Terms & Conditions
TERENCE ST J MILLETT SOLICITORS
TERMS OF BUSINESS
This document sets out the terms and conditions of engagement upon which Terence St J Millett accepts your instructions to act. These terms may be varied or added to in correspondence at the time when your instructions are accepted by us.
If for whatever reason you do not accept or understand these terms you should tell the solicitor responsible for your matter immediately. His or her name appears in the accompanying letter.
1. General
1.1 It is Terence St J Millett’s professional duty to give your affairs all reasonable care, skill and attention. We cannot accept responsibility for changes in the law or its interpretation that occur subsequent to our advice being delivered to you or which could not reasonably be known by us at the time.
1.2 We will throughout the transaction rely on you to promptly supply all information needed to act on your behalf and to tell us as soon as possible of any relevant changes in circumstances. We will not be under any obligation to verify or check the accuracy of such information unless it is specifically agreed in writing that we should do so.
1.3 If you have instructed us following the referral of an estate agent, broker, or similar introducer, our direct relationship is with you and not the person who referred you to us. You are free to choose your solicitors. We work to act in your best interests by providing independent legal advice.
1.4 You should consult other suitably qualified professionals for advice on non-legal matters such as the state and condition of the property, its services and market value, environmental issues, or for specific financial, investment or tax advice (other than Stamp Duty Land Tax).
1.5In no circumstances shall the firm, its partners or employees be liable for any loss, damage, cost or expense arising in any way from or in connection with the dishonest, deliberate or reckless misstatement concealment or conduct of any other person or company. If any losses are incurred by us or any claims made by a third party against us as a result of your failures acts or omissions as detailed above, we reserve the right to recover the full amount of any subsequent losses from you on a full indemnity basis
1.6 Where you instruct other professional advisers in conjunction with your transaction, you agree that our position in the event of a claim will not be adversely prejudiced by any arrangement or limitation agreed with another of your professional advisers in respect of their potential liability.
1.7 If we have suspicion of money laundering we are required to disclose this to the authorities. In the event of such a disclosure being made we do not accept any liability for consequential damages arising from compliance with the appropriate legislation.
1.8 We retain copyright in documents prepared by us but where documents are prepared for your use, we grant you an irrevocable, royalty free licence to use those documents for the purpose for which they were prepared.
1.9We are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
2. Fees
2.1Sums incurred by Terence St J Millett on your behalf (such as stamp duty land tax, search fees, Counsel’s fees and all other disbursements) will be chargeable in addition, to our fees, as will expenses incurred on faxes, couriers, telephone calls and copying.
2.2 VAT at the applicable rate is chargeable in addition
2.3 Estimates of costs are given for guidance only on the basis of information then known to Terence St J Millett and are not to be regarded as quotations. Please note that often it is not possible to estimate costs accurately in advance.
3. Payment
3.1 Terence St J Millett may at any time require from you reasonable sums on account of anticipated costs and disbursements. We shall have the right to appropriate such sums to defray disbursements incurred on your behalf or to pay interim bills which are overdue. However, such sums are, in the normal way, to be held against payment of the final account to be rendered to you and you are expected to settle interim bills without resort to such sums.
3.2 Terence St J Millett’s bills are due and payable on delivery. We are entitled to charge interest on any sum unpaid one month after the date of delivery of a bill at the rate of 4% per annum over the base lending rate of Royal Bank of Scotland Plc calculated from day to day
3.3 Money paid to us in advance will be held in a client account separately from the firm’s own money, subject to our right to transfer and use the same in payment of our fees and expenses
3.4 If money is received and needs to be returned, we reserve the right to return the money to the same account from which it came. We will not agree to transfer funds to a third party until full money laundering checks have been made against the payee. We reserve the right to retain any balance otherwise due to you to cover administration charges in dealing with your transaction where we consider it to be uneconomic to return. We consider that any amount of £20.00 or less would be uneconomic to return.
3.5 Normally we will not accept payments from anyone other than our clients or their lenders.
3.6 It is the firm’s policy not to accept cash.
3.7 Where money is required from you, it is essential that this is cleared in our client account the day before we are required to use it. We do not recommend payment of substantial sums by personal cheque because of the uncertainty on clearance.
3.8 Any mortgage advance will be requested by us the day before completion to give us the best opportunity to send out money before a contract deadline. Any interest charged by your lender from the date of release of funds to us will be your responsibility. We cannot be liable for any delay or consequential loss caused by any delay or funds being uncleared on completion.
