About Us - Terms & Conditions

Our Aim

We aim to offer our clients quality legal advice with a personal service at a fair cost. In this document, we set out the basis on which we will provide our professional services.

Our commitment to you

We will:

REPRESENT your interests and keep your business confidential;
EXPLAIN to you the legal work, which may be required, and the prospects of a successful outcome;
MAKE SURE that you understand the likely degree of financial risk which you will be taking on;
ADVISE YOU if public funding might be available to you and discuss other forms of funding;
KEEP YOU regularly informed of the progress;
DEAL with your queries promptly, we will always try to return your telephone calls on the same day.

Our hours of business

The normal hours of opening at our offices are between 9.00am and 5.30pm, Monday to Thursday and between 9.00am and 5.00pm on Fridays. Personal mobile telephones can be called (if you have been given a number) outside these hours and appointments can be arranged at other times if necessary.

People repsonsible for your work

The person responsible for dealing with your work will be Daniel Gearing who is a partner and solicitor. Our charges out rates are set out below. The secretary who may be able to deal with your queries and who will be pleased to take any message for you is Gill Parker. We will try to avoid changing the people who handle your work but if this cannot be avoided, we will tell you promptly of any change and why it may be necessary.
The partners with overall responsibility for your matter are Peter Sanders, Daniel Gearing and Hui Fong Chen.
Our aim is to offer all our clients an efficient and effective service at all times. Our clients and our staff are of first importance to us. We hope that you will be pleased with the work we do for you. However, should there be any aspect of our service with which you are unhappy, the firm does have a written complaints procedure which allows us to handle complaints promptly and fairly. Please raise your concern in the first place with Peter Sanders at the Rainham office.

Charges and expenses

Our charges will be calculated by reference to the time spent by us on your matter. This will include meetings with you and others, reading and working on papers, correspondence, telephone calls, preparation of any detailed costs calculations and time spent travelling, if applicable.
Routine letters and telephone calls made and received are charged at 1/10th the hourly rate. Letters and telephone calls, which are not considered routine, will be charged on a time basis.
The current hourly rates, unless agreed otherwise in writing, are set out below.

Senior Partner	£300.00 plus vat at 17.5% = £352.50
Partners and Consultants	£280.00 plus vat at 17.5% = £329.00
Solicitors, FILEX, Senior Executives & Licensed Conveyancers	£200.00 plus vat at 17.5% = £235.00
Conveyancing Assistants & Trainees	£120.00 plus vat at 17.5% = £141.00

These hourly rates will be reviewed periodically. We will inform you of any variation in the rate before it takes effect.
In addition to the time spent on your matter, we may take into account a number of factors including any need to carry out work outside our normal office hours, the complexity of the issues, the speed at which action has to be taken and any particularly specialist expertise which the case may demand. In particular, in property transactions, in the administration of estates and in matters involving a substantial financial value or benefit to a client, a charge reflecting, for example, the price of the property, the size of the estate, or the value of the financial benefit may be considered. Where a charge reflecting any value element is to be added we will explain this to you.
Solicitors have to pay out various expenses on behalf of clients ranging from Land or Probate Registry fees, court fees, experts’ fees, barristers’ fees etc. We have no obligation to make such payments unless you have provided us with the funds for that purpose. VAT is payable on certain expenses. We refer to such payments generally as ‘disbursements’. The costs for transferring money via the bank system (TT fee) is not a disbursement but is part of our fees.
If, for any reason, your matter does not complete, we will be entitled to charge you for work done and expenses incurred though the total charges will not exceed any estimate given to you.
We will also provide you with an estimate of what we think your overall fees will be. This will be based on the information we have at the time. We will review this estimate periodically or if circumstances change. If at any time you want a breakdown of your fees or a revised estimate, please ask.
Pursuant to rule 2.05 of the Solicitors’ Code of Conduct 2007 (a copy of which can be provided upon request), you are entitled to complain about this firm's bill. You may also be able to complain to the Legal Complaints Service or the Office of Legal Complaints, and/or apply to the court for an assessment of our bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. However interest may still accrue pending any dispute.

