The Fair Trade Practice

What The Fair Trade Practice does

The Fair Trade Practice (legal entity: The Protection Specialist Limited, company registration 06969129) is a UK consumer-facing claims management company headquartered at 3 Whittle Avenue, Fareham. Founded over a decade ago as a founding member of the Alliance of Claims Companies, the firm has historically processed Payment Protection Insurance mis-selling complaints at scale, conducting more than 4.3 million PPI checks for consumers, and has since expanded into Packaged Bank Account claims, undisclosed commission recovery, mis-sold pensions, and — following the FCA's January 2021 ban on discretionary commission arrangements — vehicle finance claims against car lenders covering 2007-2024 originations.

Operationally, the company runs a claims management platform anchored by an in-house online case-tracking portal called Update+, which provides 24/7 status visibility, callback scheduling, and electronic document signing, with payment processing handled via the Trust Payments gateway under TLS 1.2 and AES-256 encryption. Cases that cannot be resolved directly with lenders are referred to a panel of experienced solicitors and escalated to the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme where the original lender is no longer trading. All customer communications are handled by a UK-based contact centre, and customer acquisition is deliberately constrained to organic website traffic, social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter), and word-of-mouth referrals — the firm explicitly avoids cold calling and mass-media advertising.

Revenue is generated exclusively on a contingency-fee basis: 48% inclusive of VAT on undisclosed commission PPI awards, 36% inclusive of VAT on HMRC tax reclaim recoveries, and FCA-cap-compliant fees on packaged bank account and vehicle finance claims, with statutory 8% interest added to successful mis-sold pension awards. No upfront fees are charged. The company has historically been authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN831254) for regulated claims management activity, although it has now relinquished FCA authority for regulated activity, restricting forward regulated-product delivery; undisclosed commission and tax reclaim services remain unaffected as they fall outside the FCA's regulated perimeter. The firm is privately held by The Protection Specialist Limited with no disclosed institutional investors, parent, or subsidiary relationships.

Name

The Fair Trade Practice

Legal name

The Protection Specialist Limited

Website

https://thefairtradepractice.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Fair Trade Practice (The Protection Specialist Limited) is a UK consumer claims management firm pursuing compensation for mis-sold PPI, packaged bank accounts, undisclosed commission, vehicle finance, and pensions on contingency fees, using an online case-tracking portal and a panel of solicitors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Fareham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. PPI Undisclosed Commission Claims: Contingency fee of 48% inclusive of VAT on the financial award made by the lender. Fee is only charged if compensation is successfully recovered.
2. Tax Reclaim Services: Contingency fee of 36% inclusive of VAT on the financial award made by HMRC. Fee is only charged upon successful recovery.
3. Packaged Bank Account Claims: Contingency fee based on FCA financial claims management cap, applied to successful compensation awards. Average successful claim reported at £1,216 as at March 2021.
4. Vehicle Finance Claims: Contingency fee in line with FCA financial claims management cap. Amount dependent on compensation received.
5. Mis-sold Pension Claims: Contingency fee arrangement working with legal partners, with 8% statutory interest added to successful compensation awards.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Fair Trade Practice (trading as The Protection Specialist Limited) is a UK claims management company that helps individual consumers pursue compensation for mis-sold financial products. Services cover Payment Protection Insurance (PPI), Packaged Bank Accounts (PBA), undisclosed commission on PPI, vehicle finance discretionary commission arrangements (2007-2024), mis-sold pensions, and tax reclaim on compensation interest. The firm works with a panel of solicitors and submits cases via the Financial Ombudsman Service and Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Product overview

