EFFECTIVE DATE: 1^ST APRIL 2025

TERMS OF BUSINESS

These Terms of Business set out the general terms under which Mortgage123 Limited trading as Mortgage123 (hereafter “Mortgage123” or “we” or “us” or “our” or the “firm”)  will provide business services to you and the respective duties and responsibilities of both the firm and you in relation to such services.  This document contains details of the regulatory and statutory obligations and the respective duties of both the firm and you in relation to such services. It is intended to be clear and transparent in outlining our relationship with you. Any material changes to this document will be communicated to all affected clients in good time. Please take a few minutes to read through these and if you have any questions, we will be happy to answer same.

AUTHORISATION & REGULATORY STATUS

Mortgage123 Limited trading as Mortgage123 (reference number C535350) is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland (hereafter “Central Bank”). The firm is authorised as an insurance intermediary under the European Union (Insurance Distribution) Regulations, 2018 and as a mortgage intermediary under the European Union (Consumer Mortgage Credit Agreements) Regulations 2016.

Copies of all our authorisations can be viewed at our registered offices upon request. The Central Bank of Ireland holds registers of regulated firms. You may contact the Central Bank of Ireland on 1890 777 777 or alternatively visit their website at www.centralbank.ie to verify our credentials.

STATUTORY CODES OF CONDUCT

Mortgage123 is subject to the Central Bank’s Consumer Protection Code 2012 (as amended), Minimum Competency Code 2017, Minimum Competency Regulations 2017 and Fitness & Probity Standards. These codes offer protection to consumers and can be found on the Central Bank’s website centralbank.ie, by entering the term ‘Codes/Guidance on Regulatory Requirements’ into their search engine.

OUR SERVICES

Mortgage123 is a member of Brokers Ireland. Our principal business is to provide advice and arrange transactions on behalf of clients in relation mortgages, mortgage protection insurance, life, critical/serious Illness and income protection.

Mortgage123 acts as an intermediary or broker. This means that we will identify and select suitable products on a fair and personal analysis basis from insurers and lenders and on receipt of your instructions, we will transmit orders on your behalf to one or more Product Producers. This process applies to mortgages and insurance policies. (See below under “Fair and Personal Analysis”).

FAIR AND PERSONAL ANALYSIS

The principal regulated activities (i.e. mortgages, mortgage protection insurance, life, serious illness and income protection) of the firm are provided on the basis of a fair and personal analysis of the market. The concept of fair and personal analysis is derived from the European Union (Insurance Distribution) Regulations 2018 and describes the extent of the choice of products and provided offered by an intermediary within a particular category of life assurance, mortgages, and / or a specialist area. The number of contracts and providers considered must be sufficiently large to enable an intermediary to recommend a product that would be adequate to meet a client’s needs.

The number of providers that constitutes ‘sufficiently large’ will vary depending on the number of providers operating in the market for a particular product or service and their relative importance in and share of that market. The extent of fair and personal analysis must be such that could be reasonably expected of a professional conducting business, taking into account the accessibility of information and product placement to intermediaries and the cost of the search. In order to ensure that the number of contracts and providers is sufficiently large to constitute a fair and personal analysis of the market, we will consider the following criteria:

• the needs of the customer,
• the size of the customer order,
• the number of providers in the market that deal with brokers,
• the market share of each of those providers,
• the number of relevant products available from each provider,
• the availability of information about the products,
• the quality of the product and service provided by the provider, cost, and
• any other relevant consideration.

There is no obligation for you to accept any recommendations given.

LIFE, SERIOUS ILLNESS AND INCOME PROTECTION

We will provide assistance to you for any queries you may have in relation to the policies or in the event of a claim during the life of the policies and we will explain to you the various restrictions, conditions and exclusions attached to your policy.  However, it is your responsibility to read the policy documents, literature and brochures to ensure that you understand the nature of the policy cover; particularly in relation to Income Protection (or

Specifically on the subject of income protection (or permanent health insurance) policies it is our policy to explain to you;

1. a) the meaning of disability as defined in the policy
2. b) the benefits available under the policy
3. c) the general exclusions that apply to the policy
4. d) the reductions applied to the benefit where there are disability payments from other sources.

For a serious illness policy, we will explain clearly to you the restrictions, conditions and general exclusions that attach to that policy.

REGULAR REVIEWS

It is in your best interests that you review, on a regular basis, the products which we have arranged for you. As your circumstances change, your needs will change. You must advise us of those changes and request a review of the relevant policy so that we can ensure that you are provided with up-to-date advice and products best suited to your needs. Failure to contact us in relation to changes in your circumstances or failure to request a review, may result in you having insufficient insurance cover.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Mortgage123 will always seek to avoid situations where a conflict of interest may arise. Should such a situation arise or be perceived to arise, we will declare it to you as soon as it is practicable. Where an unavoidable conflict of interest arises, we will advise you, in writing, before providing any business services to you. If you have not been advised on any such conflict you are entitled to assume that none arises.

