any remaining steps. We will never pass your case to another business without explaining why and getting your permission.

9. Your information

We use your personal information to handle your case, keep in touch with you, meet our legal duties and deal with complaints. Our privacy notice explains this in full, including your rights.

10. Our standards and responsibility

We will provide our service with reasonable care and skill. If you think we have made a mistake, please tell us promptly so we can look into it and put it right. Nothing in these terms affects your legal rights as a consumer. We do not limit our liability for fraud, or for death or personal injury caused by our negligence. A delay by HMRC or DWP, or an unsuccessful application, does not on its own mean our service was at fault.

11. Complaints

Our complaints page explains how to complain and how long it takes. Making a complaint does not affect your legal rights.

12. Changes and the law

We won’t make an important change to your existing agreement without your agreement, unless the law requires it. These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you can also bring a claim in your local courts. If any part of these terms can’t be enforced, the rest still applies.