The Fair Trade Practice is a unified claims management platform offering multiple financial claims services. The core offering consists of PPI Claims Management, Packaged Bank Account (PBA) Claims, Vehicle Finance Claims, Mis-sold Pensions Claims, PPI Undisclosed Commission claims, and Tax Reclaim Services. The platform is complemented by Update+, an online claims management portal for customers to track their claims status. The company operates as a single unified service rather than a modular platform structure, with all claims types handled through the same customer service infrastructure and regulatory framework.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PPI Claims Management Claims management service for mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance (PPI), helping customers check for and submit compensation claims for policies sold incorrectly between 2007 and 2019. Targeted at UK consumers.
• Packaged Bank Account (PBA) Claims Claims management service for mis-sold Packaged Bank Accounts, helping customers reclaim monthly fees paid for accounts with unused, inaccessible, or unwanted benefits. Targeted at UK consumers.
• Vehicle Finance Claims Claims management service for vehicle finance discretionary commission arrangements (DCA) between 2007-2024, addressing undisclosed or excessive commission in car finance agreements. Targeted at UK consumers who took out vehicle finance in this period.
• Mis-sold Pensions Claims Claims management service for mis-sold pensions, helping customers who received inappropriate pension advice, were induced to transfer from valuable final salary schemes, invested in risky schemes, or were advised by unqualified advisors. Targeted at UK consumers.
• PPI Undisclosed Commission Claims Specialized claims service for undisclosed commission on PPI policies, where lenders built high commission levels (averaging 67%) into premiums without customer disclosure. Targeted at consumers who had PPI policies taken out after April 2007.
• Tax Reclaim Service Service to reclaim unnecessary tax deducted from PPI and PBA compensation interest awarded to consumers, based on Personal Savings Allowance rules. Contingency fee of 36% inclusive of VAT applies on successful recoveries from HMRC.
• Update+ Online Claims Portal Personal online claims management tool providing 24/7 access to claims, the ability to arrange callbacks, and visibility over claim status. Used by existing customers to monitor progress of their financial claims.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2 in 3 customers who return their forms successfully receive an offer of compensation
• +3 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Alliance of Claims CompaniescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding member of the Alliance of Claims Companies, a collective group of Claims Management Companies working together to promote fair customer outcomes, best practice, and excellent customer service across the claims management sector.
• Panel of Experienced SolicitorscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerWorks with a panel of experienced solicitors to submit complaints and pursue claims with lenders through the courts and Financial Ombudsman Service.
• Financial Ombudsman ServicecoreOthersStatutory body that settles disputes between consumers and UK-based financial services firms. The company refers claims to FOS when initial complaints are declined or customers are dissatisfied with lender responses.
• Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)coreOthersUK statutory compensation scheme for customers of authorised financial services firms. Company works with FSCS when the original lender or insurance company is no longer trading and cannot pay claims.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Irwin Mitchell: A full-service UK law firm with a sizeable financial services mis-selling and pensions claims group; comparable to TFTP in serving claimants via solicitor-led claims against UK lenders.
• Slater and Gordon: A national UK law firm with a dedicated consumer claims practice covering mis-sold financial products; broader legal portfolio but overlapping directly with TFTP on PPI, PBA, and pensions claims work.
• Hugh James: A UK law firm with one of the largest dedicated mis-sold financial product and pensions claims teams in the market; overlaps with TFTP on consumer-led financial claims against banks and lenders.

Emerging players

• Resolver: A UK consumer complaint-routing platform that helps individuals raise financial complaints directly with banks and the FOS; competes with TFTP on the consumer-facing claims workflow but does not pursue claims on the customer's behalf.

Direct peers

• COOP Legal Services: An FCA-regulated UK claims and legal services brand offering no-win-no-fee support across mis-sold financial products and personal injury; comparable to TFTP on regulated CMC activity and consumer-direct acquisition.
• Accident Advice Helpline: A long-established UK claims management company operating on a similar consumer-direct, referral-led model across personal injury and related financial claims; compares directly with TFTP in regulatory positioning, contingency fees, and customer-acquisition approach.
• The Claims Connection: A UK claims management intermediary handling mis-sold financial product claims including PPI and packaged bank accounts; directly comparable in service mix, FCA-style regulatory positioning, and contingency fee model.

Others

• Citizens Advice: A statutory consumer advisory body that signposts consumers to free routes for financial claims and represents them via the FOS; not a direct competitor but functions as the primary free alternative to TFTP's services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/thefairtradepractice
• Facebookfacebook.com/Thefairtradepractice
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-fair-trade-practice

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Fair Trade Practice