TERMS AND CONDITIONS
These Terms and Conditions of Business (as updated from time to time) should be read in conjunction with the Client Care letter (also referred to as an Engagement Letter) which accompanies these Terms and Conditions or which may have been provided to you separately. Together these documents set out what we will be doing for you and the terms upon which we accept instructions from you.
No variation of these Terms will be effective unless such variation is in writing and signed by a Partner of this firm. If there is any inconsistency between our Terms and Conditions of Business and our Client Care letter, the Client Care letter will take priority.
ABOUT US
Spencer Skuse & Potter Ltd is a limited company and trades as Spencer Skuse & Potter. The company is registered at Companies House under Company number 09327080. Our registered office is at 17 Lambourne Crescent, Llanishen, Cardiff, CF14 5GF. Our head office telephone number is 02920 487210.
Spencer Skuse & Potter is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). Our SRA ID number is 400906. We are governed by the Codes of Conduct and other Professional rules which you can access on the SRA website www.sra.org.
We are VAT registered with VAT registration number 282 4552 51
Details of our Professional Indemnity Insurance are available on request.
DEFINITIONS
In these Terms and Conditions of Business, the following have the stated definition:
“the Firm” shall mean Spencer Skuse & Potter and any successor practice
“ Client Care Letter” refers to the letter or agreement forming the basis of our instructions
“ Documents” means any documentation held on your behalf relating to either you or your matter.
“ Matter” means the specific issue, transaction or dispute in relation to which you have instructed us to provide services
“Partner” means a Partner of this Firm
“Fee earner” means the person having day to day conduct of your matter
“We”, “Us”, “Our” refers to this Firm
“You” or “Your” refers to the client or clients (if joint instructions) identified in the Client Care letter and anyone authorised to provide instructions on that client’s behalf.
SCOPE OF SERVICES
We aim to offer our clients quality legal advice with a personal service at a fair cost. The scope of work we will carry out for you is set out in our Client Care letter.
We will provide legal services with reasonable care and skill however the nature of many types of legal work means that it is not possible to guarantee a particular outcome. We will keep you advised of developments throughout and advise you of any change in prospects of success.
We are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and therefore do not provide financial services or advice. If such services or advice are required, we may be able to direct you to someone else who may be able to assist. Should we do so, your relationship will be directly with that person and we will have no further involvement or liability in relation to such financial services or advice.
Unless otherwise agreed in writing, our advice and any documents we prepare are for use only in connection with the specific matter in relation to which we are instructed and will reflect the law in force at the relevant time. Such advice and/or documents may not be relied upon by any other person.
OUR COMMITMENT TO YOU
We will:
TREAT you fairly and with respect
REPRESENT your interests and keep your business confidential.
EXPLAIN to you the legal work that may be required, any changes in the law that may affect your matter and the prospects of a successful outcome.
MAKE SURE that you understand the likely degree of financial and any other risks that you will be taking on.
ADVISE YOU on tax matters, but only if specifically requested to do so.
KEEP YOU regularly informed of progress or, if there is none, when you are next likely to hear from us.
KEEP YOU regularly updated as to the costs incurred in relation to your matter unless we have agreed a fixed fee with you. We will advise you promptly if we consider that any estimate of fees is likely to be exceeded prior to exceeding such estimate.
TRY to avoid using technical legal language when writing to you – if you are unsure about anything, please ask!
DEAL with your queries promptly, for example, we will always try to return your telephone calls on the same day or by the next working day
YOUR COMMITMENT TO US
Provide documents when we ask for them and respond promptly when we ask for instructions or information.
Notify us if your contact details change
Tell us immediately if your expectations change or if you do not understand what we have discussed or advised.
Advise us of any time limits or objectives which you may have
Notify us immediately if you receive any email or other communication purporting to come from the firm which states that we have changed our bank details or payment arrangements
Let us know about any other changes which may affect your matter or the way in which we deal with it including any changes which may affect your tax status in any jurisdiction. Advise us if you are or become subject to bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings or have been made bankrupt or insolvent (either voluntary or imposed)
OUR HOURS OF BUSINESS
The normal hours of opening at our offices are between 9.00am and 5.00pm on weekdays. Appointments may be arranged at other times when this is essential.
PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR WORK
The Client Care letter provided to you will confirm the name of the fee earner having day to day conduct, details of the person with overall supervision of your matter and details of the secretary who may be able to deal with some of your queries or otherwise take a message for the fee earner or supervisor. 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 of this firm have overall responsibility for all work carried out.
CHARGES AND EXPENSES
You are liable to pay our legal costs as set out in the Client Care letter. Unless we have agreed a fixed fee with you which is payable on conclusion of your matter, we will render interim invoices at a frequency agreed with you (generally monthly).
Our charges will be calculated mainly by reference to the time actually spent by the Solicitors and other staff in respect of any work that they do on your behalf. This will include meetings with you and perhaps others, reading and working on papers, correspondence, preparation of any detailed costs calculations, and time spent travelling away from the office when this is necessary.
Routine letters are charged as 6-minute units of time and we charge for the time spent on making and taking telephone calls in 6-minute units and considering incoming letters at units of 3 minutes per page.
Our hourly rates have to be reviewed periodically to reflect increases in overhead costs and inflation. Normally the rates are reviewed with effect from 1 September each year. If a review is carried out before this matter has been concluded, we will inform you of any variation in the rate before it takes effect. If a fixed fee has been agreed with you, any annual increase in our hourly rates will not affect your fixed fee.
In addition to the time spent, 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, any particular specialist expertise when 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. Any such charge will be reasonable and proportionate and will be explained to you in advance. It is not always possible to indicate how these aspects may arise but, on present information, we would expect them to be sufficiently taken into account in the rates that we have quoted.Solicitors have to pay out various other expenses on behalf of clients ranging from Land or Probate Registry fees, court fees, experts’ fees, and so on. 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”. We will require a payment in advance from you in respect of any disbursements payable in relation to your matter.
If, for any reason, this matter does not proceed to completion, we will be entitled to charge you for work done and expenses incurred. Our fees in this instance will be calculated by reference to the amount of time spent, the stage reached in the transaction and applying our hourly rates which are currently as follows:
Partner – £250 per hour
Solicitor – £200 per hour
Other fee earner – £125 per hour
VAT (currently 20%) will be charged where applicable.
PAYMENT ARRANGEMENTS
Property transactions. We will normally send you our bill following the exchange of contracts and payment is required on a purchase prior to completion; and at completion, on a sale. If sufficient funds are available on completion, and we have sent you a bill, we will deduct our charges and expenses from the funds.
Administration of estates. We will normally submit an interim bill at regular stages during the administration, starting with the obtaining of a Grant. Thereafter we may render interim bills when monies have been collected in from the estate. The final account will be prepared when the Estate Accounts are ready for approval.
Other cases or transactions. It is normal practice to ask clients to pay sums of money from time to time on account of the charges and expenses that are expected in the following weeks or months. We find that this helps clients in budgeting for costs as well as keeping them informed of the legal expenses that 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 must reserve 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 4% over NatWest Bank’s base rate from time to time from the date of the bill in cases where payment is not made within 14 days of delivery by us of the bill.
You have the right to challenge or complain about our bill and ask the court to undertake a detailed assessment under the Solicitors Act 1974. You should make any application within 1 month of receiving our bill.
OTHER PARTIES’ CHARGES AND EXPENSES
In some cases and transactions, a client may be entitled to payment of costs by some other 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 that you incur with us. You are liable for all our charges and expenses and any amounts that can be recovered will be a contribution towards them. If the other party is in receipt of legal aid, no costs are likely to be recovered.
The other person will not be liable to pay the VAT element of your costs if you are able to recover the VAT yourself. The current VAT rate is 20%.
If you are successful and a court orders another party to pay some or all of your charges and expenses, interest can be claimed on them from the other party from the date of the court order. We will account to you for such interest to the extent that you have paid our charges or expenses on account, but we are entitled to the rest of that interest.
You will also be responsible for paying our charges and expenses of seeking to recover any costs that the court orders the other party to pay to you.
