Terms, Conditions and Complaints procedure
1. Introduction
1.1 In these conditions “we” and “us” means McCloy Legal.“You” means a client of McCloy Legal. “Our” and “your” shall be construed accordingly.
1.2 Your continuing instructions will amount to your acceptance of these Terms and Conditions.
1.3 When we are undertaking ongoing work on your behalf we may not always draw your attention to these Terms and Conditions on each and every occasion.In such circumstances they will nevertheless continue to apply unless and until specifically stated by us in writing to the contrary in respect of any particular transaction.
2. Retainer Letter
2.1 At the outset of a transaction we will supply you with a retainer letter which will contain details of the person handling your business, details of anticipated fees and disbursements, and the nature of the work which we are undertaking on your behalf.
2.2 Our retainer letter will draw your attention to these Terms and Conditions.
3. Terms of Payment – Conveyancing
3.1 We will submit accounts for settlement at regular intervals appropriate to the amount of work undertaken.
3.2 Where a transaction does not proceed to completion, we will invoice you for work carried out by reference to the hourly charge stated in our retainer letter and in which case we will ask you to settle our account within 14 days of submission.
3.3 We will inform you if any unforeseen extra work becomes necessary; for example due to unexpected difficulties or if your requirements or the circumstances change significantly during the course of the transaction.We will also inform you in writing of the estimated cost of the extra work and will attempt to agree an amended charge with you.If we cannot reach agreement, we will do no further work and charge you on an hourly basis for work carried out, at the rate set out in our retainer letter.
3.4 Where a transaction becomes unduly protracted we reserve the right to submit accounts for settlement at monthly intervals.We further reserve the right to submit an interim account upon exchange of contracts in any case where the contractual completion date is, or is likely to be, more than one month after the date of contract.
3.5 We reserve the right to require payment at any time on account of disbursements to be incurred on your behalf.
3.6 Where a transaction involves the sale of a property, and subject to our having given you prior notice, it is our usual practice to deduct fees and disbursements due to us from monies held on your behalf.
4. Terms of Payment – General Non-Contentious Work
4.1 We will submit accounts for settlement at regular intervals appropriate to the amount of work undertaken.
4.2 We reserve the right to require payment at any time on account ofdisbursements to be incurred on your behalf.
4.3 Settlement of our accounts is due within fourteen days of submission.
4.4 We will inform you if any unforeseen extra work becomes necessary; for example due to unexpected difficulties or if your requirements or the circumstances change significantly during the course of the transaction. We will also inform you in writing of the estimated cost of the extra work and will attempt to agree an amended charge with you. If we cannot reach agreement, we will do no further work and charge you on an hourly basis for work to date, at the rate set out in our retainer letter.
4.5 It is normal practice to ask clients to make payments on account from time to time.These payments help to meet our expected charges and expenses and help to avoid delaying progress in the matter.We will notify you separately in this respect if monies on account are required.
5. Terms of Payment – Probate
5.1 We will send you a bill for our charges and expenses after a Grant of Representation has been obtained and reserve the right to submit further interim accounts from time to time.
5.2 We will also send you a final bill for our charges and expenses when the administration of the Estate is completed.
5.3 If we hold sufficient funds on your behalf and we have sent you a final bill, we will usually deduct our charges from these funds.
5.4 If we do not complete the work you have instructed us to do we will charge you for the work we have done by reference to the hourly rate stated plus VAT and expenses.
6. Terms of Payment – Contentious Work
6.1 In our retainer letter we will provide you with an estimate of our charges and expenses to an initial stage.We will thereafter provide you with estimates on an ongoing basis.All estimates will be for guidance only and are not intended to be fixed.
6.2 We will inform you if any unforeseen additional work becomes necessary (for example, due to unexpected difficulties or if your requirements or the circumstances change significantly during the course of the matter).We will also inform you in writing of the estimated cost of the extra work before any extra charges and expenses are incurred.
6.3 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.This helps to avoid delaying the progress of their case.We will request an agreed sum on account of our charges and to enable payment of expenses before we start work on your matter.We may request further payments on account for charges and expenses to be incurred as the matter progresses.When we put these payments towards your accounts we will send you a receipt.We will offset any such payments against your final bill but it is important that you understand that your total charges and expenses may be greater than any advance payment.
6.4 Please note that it is our invariable practice to seek advance payments in respect of monies to be incurred by us in respect of Counsel’s fees or expert’s fees.Before incurring such charges we will endeavour to obtain a realistic estimate but in that respect we are reliant upon the third parties concerned and cannot assume responsibility for any excess fee which may be charged by them.
6.5 To help you budget we will send you interim bills for our charges and expenses on a regular basis while work is in progress.These will be bills on account, not final bills.We will send you a final bill after completion of work.
7. Interest
We reserve the right to charge interest on outstanding accounts at the rate permitted from time to time under the provisions of the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998
8. Credit Card Payments
We reserve the right to charge a handling fee of 3% plus VAT on any credit card payment (or series of payments) exceeding £500.This charge is made on a cost-reimbursement basis to compensate us for the corresponding charge levied by credit card companies.
9. Tax
9.1 Please note that our retainer does not include the provision of advice on the tax implications of any work that we are carrying out for you or how any transaction may best be structured with a view to mitigating liability.
