Who is classed as an agent?
Any business that acts as an intermediary for a financial transaction with a third party can be classed as an agent. This includes insurance brokers, managing agents, accountants, lawyers, insolvency practitioners, financial advisers, retailers and others.
Who owns a secret commission received by an agent held on trust for you?
The Supreme Court has ruled that the secret commission would be owned by you, the principal of the agent, if the proper procedures have not been followed. This is the reason why you are able to reclaim secret commissions if they have been paid as part of an insurance policy taken out for your property portfolio.
But what if I know the broker or managing agent has been paid a secret commission, I just don’t know how much?
That doesn’t matter. If a broker has been paid a secret commission but the amount is unclear, that payment could still be re-claimed under law, plus interest, as long as the undisclosed payment took place in the last six years.
How much does it cost to claim back the secret commission?
All of our claims are run on a no win, no fee basis, with no upfront fee. Charges are only received in the event that compensation is recovered on your behalf, with you keeping 50% of any amounts recovered.
But what if the broker or agent is no longer in business?
The receipt of a secret commission by a broker or managing agent is a special type of fraud, and is recoverable even if the broker is no longer trading.