3.9 Occasionally the timescale between exchange or contracts and completion can be very tight, even from time to time, on the same day. In such circumstances, and because your lender will require five working days notice to release funds to us, we may need to request funds speculating on the proposed completion date, in order to achieve your target date. Where we request funds on such a speculative basis for your proposed move, then you alone will be responsible for any resulting administrative and interest costs.
3.10 On a conventional conveyancing transaction our fees become due from exchange of contracts, but are normally collected at the date of completion.
4. File Storage
At the end of a matter the file will be stored for a reasonable period (which will not be less than six years) free of charge. However, a charge may be made for retrieving the file from storage at your request and for supplying copies of any documents
5. Commission and Interest
5.1 This paragraph applies to commission received by Terence St J Millett which exceeds £20.00. If Terence St J Millett receives any commission relating to your matters, the amount or basis of calculation of the commission will be disclosed to you in writing. In the case of commission on insurance policies, Terence St J Millett will reduce their bill by the amount of the first year’s commission received by them
However, if the policy is surrendered or cancelled so that there is a reduction in that commission, then Terence St J Millett will be entitled to render a further bill for the appropriate amount.
5.2 If Terence St J Millett holds money on your behalf which earns, or in respect of which you are entitled to be paid a sum equivalent to interest not exceeding £150.00, then Terence St J Millett shall be entitled to retain such interest or equivalent sum.
5.3 Terence St J Millett is not authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to provide investment advice. We cannot advise you on the relative merits of your chosen mortgage or insurance products or whether the terms of those products are representative of those currently available in the market. These matters should be discussed with a Financial Advisor if you have any concerns.
5.4 Terence St J Millett are included on a register maintained by the Financial Services Authority which enables us, under the regulation of the Solicitors Regulation Authority, to advise on selling and arrangement of title insurance policies. If we believe it is necessary for defective title insurance to be put in place we obtain our policies from reputable providers. We do not receive a commission payment or charge a fee for producing such policies.
6. Termination
Terence St J Millett will have the right to cease work and determine their retainer by giving you written notice at your last known address in the event that inter alia:
6.1 any bill remains unpaid for more than one month after delivery;
6.2 you fail to pay any sums requested pursuant to paragraph 3.1 of these Terms within 14 days or such lesser period as may in the circumstances be reasonable of such a request being made;
6.3you fail without reasonable cause to give Terence St J Millett instructions for a period of one month
7. Client Care Policy
It is the policy of Terence St J Millett to investigate complaints and expressions of dissatisfaction fully and promptly. If you have a complaint relating to the work being carried our for you, you should raise this in the first instance with the solicitor dealing with the matter. If you are dissatisfied with his or her response, you should raise the matter with the Partner responsible. If you are still dissatisfied, you should then make a formal complaint in writing addressed to the Complaints Partner of Terence St J Millett, giving full details of the nature of your complaint. The Complaints Partner, or another Partner nominated by him, will then look into the matter and let you have a response, usually within 14 days of receipt of your complaint.
8. Third Party Rights
The contract for services between us shall not create or give rise to any third party rights nor shall it be intended to create or give rise to any third party rights whether arising under The Contracts (Right of Third Parties) Act 1999 or otherwise
9. Data Protection
Terence St J Millett holds, processes and discloses personal date relating to individuals in the course of its business. This data is held, processed and disclosed by Terence St J Millett for the provision of legal services, administration, communication during business transactions, performance of our obligations and our client’s obligations, protection and enforcement of our rights and our client’s rights and for marketing purposes. The data may be transferred abroad in connection with those purposes.
10. E-mail Communication
In the course of carrying out your instructions we may communicate with you via e-mail. You should be aware that the internet is not a secure medium and we cannot guarantee the security or integrity of such communications despite the industry-standard checks we carry out on all e-mail. If you require a greater level of security, you should raise this with us at the outset.
11. Force Majeure
We shall not be liable for failure to perform or for any delay in performing our obligations if the failure or delay is due to causes beyond our control including but not limited to riot, extreme weather, terrorism, curfew, industrial action, war, the conduct of any police or other official investigation or delays in providing or non-provision of Serious Organised Crime Agency consent following a disclosure under the anti-money laundering legislation.
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