How we chose
We started from the financial advice firms Google Maps shows across Telford, matched each one at Companies House, and read its own website for services, areas and terms. Authorisation statements are as stated on each firm's own site, and scheme memberships were sourced from the registers, firm websites and platforms where reachable [1] [2] [3]. Each business must first meet our basic checks: it is who it says it is, it is trading today and can be reached, and anything it must hold by law is in place. Twelve firms were researched, and ten make the ranked table. What customers say counts most toward the score, then qualifications, then responsiveness, trading history and stated cover, with pricing clarity and website detail counting next. All evidence is dated early September 2026.
How to hire
Match the adviser to the job first. Pension and retirement planning, mortgages and remortgages, life and income protection, business credit insurance and wills are different disciplines, and the firms in this ranking lean different ways. Ask whether the adviser covers the whole market or a limited panel of providers, and whether your job needs a specialist permission, such as defined-benefit pension transfers. Both independent and restricted advisers must agree charges with you upfront, so a reluctance to talk about fees at the start tells you plenty [4]. When you first enquire, say what you hold, what you want to change, and over what timescale.
Check the name on the FCA register before you share personal details. Use the FCA Firm Checker to confirm the firm is authorised and holds permission for the service you want, or search the Financial Services Register for the firm's full record and the individuals behind it [1] [2] [3]. Several Telford firms in this round trade as appointed representatives, which means they act under a larger principal firm: the register shows the principal, and you can ask the principal to confirm what the representative may do. If a name appears on neither service, check the FCA Warning List of unauthorised firms, and treat pressure to proceed anyway as your cue to walk away.
Use the first meeting to test the fit. Most firms in this round offer a free initial consultation or review, by phone, video call or in person at offices from Shifnal and Wellington to Newport and Stafford Park. Bring a rough list of pensions, savings, mortgages and protection policies with approximate values, plus your goals and your attitude to investment risk. Expect a fact-find about your circumstances: advice given without one is guesswork. Leave the meeting knowing the adviser's scope, the likely fee shape, and what happens next, with nothing signed under pressure.
Get the fee agreement in writing before advice starts. It must show the total cost in pounds for your case, not only a percentage; when each part is payable and how, whether by fee, by commission, or a mix; what the initial work covers versus ongoing reviews; and whether VAT is added. CD Financial publishes fixed research and mortgage application fees with no VAT, and Dwello states an advice-fee range with a free first call, which is how transparent firms present it. Where a firm only agrees fees at the first meeting, ask for the figure in an email before the second one, and compare two firms on the same basis.
Understand what moves the price. Percentage fees scale with the pot, so a large pension pot costs more in pounds for the same rate; complex work such as transfer advice costs more than a straightforward remortgage; and ongoing annual reviews compound over the years, so ask what each review includes and how to stop it [4]. Commission on mortgages and protection is normal, but it must be disclosed through the customer journey, with the amount you pay and who pays it spelled out. If a quote mixes percentages, flat fees and commission, ask the adviser to restate the first-year total and the yearly cost after that in plain pounds.
Finish with paperwork you can file. You should leave with the recommendation in writing and the reasons it suits your circumstances, the exact fees charged, the documents for anything you bought, and a named contact plus a review date. If an authorised firm fails, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme covers regulated advice and related claims within its limits, which is another reason to keep every letter and statement [5]. Store the whole file where you will find it at review time, and diary the review rather than waiting for the firm to call.
Pricing
As of autumn 2026, rough national pictures run like this. MoneyHelper illustrations put hourly advice around one to three hundred and fifty pounds an hour, initial pension or investment advice at one to three per cent of the value, and ongoing advice at around half to one per cent a year. The regulator's averages, quoted by Which?, sit near two and a half per cent initial and under one per cent a year ongoing, before product charges [4].
Worked examples help. A comparison site found arranging a mid-size mortgage cost around four hundred pounds upfront on average, while planning around a six-figure pot with five years of ongoing advice averaged well into four figures [4]. Here, CD Financial publishes a fixed research fee plus implementation and review rates with no VAT, and Dwello states an advice fee with a free first call. Most others agree fees privately, so treat national figures as context, not quotes.
What moves the price is complexity and pot size. Defined-benefit transfers and drawdown planning take more hours than a standard remortgage, percentage fees rise in pounds with the assets, and yearly reviews compound, so the initial fee can be the smaller half of the lifetime cost [4]. In this round the clearest predictor of value is whether the fee is published before you enquire.
Get three things in writing: the first-year total in pounds including commission, the ongoing yearly cost and what each review includes, and whether VAT applies, since most firms here publish no VAT position. Ask how commission affects the fee and how to end ongoing reviews. Keep the fee agreement with the recommendation letter, and be wary of percentages with no pounds figure for your case.
Red flags
Recommends investments or a pension transfer before completing a fact-find about your circumstances and goals.
Cannot be found on the FCA register or Firm Checker under the exact name shown on its paperwork [1] [3].
Presses you to sign, transfer a pot, or pay a fee before you have the recommendation and its reasons in writing.
Quotes only a percentage with no pounds figure for your pot size, or sidesteps the question of VAT and commission.
Promises specific investment returns, or says moving your pension will definitely leave you better off.
Asks for fees to a personal account or in cash, with no invoice or fee agreement on the firm's letterhead.
Cold-calls about your pension out of the blue and pushes for a quick decision on the same call.
Goes quiet after the sale, with no named contact, no review date, and no written complaints route.
The bottom line
For most readers, start with CD Financial: published fees you can compare before contact, Shifnal meetings with home visits or video calls as backup, and stated regulatory footing. Its one gap is unpublished insurance detail, so ask for proof of cover with your first enquiry. If pensions are the whole question, Pensionlite is the specialist alternative.
Match the firm to the job: Dwello, Pure Advice, Q Financial or Carl Summers for mortgages and protection; Croft & Oakes or Octo for pensions and investments; Paul Humphreys for business credit insurance. Shortlist two, compare their fee documents side by side, and check each name on the FCA register before you share personal details.
Corrections and business responses
Tell us what needs checking, or ask to claim a listing and reply to an assessment.