Payment arrangements

Property transactions. We will normally send you our bill following the exchange of contracts. Payment is required prior to completion for purchases and at completion on a sale. If sufficient funds are available on completion we will deduct our charges and expenses from those funds.
Administration of Estates. We will normally submit an interim bill at regular stages during the administration, starting with the obtaining of a Grant. The final account will be prepared when the Estate Accounts are ready for approval. A percentage is usually charged on top of the hourly rate.
Other cases or transactions. It is normal practice to ask clients to pay money on account of the charges and expenses which are anticipated. This helps clients in budgeting for costs as well as keeping them informed of the legal expenses which are being incurred. If such requests are not met with prompt payment, delay in the progress of a case may result. In the unlikely event of any bill or request for payment not being met, this firm reserves the right to stop acting for you further.
Payment is due to us within 14 days of our sending you a bill. Interest will be charged on a daily basis at 8% per annum where payment is not made within 30 days of delivery of the bill.
Payment can be made by cheque with an authorised banker’s card, cash or by credit or debit card at our discretion. If payment is made by credit card, then we will add an additional 1.5% to the total amount being paid to cover the additional costs we incur by providing this service. This additional fee will be added to our fees.
We are obliged to report undeclared income or income from the proceeds of crime by duties imposed under money laundering regulations. Our policy is not to accept any payment in cash in excess of £1,000 from any person over a 30 day period. You will be asked to produce evidence of your identity and your address for each matter we do for you.
We will charge our usual hourly rate for each letter sent or telephone call made to you requesting payment of fees. In the event we pursue you through the Courts to recover our fees and are successful, you agree to pay our legal costs as if we had instructed solicitors to act on our behalf and regardless of any provision which may prevent us recovering costs (for example if the claim is allocated to the small claims track).
By signing these Terms you also authorise any third party who is to pay you money, to make such payment to this Firm on your behalf. We will then be entitled to deduct any costs due to us from such money before releasing the balance to you.

The risk of litigation

We will advise you of the risks of initiating any claim. In assessing the benefit of commencing any litigation we will advise you of whether the likely outcome will justify the expense or risk involved in litigation. There is a risk that you will be liable for costs even if you are successful in your claim. This is explained further below.
We will advise you whether it is in your interests to engage the services of a Barrister to act as an advocate on your behalf.
There are various ways of funding litigation. We will advise you as to your options. In some cases, insurance companies will pay your legal fees. It is your responsibility to check if you have eligible insurance for your legal costs. In other matters, litigation insurance may be available to protect you. We do not accept cases where fees are paid by the public funding office.

Other parties' charges and expenses

In some cases, you may be entitled to a contribution towards your fees from another person. It is important that you understand that in such circumstances, the other person may not be required to pay all the charges and expenses which you incur with us. The amount of the contribution may be anything between 60% and 80%. You have to pay our charges and expenses initially and any amounts you may recover will be repaid to you. You also need to be aware that the other party may not have any assets to meet any financial obligation he or she has to you and there is no certainty you will recover any costs at all as such award is at the discretion of the Courts.
You will also be responsible for paying our charges and expenses of enforcing a judgment in your favour and seeking to recover any costs that the court orders the other party to pay to you.
If you are unsuccessful, you may be ordered to pay the other party’s legal charges and expenses in addition to our charges and expenses. Arrangements can be made to take out insurance to cover liability for such risks. Please discuss this with us if you are interested in this.
The costs benefit analysis will be reviewed as the matter continues.

Interest payment

Any money received on your behalf will be held in our Client Account. Subject to certain minimum amounts and periods of time set out in the Solicitors’ Accounts Rules, interest will be calculated and paid to you at the current rate. The period for which interest will be paid will normally run from the date(s) on which funds are received by us until the date(s) of issue of any cheque(s) from our Client Account.
Where you borrow money from a lender in a property transaction, we will ask the lender to arrange that the loan cheque is received by us a minimum of 4 working days prior to the completion date. If the money can be sent by bank transfer, we will request that we receive it the day before the completion. This will enable us to ensure that the necessary funds are available in time for completion. The lender may charge interest from the date of issue of the loan payment.