CONSUMER PROTECTION CODE ADDENDUM 2019

Pursuant to provision 4.58A of the Central Bank of Ireland’s September 2019 Addendum to the Consumer Protection Code, we must make available in our offices, a summary of the details of all arrangements for any fee, commission, other reward or remuneration provided to us which has been agreed with our insurers and lenders. Our Remuneration Document can be found displayed in our public offices and on our website (www.mortgage123.ie).

REMUNERATION

• Commission

Mortgage123 is remunerated by commission and other payments from insurers and/or lenders on the completion of business. You may choose to pay in full for our services by means of a fee. Where we receive recurring commission, this forms part of the remuneration for initial advice provided. In certain circumstances, additional fees may be payable for complex cases or to reflect value, specialist skills or urgency. We will give an estimate of this rate in advance of providing you with services.

If we receive commission from an insurer or a lender, this may/will be offset against the fee which we will charge you. Where the commission is greater than the fee due, the commission may become the amount payable to the firm unless an arrangement to the contrary is made.

• Fees

You may elect to deal with us on a fee basis instead. If this is your preference, applicable fees can be agreed in advance and will be calculated based on a quantum of an hourly rate as per the seniority/experience of the applicable adviser(s) e.g.

• Principals / Directors €200
• Financial Advisors €150
• Paraplanners & Associates €100
• Support & Administrative Staff €50

In some cases, additional fees may be required for complex cases or to reflect value, specialist skills or urgency. However, we will notify you in advance and agree the scale of any fees to be charged before commencement.

• Mortgages

We may receive up to 1% of the loan for arranging mortgage finance. This commission is paid by the mortgage lender and not recharged to you; hence, there is no cost for using our services as opposed to dealing directly with the lender.

Please note that lenders may charge specific fees in certain circumstances and if this applies, these fees will be specified in your Loan Offer. Typically, this situation arises in relation to specialist lending.

For the majority of mortgage applications, we do not charge an application fee; however, a fee may apply in the following cases listed below. Fees will be agreed prior to the commencement of any application (fees are non-refundable).

• €500 fee for mortgage applications of loan amounts between €100,000 to €150,000
• €1,000 fee for mortgage applications where the loan amount is less than €100,000
• €1,000 fee for self-build mortgage applications

DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION

Consumer Insurance Contracts Act 2019 (‘CICA’)

This duty of disclosure applies to consumers as defined above in the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman Act 2017.

You are required to answer all questions posed by us or the insurer honestly and with reasonable care. The test will be that of the ‘average consumer’. The ‘average consumer’ per Directive No. 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2005, is one that is reasonably well informed and reasonably observant and circumspect, taking into account social, cultural and linguistic factors.

You are not under any duty to volunteer information over and above what is required to answer the questions posed to you. The questions we require you to answer are material to the risk to be undertaken by the relevant insurer, or the calculation of the premium by the relevant insurer, or both.

You will be required to answer specific questions. Where you do not provide additional information (after being requested to do so) it can be presumed that the information previously provided remains unchanged.

It is important that you answer all questions honestly and with reasonable care. Failure to do so may result in an insurer cancelling the contract, rejecting a claim or limiting the amount paid in the event of a claim only if it establishes that non-disclosure of material information was an effective cause of the insurer entering into the relevant contract of insurance and on the terms on which it did.

NEW BUSINESS

You may cancel a contract of insurance, by giving notice in writing to the insurer, within 14 working days after the date you were informed that the contract is concluded. This does not affect the notice periods already provided under European Union (Insurance and Reinsurance) Regulations 2015 or the European Communities (Distance Marketing of Consumer Financial Services) Regulations 2004 which is 30 days in respect of life policies, irrespective of whether the sale took place on a non-face to face basis.

The giving of notice of cancellation by you will have the effect of releasing you from any further obligation arising from the contract of insurance. The insurer cannot impose any costs on you other than the cost of the premium for the period of cover.

This right to cancel within the relevant cooling off period does not apply where, in respect of life insurance the contract is for a duration of six months or less.

The consumer is under a duty to pay their premium within a reasonable time, or otherwise in accordance with the terms of the contract of insurance.

A court of competent jurisdiction can reduce the pay-out to the consumer where they are in breach of their duties under CICA, in proportion to the breach involved.

POST-CONTRACT STAGE AND CLAIMS

An Insurer may refuse a claim made by a consumer under a contract of insurance where there is a change in the risk insured, including as described in an “alteration of risk” clause, and the circumstances have so changed that it has effectively changed the risk to one which the Insurer has not agreed to cover.

Any clause in a contract of insurance that refers to a “material change” will be interpreted as being a change that takes the risk outside what was in the reasonable contemplation of the contracting parties when the contract was concluded.

The consumer must cooperate with the Insurer in an investigation of insured events including responding to reasonable requests for information in an honest and reasonably careful manner and must notify the Insurer of the occurrence of an insured event in a reasonable time.

The consumer must notify the Insurer of a claim within a reasonable time, or otherwise in accordance with the terms of the contract of insurance.