9.2 Advice on taxation issues is offered and available only if specifically requested by you and to the extent agreed by us in writing.Where appropriate we will provide such advice in conjunction (with your agreement) with your accountant and/or specialist tax counsel.
10. Professional Regulation
10.1 We operate in accordance with the Code of Conduct prescribed by The Solicitors’ Regulation Authority
10.2 You may access the text of the Code of Conduct through our website (please refer to the “useful links” tab).
11. Limitation of Liability
11.1 Our liability to you is limited to losses, damages, costs and expenses (“losses”) caused by our negligence or wilful default. We will not be liable if such losses are due to the acts or omissions of any other person or due to the provision to us of incomplete, misleading or false information. The aggregate liability, whether to you or any third party and whether in contract, tort or otherwise of this firm, its partners, employees and agents for any losses in any way connected with any of the services provided to you (and including interest) shall not exceed £3,000,000.00. (THREE MILLION POUNDS).
11.2 Any partner, employee or agent of this firm may rely upon and enforce this limitation in that person’s own name for that person’s own benefit.
11.3 Nothing in these Terms and Conditions or in our letter of engagement excludes or restricts any liability arising from fraud or dishonesty or reckless disregard of our professional obligations or liabilities which cannot be limited or excluded by law.
12. Time Limits
In certain circumstances the transaction into which you have entered may impose important time limits with which you may be required to comply in the future.This is particularly so in the case of a lease.It is not our responsibility to remind you of any such date falling after completion of the transaction and which is not directly related to the completion of the transaction that we have undertaken on your behalf.
13. Storage of Papers and Deeds
13.1 After completion of your transaction we are entitled to keep all your papers and documents while money is owing to us.We will keep our file of papers (except for any of your papers which you ask to be returned to you) for no more than 6 years and on the understanding that we have your authority to destroy the files 6 years following completion of the transaction.
13.2 We have separate facilities for the storage of deeds and documents of value.We are generally prepared to hold such documents on your behalf without making a charge but reserve the right to do so where substantial volumes of documents are deposited with us.
14. Complaints Handling Procedure
14.1 We are confident that we will give you a high quality of service in all respects.However, if you have any queries or complaints about our work for you please take them up first with the fee earner who is handling your transaction.If that does not resolve the problem to your satisfaction or you would prefer not to speak to him then please request to speak to our managing partner.
14.2 All firms of solicitors are obliged to attempt to resolve problems that clients may have with the service provided. We operate an internal complaints and dispute resolution service for that purpose. It is therefore important that you immediately raise any concerns with us.
14.3 You are entitled to receive a copy of our complaints procedure upon request. A complaint can include a complaint about our invoice. You are entitled to contact the Legal Services Ombudsman in the unlikely event that you are dissatisfied with the outcome of our complaints procedure. In such a case, you have six months from the date of our final decision under our own complaints procedure to bring a complaint to the Legal Services Ombudsman whose address is Office of the Legal Services Ombudsman, Third Floor, Sunlight House, Quay Street, Manchester M3 3JZ. If your complaint relates to an invoice you may also have the right to apply for assessment under Part III of The Solicitors Act 1974. (If you do apply to the Court for assessment, the Legal Servicves Ombudsman may refuse to investigate a complaint relating to an invoice).
15. Money Laundering Regulations
15.1 Proof of Identity - Individual
The law requires solicitors as well as banks, building societies and others, to obtain satisfactory evidence of the identity of their clients. When you first instruct us we will ask you to provide us with either of the following:
- your current photocard driving licence, correctly showing your current address, or
- your passport, plus an item of evidence to prove your address, such as a recent utility bill, recent council tax demand or bank statement.
If you cannot provide such evidence please tell us and we will advise what alternative evidence may be acceptable.
15.2 Proof of Identity – Corporate
Where we are acting for a company we must ask you to provide us with:
- the same documentation for each officer and beneficial owner of the company as is required for individuals under 15.1 above.
- a statement on the company’s notepaper certifying the identity of the beneficial owners of the company.
15.3 Confidentiality
Solicitors are under a professional and legal obligation to keep the affairs of clients confidential. This obligation, however, is subject to a statutory exception.Legislation on money laundering and terrorist financing places solicitors under a legal duty in certain circumstances to disclose information to the Serious Organised Crime Agency.Where a solicitor knows or suspects that a transaction on behalf of a client involves money laundering the solicitor may be required by law to make a money laundering disclosure.If that happens, we may not be able to inform you that a disclosure has been made or of the reasons for it because the law prevents “tipping off”.
15.4 Cash
Please note that we are normally only able to accept cash up to a limit of £1000 in any 28 day period. If clients circumvent this policy by depositing cash direct with our bank we reserve the right to charge for any additional checks we deem necessary regarding the source of the funds.
15.5 Unidentified Third Parties
Please note that we can not accept funds from a third party (i.e. a party who is not out client) unless that party has, too, complied with the provisions as to verification of identity referred to at 15.1 above.
16. Conclusion
We hope that you have understood these Terms and Conditions. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any queries arising.
Please do not send us any funds until the identification procedures have been carried out.