A client who is unsuccessful in a court case may be ordered to pay the other party’s legal charges and expenses. That money would be payable in addition to our charges and expenses. Arrangements can be made to take out insurance to cover liability for such legal expenses. We will discuss this with you if it is relevant to the matter in relation to which we are instructed.
CHARGES FOR TELEGRAPHIC TRANSFERS AND CHAPS PAYMENTS
A charge of £25.00 plus VAT (currently at 20%) is made for transferring funds though the banking system and £5.00 plus VAT for funds transferred directly into our accounts. This disbursement will be in addition to the legal costs quoted or estimated. We will charge you the banking charge that we incur in the event of cheques credited to your account with us being dishonoured.
If we receive money in relation to your matter from an unexpected source, there may be a delay in your matter and we may charge you for the time spent in conducting any additional checks which are required.
INTEREST PAYMENT
Please see our interest policy on our website.
OUR CLIENT ACCOUNT
We hold money in a UK bank account regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). We will never tell you about changes to our bank account by email. Please inform us immediately if you receive an email or any other communication purporting to be from the firm stating that we have changed our bank account details. We will not be liable if you transfer funds into an incorrect bank account. If you are in any doubt as to the correct bank details, please call us to confirm these.
CONFIDENTIALITY
We will at all times keep your information confidential unless:
• You consent in writing to disclosure of information
• Disclosure of the information is required or permitted by law or regulatory requirements that apply. Examples include but are not limited to disclosure to the National Crime Agency (NCA), Domestic or International Tax Authorities, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Regulatory Authorities
• These Terms and Conditions of Business state otherwise
Unless you instruct us otherwise, our preferred method of communication is via email. We employ a range of security measures but cannot guarantee the security of information or documents sent by email. If you would prefer that we correspond with you via post, please let us know.
We may on occasion be subject to audit by external bodies such as the SRA or ICO or may instruct external compliance consultants to conduct an audit. Any such external bodies will be required to maintain confidentiality in relation to any files which are audited.
PRIVACY & DATA PROTECTION
We use your personal data primarily to provide the legal services which you have requested from us. Our use of your personal data is subject to your instructions, the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), and, where applicable, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR), together with other relevant UK legislation and our professional duty of confidentiality.
We take your privacy very seriously. Our Privacy Policy contains important information on how and why we collect, process and store your personal data. Our Privacy Policy is available on our website at www.spencerskuse.com. Please let us know if you have any queries in relation to the Privacy Policy or would like to discuss it.
We may record telephone conversations and monitor emails for training, supervision, regulatory and compliance purposes.
CHANGES IN THE LAW AND CRITICAL DATES
Once your case is finished we cannot accept on-going responsibility for reminding you of changes in the Law which might affect you (even where we continue to store deeds, wills or other documents on your behalf) or of future critical dates or deadlines. For example, we cannot accept on-going responsibility to remind you of such matters as rent review dates, lease renewals, the exercise of options, the service of notices and counter-notices within time limits and the like.
PREVENTION OF MONEY LAUNDERING, TERRORIST FINANCING AND PROLIFERATION FINANCING
(i) Clarification of Client Identity
We are by law required to satisfy ourselves as to the identity of our clients. This is also frequently a requirement of banks and building societies in their instructions to us regarding mortgage advances or similar matters. Accordingly, it will be necessary for you to produce acceptable evidence of identity and also of your address.
The following are types of documents that can act as evidence of identity:
(a) full current signed passport;
(b) EEA member state identity card;
(c) Residence permit issued by the Home Office to EEA Nationals on sight of their own country passport;
(d) Current UK or EEA photo-card driving licence;
(e) Current full UK driving licence;
(f) Benefit book or original notification letter from the Benefits Agency confirming the right to benefits;
(g) Firearms or shotgun certificate;
(h) National identity card containing your photograph.
Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of documents that can act as evidence of identity. In the context of transactions involving a mortgage, different lenders have different requirements and you should therefore check with us as to what evidence will be required for that individual lender.
