Terms of Business
We organise our work within departments comprising Commercial, Employment and Licensing, Family, Litigation, Private Client and Property. Each of these Departments is supervised by a Head of Department and under his or her direction Partners, Assistant Solicitors and Executives will look after your work either individually or as part of a team. You will note the name of the Head of Department and other details on the Form of Engagement which is enclosed.
We request you to sign and return the Form of Engagement to signify your agreement to our terms and conditions of business contained in this leaflet and summarised on the Form of Engagement and Client Care Letter. We shall then have entered into an agreement and your right to challenge those terms will be restricted. Please let us have your cheque for any monies requested at the same time.
SERVICE STANDARDS
a. As part of our commitment to excellence in the legal services we provide, we adopt the following standards of service:
b. Our communications with you will be in clear language
c. You will be kept regularly updated with progress in this matter, and we will provide you with likely timescales. Even if no progress has been made (for example because no action has been taken by another party involved) the matter will be reviewed regularly and an update given to you by telephone or in writing at least every six weeks.
d. We will explain to you by telephone or in writing the legal work required as your matter progresses, we will notify you of any changes in the law having a bearing on your matter, and whenever there is a change in circumstances or risk of which we are aware we will update you on whether the likely outcomes still justify the likely costs and risks.
e. Where we have not agreed a fixed fee with you we will update you regularly (and in any event not less than every six months where a matter is protracted) on the cost of the matter.
f. Where appropriate we will keep under review how your matter is funded and consider whether there are alternatives.
To enable us to deliver the required level of service, we depend on you to do the following:
a. Provide us with clear, timely and accurate instructions
b. Provide in a timely manner all documentation we need to progress your matter
c. In litigation matters, safeguard any documents likely to be required for discovery
FUNDS WE HOLD FOR YOU
Any money received on your behalf will be held in our client account. Interest will be calculated and paid to. That of course may change. The period for which interest will be paid normally runs from the date(s) when cleared funds are received by us until the date(s) on the cheque(s) issued to you. The payment of interest is subject to certain minimum amounts and periods of time set out in the Solicitors' Account Rules 1998.
OUR CHARGES
Accounts should be settled within fourteen days. Please note that charge rates do not include VAT which will be added to the bill at the rate then prevailing. Interest will be charged at 8% per annum on bills that are not paid within thirty days of delivery to you. Please note that where costs have been invoiced and remain unpaid we may in certain circumstances exercise a lien on files and deeds for unpaid costs (see also "Terminating the Retainer" below). If you are unhappy with a bill you have the right to object to it and to apply for an assessment of it under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974.
In circumstances where the Firm is instructed to act for a Company Client the Form of Engagement should be signed by a Director of the Company whose signature will signify his or her agreement that he or she personally guarantees that if the Company cannot meet the Firm’s bill of costs for whatever reason then that Director will personally discharge the account on the same terms as those under which the Company is liable.
Unless otherwise agreed, our charges will be calculated by reference to the time spent by the Partner, Assistant Solicitor or Executive dealing with the matter. This includes where applicable advising, attending on you and others, dealing with papers, correspondence, telephone calls, travelling and waiting time. Categories of staff and their minimum hourly charge rates are shown on the Form of Engagement. You should note however that these rates may be increased, following their annual review every April. We will notify you if rates change.
In accordance with normal practice, we ask our Clients to put us in funds in advance for payments we incur on their behalf such as Counsel's fees, Stamp Duty Land Tax, Land Registry fees, Search fees, Court fees, official copy document fees, Probate Court fees and the like. Those applicable in a particular case are listed on the Form of Engagement. Other payments which may not be certain at the outset will be advised to you and your approval sought before they are incurred.
Where we are asked to send funds electronically through the Clearing House Automated Payment Systems (CHAPS, also known as a telegraphic transfer) we charge £6.50 to reflect the charge made by our bank and we are obliged to add £1.14 VAT to this when we charge it to you. We also charge a telegraphic transfer administration fee of £19.03 plus £3.33 VAT.