If the consumer becomes aware after a claim is made of information that would either support or prejudice the claim, they are under a duty to disclose it. The Insurer is under the same duty.

If the consumer makes a false or misleading claim in any material respect (and knows it to be false or misleading or consciously disregards whether it is) the insurer is entitled to refuse to pay and to terminate the contract.

Where an insurer becomes aware that a consumer has made a fraudulent claim, they must notify the consumer advising that they are avoiding the contract of insurance. It will be treated as being terminated from the date of the submission of the fraudulent claim. The insurer may refuse all liability in respect of any claim made after the date of the fraudulent act, and the insurer is under no obligation to return any of the premium paid under the contract.

RECEIPTS

We will issue a receipt to you in recognition of any payment made directly by you pursuant to the Central Bank of Ireland’s Consumer Protection Code 2012 (as amended).

SUSTAINABLE FINANCE DISCLOSURE REGULATIONS

‘Sustainability Risk’ refers to an environmental, social or governance (ESG) event or condition that could cause an actual or a potential negative impact on the value of a product we recommend to you. Financial Advisers, such as Mortgage123, have an option to consider the principal adverse impacts of investment decisions on sustainability factors in its advice processes.

Taking due account of the size, nature and scale of our activities when providing Investment advice and Insurance based Investment advice we have decided not to consider such impacts separately from our overall risk framework. This decision has been made based on the information available to us from the product providers. Mortgage123 will actively monitor its position, and update its processes, as more information becomes available from the product providers. We will review this opinion annually.

It is important to note that the funds made available to our customers are provided by the product providers. They will monitor and report on the principal adverse impacts of its investment decisions on sustainability factors. You can also find information in relation to both sustainability risks and the principal adverse impacts of investment decisions on sustainability factors on the websites of the product providers.

DEFAULT ON PAYMENTS BY CLIENTS

The firm will, if necessary, exercise its legal rights to receive any payments due to it from clients for business services provided.

Insurers and other product producers may withdraw benefits or cover in the event of default on payments due under polices of insurance or other products arranged for you.  We would refer you to policy documents or product terms for the details of such provisions.

CONTACTING MORTGAGE123

In the first instance, you can contact your Financial Advisor directly relating to all queries or issues you may have regarding the services offered to you by the firm. You will have been provided with their contact details on their business card, which should have been handed to you at our first meeting. You will also receive contact details for a member of our administrative team who will look after you during the entire process.

Alternatively, you can contact Mortgage123 directly at:

Mortgage123 Limited trading as Mortgage123

48 O’Connell Street

Limerick

www.mortgage123.ie

Email: [email protected]

Tel: 061 513032

COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

Whilst we are happy to receive verbal complaints, it would be preferable that any complaints are made in writing. We have a written procedure in place for the effective consideration and handling of complaints. Any complaint should be sent by email to [email protected]

Mortgage123 has in place a written procedure for the handling of complaints. This procedure ensures that all complaints are recorded and acknowledged within 5 business days of the complaint being received. All complaints are investigated fully and you will be provided with ongoing updates as to the status of your complaint at intervals of no longer than 20 working days. We will make every reasonable effort to close off and resolve any complaint within a maximum of 40 days. You will be notified of the result of our investigations within 5 working days of our decision.

A full copy of our complaints procedure is available on request. If you are not satisfied with our resolution to your complaint you are entitled to refer the matter to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman:

Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman

Lincoln House, Lincoln Place, Dublin 2, D02 VH29

Phone: +353 1 567 7000

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.fspo.ie/

DATA PROTECTION

We are subject to the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 (“GDPR”) and the Irish Data Protection Act 2018.

Mortgage123 Ltd. is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. We wish to be transparent on how we process your data and show you that we are accountable with the GDPR in relation to not only processing your data but ensuring you understand your rights as a client.

The data will be processed only in ways compatible with the purposes for which it was given and as outlined in our Data Privacy Notice, this will be given to all our clients at the time of data collection. We will ensure that this Privacy Notice is easily assessable. Please refer to our website www.mortgage123.ie if this medium is not suitable, we will ensure you can easily receive a copy by hard copy, or telephonic environment. Please contact us at [email protected] if you have any concerns about your personal data.

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING

Mortgage123 reserves the right to request any facts about a client which it reasonably believes it needs to comply with the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 (as amended).

GOVERNING LAW & JURISDICTION

Our terms of business shall be governed by and construed in all respects according to the laws of the Republic of Ireland.

VULNERABLE CLIENTS

Where we have identified that a personal consumer is a vulnerable consumer, we must ensure that the vulnerable consumer is provided with such reasonable arrangements and/or assistance that may be necessary to facilitate him or her in his or her dealings with us. Identification of a consumer’s vulnerability or otherwise will require the exercise of judgement and common sense and should be based on a consumer’s ability to make a particular decision at a point in time. We consider that identification of a vulnerability should be an inherent part of the Knowing the Consumer (KYC) process, during which we should consider whether there is any evidence of consumer vulnerability. A full copy of our vulnerable client policy is available on request.