In effect the client gained far more in rebated commission than the pounds 5000 he

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In effect, the client gained far more in rebated commission than the pounds 5,000 he paid.Janet Walford, editor of Money Management, set up a register of fee-charging IFAs a few years ago after a survey by her magazine, regarded as a bible by many advisers and their clients, revealed large differences in fund performance depending on commissions paid by life offices.The register, with more than 500 advisers' names, is run for Money Management by Matrix Data, a specialist information provider. But Mr Brady adds that all commission payable by products providers was rebated back to the client and used to enhance his investment. None of these necessarily pay any commission."Fees are not cheap. One example is of a client who wanted advice on how to invest pounds 450,000 for both income and growth purposes. Chartwell charged him pounds 5,000, which will involve regular reviews of his portfolio. "The difference is often that unit trusts carry initial commissions of up to 3 per cent, whereas investment trusts carry none at all," Mr Brady says.Moreover, he adds, financial planning is not simply about products: "In many cases, our advice is about the best instant deposit account to put rainy-day money into, how to minimise inheritance tax and wider tax-planning issues. Stephen Brady, an IFA with Chartwell, points out for example that most commission-biased advisers tend to recommend unit trusts in preference to investment trusts.

If you have pounds 100,000 to invest, that would take a huge chunk out of your money.Nor is the problem confined to life companies. Even with life insurance company investment bonds, the commission usually paid is between 5 and 6.5 per cent. Any commission paid by the product provider will usually be returned to you in cash or as extra policy benefits."Advisers are bound by rules, policed by their financial regulator, which mean they must give you suitable advice, taking into account your personal circumstances, the product's financial performance and their charges. If you pay by commission, you will always be told the amount your IFA is earning before signing on the dotted line, the leaflet adds.For increasing numbers of advisers, however, simply spelling out the difference is not enough.Chartwell Investment Management, a firm with offices in Torquay and Bath, this week published its own pamphlet in which it argues that payment by commission increases the risk that advice may be biased in favour of products that pay more, rather than being better for the client.This is most likely to be the case with pensions and life company products, where commission for regular-premium policies can often be up to 75 per cent of the first year's contributions. "If you decide to pay a fee," it says, "you're not going to be suddenly confronted by an unknown amount."You will know in advance if the IFA charges a hourly rate.

For hundreds of thousands of people who desperately want an unbiased adviser to help them resolve their often messy financial problems, the uncertainty created by this state of affairs makes them reluctant to speak to anyone. The issue has surfaced again in the wake of a brief guide issued by IFA Promotion, a body which promotes independent financial advice, on how to begin to resolve this question.The IFA Promotion leaflet explains the basic difference between fees and commissions. But can you trust someone if he or she is paid not because of what they do for you but by the commission they receive on the products you buy? The dilemma is alleviated only slightly by rules introduced a few years ago, whereby advisers must tell you how much commission they stand to earn for each of the products they recommend. If the goods have not been repurchased by the tenant within this time limit for a sum equal to the rent outstanding the landlord may sell them.. Trust is probably the most commonly used term to describe the nature of a relationship between financial advisers and their clients. The landlord is also permitted to send in bailiffs to seize goods to the value of the rent outstanding. The landlord is not permitted to use force and cannot arrive on a Sunday or after dark.Once the goods have been seized the landlord must wait at least five days before selling the goods or up to 15 days if requested by the tenant. It is important to keep receipts to avoid any dispute over the cost of the repairs.Failure to pay the rent will give the landlord the right to evict the tenant Normally the landlord will obtain a court order.