For non-quoted private companies and other organisations, we require the evidence set out above for the Directors/Company Secretary/Partners or other persons authorised to act on behalf of the organisation.
Information held by this firm is subject to the provision of the Data Protection legislation but please note that, as with most other users, we utilise a non-encrypted email system.
(ii) Clarification of Client Address
The following is a list of examples of suitable documentary evidence of address for UK resident private individuals:
(a) recent utility bill or statement;
(b) local Council Tax bill for the current year;
(c) current full UK driving licence;
(d) bank, building society or credit union statement or passbook containing the current address;
(e) recent original mortgage statement from a recognised lender;
(f) a solicitor’s letter confirming recent house purchase or Land Registry confirmation of address;
(g) local council or housing association rent card or tenancy agreement;
(h) benefit book or original notification letter from the Benefits Agency confirming the right to benefits;
(i) Inland Revenue self-assessment statement or tax demand;
(j) house or motor insurance certificate.
Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of documents that can act as evidence of address.
(iii) Persons Not Resident in the UK
There are additional considerations that may apply in respect of individuals who are not resident in the UK, students and minors and those acting in a representative capacity. Due to anti money laundering regulations, we may not be able to or may decline instructions to act on behalf of a person who is not ordinarily resident in the UK.
(iv) Corporate Clients
For non-quoted private companies and other organisations, we require the evidence of identity and address for two of the directors/company secretary/partners or other persons authorised to act on behalf of the organisation. We also require a copy of the Certificate of Incorporation, a list of directors, a list of shareholders and the registered address. In respect of a partnership, we will require evidence of the identity and address of the partner instructing us.
These laws have the effect of overriding a solicitor’s duty of confidentiality in circumstances where the solicitor knows, suspects, or has reasonable grounds to know or suspect, that a client is involved in any activity involving the proceeds of criminal conduct, including dealing with, transferring, or holding such money. Where we know, suspect, or have reasonable grounds to know or suspect that we are assisting, or may be assisting, in the laundering of the proceeds of criminal conduct, we are obliged under the law to make an authorised disclosure by submitting a suspicious activity report to the National Crime Agency (NCA). Such disclosure is authorised by the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017. It is a criminal offence, punishable by imprisonment, for us to fail to make such a disclosure. It is also a criminal offence for us to inform, or attempt to inform, a client or any other person that such a disclosure has been made or is contemplated.
(vi) Our liability to you in the event of us having to make a disclosure to the NCA
In the event that we make an authorised disclosure to the NCA it is possible that delay or other detriment may be caused to your transaction by that disclosure. You must accept that the delay or detriment has been caused by our complying with our duty under the law and that compliance with that duty does not constitute negligence or breach of contract on our part. You must accept that no liability will attach to this firm in respect of such delay or detriment caused directly or indirectly by the authorised disclosure whether or not any action by the NCIS or other authorities resulted from that disclosure.
(vii) Policies relation to Money Laundering
In order to reduce the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing, we do not accept cash payments of more than £500, whether paid at our offices or directly into our bank account, and we do not accept payments of any kind from any unknown or unidentified third party. Furthermore, we will not be prepared to send funds to any unknown or unidentified third party.
LIMITATION ON OUR LIABILITY TO YOU
Your contract is solely with Spencer Skuse & Potter. No representative, officer, employee, agent or consultant will have any personal legal liability for any loss or claim. We are insured by our professional indemnity insurers in respect of incidents of professional negligence. Our liability to you in respect of such matters is limited to £3 million in respect of any one claim or series of connected claims. In the event that you wish to extend our potential liability for your transaction, you will need to contact us in writing and negotiate specific written terms as to that extended liability.
We do not owe, nor do we accept, any duty to any person other than you and do not accept any liability or responsibility for any consequences arising from reliance on our advice by any person other than you. We are not responsible for any failure to advise or comment on matters falling outside the scope of our instructions as set out in our Client Care letter and these Terms and Conditions of Business.
EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY
We are committed to acting in a way that encourages equality, diversity and inclusion in all our dealings with clients, third parties, employees, contractors, experts, counsel and any other person or persons with whom we may have cause to have dealings. Please contact us if you would like a copy of our Equality & Diversity Policy.
