Frequently asked questions
Here are some of the most common questions you may have about Unbiased. If you have any queries that aren't listed below, please contact us free on 0800 023 6868 or email [email protected]
What can Unbiased do for me?
Unbiased helps you find the right professionals to advise you on life’s biggest decisions – such as buying a home, planning retirement or running a business.
What professionals can I find on Unbiased?
Currently on Unbiased you can find independent and whole-of-market financial advisers, mortgage brokers and accountants. We only list professionals who are appropriately regulated, qualified and unbiased, i.e. not affiliated to any particular product providers.
How do I use Unbiased to find a professional?
You have two different ways to find your expert. The quickest way is to use our Find me an expert tool. Enter a few details about what you need and our system will search through all suitable professionals in your specified area to find the best available match.
The other method is to browse a list of local professionals. Specify the type of professional you want and enter a postcode, and you’ll see a list of experts in order of distance from you. You can refine this list by selecting particular advice areas and other preferences from the menu on the left of the search screen. Click on any professional’s listing to see your options for contacting them.
This guide tells you more.
What does this word mean? Do you have a glossary?
If you come across a financial or technical term that you don’t fully understand, you can look up what it means in our Glossary.
How long does it take to find a professional?
It takes around two minutes to send an enquiry using our Find me an expert tool. Our system will then search for the best match. This can take up to 48 hours, but often takes as little as a few minutes. Usually a match will be found on the same day.
Once we’ve matched you with a professional, you can expect them to contact you within 24 hours.
What happens when Unbiased matches me to a professional?
First you tell us about the kind of advice you want. Using our simple tool, you specify:
- The type of professional you want
- The services you need
- Any particular specialisms
- Your location
- Any other details about what you need
Our system then searches through thousands of professionals to find the one who best suits your requirements, and who is available now to take your enquiry. This means you don’t have to shop around contacting lots of different firms – we do all that for you.
This video shows you how it works. You can also find out more in this guide.
Does it cost me anything to use Unbiased?
Finding a professional through Unbiased is absolutely free. We also provide you with a free private account, free tools and free guides on a huge range of different topics. Unbiased makes its money by charging subscription and enquiry fees to the professionals who list with us.
How much does professional advice cost?
Financial advice can cost anything from around £500 for investment advice to £5,000 or more for some kinds of pension advice. The exact cost of advice depends on what kind you need, but good advice should always cost less than no advice at all. You can see approximate cost estimates for a wide range of financial advice scenarios using our Cost of Advice calculator.
The cost of mortgage advice is worked out differently – click the link to find out more.
An accountant’s fees vary a great deal depending on your business and the services provided. Click the link to find out more.
Can I get free advice?
You can usually arrange your first meeting with an adviser free of charge. However, if you want full professional advice then you will be charged a fee by the adviser. Find out more about the cost of advice.
You can find plenty of free guidance on the Unbiased website, in the form of tips and guides on Life’s Biggest Decisions. However, this is general information only and should not be considered advice.
If your enquiry relates to pensions, then you can contact the government’s free service Pension Wise to speak to someone. Pension Wise can guide you about your broad options for your pensions, but can’t advise you on what you should do.
Can I meet with a professional before deciding to hire them?
Yes, it’s usual to have a free first meeting with a professional before engaging their services. At the meeting, your chosen professional will explain what they can offer you, while you can ask them any initial questions. It’s a good idea to discuss their fees up front, and to ask what value you can expect to get in return.
Find out more about preparing for your first meeting with a financial adviser.
How can I check that my professional is qualified?
Your professional should list their qualifications on their Unbiased profile. At your first meeting, you can ask to see their certificates to prove that their qualifications and accreditations are up to date. You can find out what the various financial adviser qualifications mean on our Financial Adviser Qualifications pages.
How do I use my Unbiased account?
You can use your free Unbiased account to track all your enquiries and access additional tool. You can log into it for the first time using the email we send you when you make your first enquiry. After that, please log in using your email address and password.
If you no longer want to have an Unbiased account, please contact our Customer team.
What else can I find on the Unbiased site?
You can browse a wealth of free tips and guidance on our Life’s Biggest Decisions pages. You can also keep up to speed with what’s happening in the word of personal finance and business on our News pages.
We also have free tools that help you manage and plan your finances. These include our Mortgage Checklist, which will test the strength of your mortgage application to help you improve it. There’s also our Cost of Advice tool, which can give you a quick estimate on what a particular piece of financial advice may cost you.
How does Unbiased use my personal information?
Any information you provide to Unbiased is solely for the purpose of matching you with the most suitable professional to help you. We never share your information with third parties. If you are matched with a professional, then that professional will see your contact details and the details of that specific enquiry only.
From time to time we will with your permission send you free tips, guides, special offers and other information that we hope is relevant to your situation. You can unsubscribe from these messages at any time.