A quoted fee assumes your transaction will proceed in a normal way. If, however, any unusual or particularly difficult problem arises which involves work we did not anticipate, you will be advised immediately as the quotation may have to be revised. In the event that a matter, once started, does not proceed for any reason you will be charged an amount based on the number of hours spent on the matter up to the point where our activity ceases plus any payments which have been made on your behalf.
We deliver bills at regular intervals and at least every six months in respect of lengthy matters enabling you to budget for costs. We are sure you will understand that in the event of a payment so requested not being made, we must reserve the right to decline to act for you further and the full amount of work carried out on your behalf to that date will be charged to you.
If you wish, you may set an upper limit on our fees in which case work will cease on your matter when the limit is reached and will not start again until payment is received and a new limit is agreed.
We are happy to agree a budget for our initial work. If we are instructed to undertake further work we would need to make additional charges and we will provide an estimate of what they would be.
We do not, as a rule, carry out any form of publicly-funded work. If however, your matter is to be publicly funded by Legal Aid, please note that should at any time the Legal Services Commission seek to revoke or discharge your certificate through material non-disclosure or inaccurate or misleading information then you will be liable to pay our costs and other disbursements in accordance with these Terms of Business.
TERMINATING THE RETAINER
You may end your instructions to us in writing at any time, and you are entitled to request that we hand over files to you which relate to your matters. Please note however that we reserve the right to keep your papers and documents until any outstanding costs and expenses have been fully paid.
LITIGATION
At the conclusion of the matter and in the event that you are successful, it may be that you will be entitled to the payment of your costs by some other party. However, it is rare for the system of “assessment” of costs, as it is known, to result in the other party having to pay the full amount of your costs. This is a complex subject which we shall be happy to explain further if you wish. You should bear in mind however the risk that, if you lose, you are likely to have to bear the successful party's costs, which may be substantial, in addition to your own.
At all times Clients are responsible to the Firm for payment of fees, regardless of any Costs Orders awarded against another party. Sometimes it will prove impossible or a very difficult and lengthy process to obtain those costs from the other party (e.g. the other party may have gone bankrupt). In any of those events we reserve the right to recover our costs from you in full and then to account to you at a later date for any costs recovered from the other party immediately on receipt.
We may decide to stop acting for you only with good reason, for example if you do not pay an interim bill or there is a conflict of interest or, acting reasonably we deem your instructions to be unreasonable, irrational or uncommercial. You will remain liable for all fees incurred up to the date of termination.
PRIVATE CLIENT
Probate - In matters relating to the granting of Probate or Letters of Administration our charges will be based on two elements. Firstly there is the amount of time spent by the persons responsible for the file in dealing with the matter. The name and minimum hourly charge of the Solicitor or Executive concerned is shown on the Form of Engagement. The second element is a charge based on the value of the Estate, which reflects the responsibility undertaken by the Firm in the matter. That charge will be calculated at the rate of 1% to 1.5% of the gross value of the Estate (except for any element attributable to any property in which the deceased was living at the date of death where the rate will be 0.5% of the value of that property).
Probate Court fees and part of any Inheritance Tax payable are normally payable on the application for Probate. If Building Society accounts form part of the Estate these can sometimes be used to discharge such fees and Tax or, alternatively, a loan may have to be raised from the Deceased's Bankers. In certain circumstances we have to ask the Executors to provide funds in respect of these disbursements if they cannot be readily obtained from the Estate prior to the Grant.
If for any reason you withdraw instructions before administration of the Estate is complete we will charge you only for the work done up to that point. Depending upon the stage that has been reached this could be a small proportion of the total cost or almost the full amount.
Wills and Powers of Attorney - Payment will be expected on completion of the Will or Power of Attorney or an interim payment eight weeks after draft wills are sent out to you. Certain wills made with Charity or Internet Schemes have a fixed charge quoted under the scheme.