Financial services

Sometimes a case may involve some investment. We are not authorised by the Financial Services Authority and so may refer you to someone who is authorised to provide any necessary advice. However, we can provide certain limited services in relation to investments, provided they are closely linked with the legal services we are providing to you, as we are regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA).
We are included on 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. This part of our business including arrangements for complaints or redress if something goes wrong, is regulated by the SRA. 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 the regulation and complaints handling has been separated from the Law Society’s representative functions. The SRA is the independent regulatory body of the Law Society and the Legal Complaints Service is the independent complaints handling body of the Law Society.

Storage of papers and documents

After completing the work, we are entitled to keep all your papers and documents while there is money owing to us. We will keep your file of papers for you in storage for not less than 1 year. After that, storage is on the clear understanding that we have the right to destroy it after such period as we consider reasonable or to make a charge for storage if we ask you to collect your papers and you fail to do so. We will not of course destroy any documents such as Wills, Deeds, and other securities, which you ask us to hold in safe custody.
If we retrieve papers or documents from storage in relation to continuing or new instructions to act in connection with your affairs, we will charge £25.00 for such retrieval. We may also charge for reading, correspondence or other work necessary to comply with your instructions.

Termination

You may terminate your instructions to us in writing at any time but we will be entitled to keep all your papers and documents while there is money owing to us for our charges and expenses. If at any stage you do not wish us to continue doing work and/or incurring charges and expenses on your behalf, you must tell us this clearly in writing.
If we decide to stop acting for you, for example if you do not pay an interim bill or comply with the request for a payment on account, we will tell you the reason and give you notice in writing.

Identity and disclosure requirements

We are entitled to refuse to act for you if you fail to supply appropriate proof of identity and authority (if you are acting on behalf of a company or other persons/legal entities).
We are not allowed to disclose information about your affairs without your authority. By signing these terms and returning it to us you authorise us to disclose to the other parties in the transaction and, if applicable to all other parties in the chain of transactions and their agents and advisers, all information which we have in relation to your involvement in the transaction including any related sale or mortgage and other financial arrangements and wishes as to dates for exchange and completion. You may withdraw this authority at any time but if you do so you should appreciate that we will inform the other party or parties and their agents or advisers that this authority has been withdrawn.
You agree that we may use personal information provided by you in order to conduct appropriate anti fraud checks. We will validate name, address and other personal information supplied by you. By accepting these terms and conditions you consent to such checks being made and for us to keep a record of that information. In performing these checks personal information provided by you may be disclosed to a registered Credit Reference Agency which may keep a record of that information. You can rest assured that this is done only to confirm your identity, that a credit check is not performed and that your credit rating will be unaffected. All information provided by you will be treated securely and strictly in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.

Equaility and diversity policy

This firm abides by an equality and diversity policy according to Rule 6 of the Solicitors’ Code of Conduct 2007 (a copy of which is available upon request). The Code prevents discrimination against any persons on the grounds of race or racial group (including colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins),sex (including marital status, gender reassignment, pregnancy, maternity and paternity),sexual orientation (including civil partnership status), religion or belief, age and disability.

Limited companies

When accepting instructions to act on behalf of a limited company, we will require a Director and/or controlling shareholder to sign these terms and conditions on behalf of the company. A board authority may also be required. Your signature to these terms will also act as your personal guarantee in respect of all charges and expenses you or the company incur with us. If the company fails to meet our fees or fails to pay any outstanding invoices, we will be entitled to stop acting and to require immediate payment of our charges on an hourly basis and expenses from you personally.

Communication between you and us

We may communicate with you by any method we see fit which may include email and fax. In such circumstances, we cannot be responsible for the security of information sent by email or fax. If there is any specific communication method you prefer, please tell us.
Your particulars are held on our database. We may, from time to time, use these details to send you information, which we think might be of interest to you.

Terms and conditions of business

Unless otherwise agreed, and subject to the application of our current hourly rates, these Terms and Conditions of Business shall apply to any future instructions given by you to this firm and no other terms will apply unless confirmed by us in writing.
Although your continuing instructions in this matter will amount to an acceptance of these Terms and Condition of Business, we are entitled to stop any work on your matter until we receive a signed copy of these terms from you.

Under the new obligations of The Provision of Services Regulations 2009 we will provide you with the following information upon request:

Our VAT number
The role of the LCS
A copy of The Code of Conduct.

This firm maintains professional indemnity insurance in accordance with the rules of the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Details of the insurers and the territorial coverage of the policy are available for inspection at our offices.