I think the way independent financial has changed in recent years. They now have to be up front about any fees when they suggest investments and it is made clear what they get, if anything, from the fund manager.
I use one as I needed help with some complicated pension choices when I was looking into retirement. I was given the choice of paying up front for his advice, rather like you would pay a solicitor, or letting him take his fees from the amount I was investing. I was told exactly what the fees were, a percentage of the amount I was investing, so I decided to pay up front. Each time I get a statement from the fund manager, it states if there is an ongoing fee to my advisor - always zero in my case as that was my choice.
The advantage of using an advisor was that he has access to more funds through his company than I would have as an individual and he also knew about all the tax implications.
I still use this advisor as the funds I have invested through him entitle me to two free update visits a year! I don't tend to make any changes as I'm using the investments to boost my pension but I will in the future when I've spent everything as then I will be downsizing to get another lump sum to spend!
So, ask the advisers what their fees are, if they are not genuinely independent, they have to tell you.
At least that is my understanding!
I also checked out the company first by researching them with Companies House, checking they were members of the various associations they claimed to be, phoning their office to check that it was a real phone number and I even drove there to suss it out! I was so scared of giving a scammer my money!