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 (this is referred to as a lien). 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.
We will only decide to stop acting for you with good reason. If we decide to stop acting for you, for example, the relationship has broken down, if you do not pay an interim bill or comply with the request for a payment on account, provide us with misleading information, act in an abusive or offensive manner or require us to act in a way which would be contrary to the Professional Regulations and Codes of Conduct to which we are subject, we will tell you the reason and give you notice in writing.
STORAGE OF PAPERS AND DOCUMENTS
After completion of the work, we are entitled to keep all papers and documents while there is money owing to us for our charges and expenses.
Following completion of your matter, we will generally return any original documents to you unless you have requested that we hold these and will store your file of papers for not less than 6 years. This is referred to as the retention period. Unless you instruct us otherwise, we will store your file electronically only and will destroy the paper file (save for any original paper documents which you have requested we hold e.g. wills).
Storage is on the understanding that we have the right to destroy it at the end of the retention period. We will not of course destroy any documents such as Wills, Deeds, and other securities, which you ask us to hold in safe custody. NO charge will be made to you for such storage unless prior notice in writing is given to you of a charge to be made from a future date that may be specified in that notice.
If we retrieve papers or documents from storage in relation to continuing or new instructions to act in connection with your affairs, we will not normally charge for such retrieval. However, we may make a charge based on time spent for producing stored papers or documents to you or another at your request. We may also charge for reading, correspondence or other work necessary to comply with your instructions.
LIMITED COMPANIES
When accepting instructions to act on behalf of a limited company, we may require a Director and/or controlling shareholder to sign a form of personal guarantee in respect of the charges and expenses of this firm. If such a request is refused, we will be entitled to stop acting and to require immediate payment of our charges on an hourly basis and expenses as set out earlier.
TAX ADVICE
Any work that we do for you may involve tax implications or necessitate the consideration of tax planning strategies. We may not be qualified to advise you on the tax implications of a transaction that you instruct us to carry out, or the likelihood of them arising. If you have any concerns in this respect, please raise them with us immediately. We will endeavour to assist you in locating someone who should be able to advise you.
CONCERNS AND COMPLAINTS
Our aim is to offer all our clients an efficient and effective service at all times. 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, please raise your concern in the first instance with the supervisor named in the Client Care letter. If you still have queries or concerns, please contact our Client Care Partner, Mr Graeme Skuse, setting out what the issues are. If we are unable to informally resolve your concerns and you wish to make a formal a complaint, please refer to our Complaints Procedure on our website. If you required a hard copy please call us to request this. We will require you to set out in writing what your complaint is and what your desired resolution is. We will acknowledge receipt within seven days of receiving the said complaint. This acknowledgment will indicate what action will be done and the timescale within which the action may be expected to be done. We shall keep a separate record of your complaint and all further contact in relation to it through to its conclusion. If you are still dissatisfied with the response to your complaint, you may take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman whose details are:
www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Tel: 0300 555 0333
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Address: Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH
The Legal Ombudsman will not normally consider a complaint unless it is made within six months of the date of our final written response to your complaint, and no later than one year from the date of the act or omission complained about, or one year from the date when you should reasonably have known that there was cause for complaint.
If you are unhappy with or concerned about our behaviours, you may be able to complain to the SRA. The SRA website (www.sra.org) contains information on raising concerns about solicitors and law firms. HOW YOU CAN HELP US
You can help us to do our best for you by telling us what we need to know and providing information and documents when we ask for them. Please tell us at the start what you expect of us so that we can agree with you what is possible to achieve. If you have personal time limits or targets that would not be obvious to us please let us know so that we can do our best to work towards them. If you do not understand anything we have discussed or written to you about, please tell us as soon as possible.
JURISDICTION
This contract and any dispute of claim arising out of or in connection with it, its subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS
Unless otherwise agreed, and subject to the application of the current hourly rates, these Terms and Conditions of Business shall apply to any future instructions given by you to this firm.
Your continuing instructions in this matter will amount to an acceptance of these Terms and Conditions of Business.