Trust Administration and Income Tax Returns - Fees for such matters will be on an annual or six month basis as agreed with us.
Advice on Trust Matters - Fees will be charged at the hourly rate of the person dealing with the matter.
PROPERTY
Fees are frequently agreed in advance in respect of conveyancing matters but we nevertheless ask you to note particularly the right to revise any quotation where unusual or difficult problems, which had not been anticipated, are encountered. In matters which prove abortive we reserve the right to charge you for abortive work based on the following percentage changes, according to the stage reached in the transaction when it aborts:
Searches carried out and pre-contract enquiries raised 50%
Contract settled and report made to client 75%
Immediately prior to completion 100%
Generally speaking, however, if you are successful in arranging an alternative sale or purchase within a relatively short period of time, we would not render a charge at the point at which the transaction fails but advise you of the costs to date, and collect such abortive costs when the alternative transaction proceeds.
In certain circumstances relating to commercial property matters of a prolonged nature we reserve the right to render an interim account at certain stages of the transaction, for instance upon exchange of Contracts.
COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
Although we provide a high standard of service to our clients, circumstances may arise which give cause for complaint. Should such a situation occur, you are recommended to discuss your concerns with the person within the firm who is responsible for the day to day conduct of the matter.
If you prefer, or if you remain dissatisfied having discussed your concerns as suggested above, please contact our Managing Partner who will investigate your complaint with an open mind and report to you quickly. We are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (www.sra.org.uk). However any complaints about us should be addressed to The Legal Complaints Service (www.legalcomplaints.org.uk). A full copy of the Firm’s complaints procedure is available on request.
LIMITATION ON LIABILITY AND PROFESSIONAL INDEMNITY INSURANCE
Parker Bullen LLP Is a Limited Liability Partnership This means that the liability of its members directors and employees is limited to the assets owned by it.
In accordance with our professional rules we maintain professional indemnity insurance against possible claims for negligence. Details of our insurance provider are available on request at our offices.
EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY
We are committed to promoting equality and diversity in all our dealings with clients, third parties and employees, and we are required to produce a written equality and diversity policy. Please contact us if you would like us to send you a copy of that equality and diversity policy.
In pursuance of this commitment we will not take into account the gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or age of any third party, such as barristers, we instruct, and will cease to act forthwith if a client instructs us to discriminate in this way.
INSURANCE MEDIATION ACTIVITIES
We are not authorised by the Financial Services and Markets Act nor are we regulated by Financial Services Authority. However, we are included in the register maintained by the Financial Services Authority so that we can carry on insurance mediation activity, which is broadly the advising on, selling and administration of insurance contracts. The register can be accessed via the Financial Services Authority website at www.fsa.gov.uk/register.
The Law Society is a designated professional body for the purposes of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 but responsibility for regulation and complaints handling has been separated from the Law Society’s representative functions. The Solicitors Regulation Authority is the independent regulatory body of the Law Society and the Legal Complaints Service is the independent complaints handling body of the Law Society. If you are unhappy with any insurance advice you receive from us, you should raise your concerns with either of those bodies.
We can provide investment services if they are an incidental part of the professional services we have been engaged to provide. If we consider you need investment advice but we are unable to provide it, we can refer you to an expert who is authorized by the FSA to provide you with that advice. You are, however, entirely free to obtain advice from any other party if you prefer not to consult the party to whom we refer you.
If you ask us to dispose of shares or other investments then we will act in accordance with those instructions but we are unable to provide any advice whatsoever as to whether or not you should dispose of any such investments and you must seek advice from an expert who is authorised by the FSA.
BANKING MATTERS
However remote, there is a risk that any of the UK banks with whom we lodge clients’ money (Lloyds TSB Bank Plc, National Westminster Bank Plc, Royal Bank of Scotland Plc) and Allied Irish Bank (GB) Limited could experience liquidity problems or fail.
1. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (“FSCS”) covers deposits belonging to clients who are individuals or small businesses up to £50,000 per client, per authorised deposit-taking institution. If besides moneys lodged through us, you have other funds deposited with such an institution, the limit of £50,000 will apply to the aggregate of the moneys lodged through us and your other funds. You should bear in mind that some deposit-taking institutions have several brands under which they trade. You should check with your bank, the Financial Services Authority or an Independent Financial Adviser for more information.
2. We will not be liable to you in the event of your suffering loss through the failure of a UK Clearing Bank with which we have deposited funds on your behalf.
3. In the event of the failure of a bank and a claim being made under the FSCS, then, subject to your prior written consent, we will provide certain client information to FSCS to help them identify you as a client and the amount in our client account to which you are entitled. If you do not authorise us to identify you to the FSCS as a client, you will not be able to receive compensation from FSCS.
4. We may need to seek additional funds from you, according to the proportion of the total funds held in a failed bank, if we are to complete transactions for you before you receive compensation from FSCS.
DATA PROTECTION
In the course of our services it will be necessary to hold and process clients’ personal data in paper form and electronically. We use the information you provide primarily for the provision of legal services to you and for related purposes including:
Updating and enhancing client records
Analysis to help us manage our practice
Statutory returns
Legal and regulatory compliance
We confirm that the data will be held and processed in accordance with the requirements of The Data Protection Act 1998 and our duties under The Solicitors’ Code of Conduct 2007. Please note that our work for you may require us to give information to third parties such as expert witnesses and other professional advisers. You have a right of access under data protection legislation to the personal data we hold about you.
STORAGE OF DOCUMENTS & VETTING OF FILES AND CONFIDENTIALITY
After completing the work, we will be entitled to keep all your papers and documents while there is still money owed to us for fees and expenses.
We will keep our file of your papers for up to twelve years, except those papers that you asked to be returned to you. We keep files on the understanding that we can destroy them twelve years after the date of the final bill. We will not destroy documents you ask us to deposit in safe custody.
If we take papers or documents out of storage in relation to continuing or new instructions to act for you we will not normally charge for such retrieval. However we may charge you both for:
a. Time spent producing stored papers that are requested
b. Reading, correspondence or other work necessary to comply with your instructions in relation to the retrieved papers
The volume of papers and files we hold necessitates our outsourcing the storage of older files. In order to minimise any possible risk to client confidentiality we use only reputable well established archiving companies with whom we have a confidentiality agreement. If you do not want your file archived in this way please tell us as soon as possible. All deeds are archived in the firm's strong room on site.
External firms or organisations may conduct audit or quality checks on our practice. These external firms or organisations are required to maintain confidentiality in relation to your files.
DISTANCE SELLING REGULATIONS
Where your instructions are given to us other than by face to face contact, the Distance Selling Regulations 2000 (DSR) apply. The information we are required to give you by the DSR is contained in these terms of business and in our letter confirming to you the scope of our instructions. In addition, please note the following:
1. Where the DSR apply you have the right to cancel your contract with us within 7 working days, counting from the day after we receive your signed form of engagement. You can cancel your instructions by contacting us by post or by fax to our office 01722 411822.
2. The DSR provide that where you agree to the service starting before the expiry of the cancellation period, your cancellation rights cease once performance of the service has begun. Our standard form of engagement includes a statement that you agree to the service starting at once.
3. Paragraph 19 of the DSR provides that a contract for services must be carried out within 30 days unless the parties otherwise agree. In many cases, the nature of legal services makes such a time limit unrealistic. For this reason, you agree that paragraph 19 of the DSR is expressly excluded.
APPLICABLE LAW
Any dispute or legal issue arising from our terms of business will be determined by the Law of England and Wales, and considered exclusively by the English and Welsh Courts.