Wellington: 01952 641 291 | Newport: 01952 979 700 | Shifnal: 01952 460 777 hello@parrycarver.co.uk

Terms & Conditions

INTRODUCTION

We aim to offer our clients quality legal advice with a personal service at a fair cost. This statement confirms the basis on which we will provide our professional services.

Unless otherwise agreed, these Terms and Conditions of Business shall apply to any future instructions given by you to us. By instructing or continuing to instruct us, you are deemed to have accepted these Terms and Conditions. These Terms and Conditions can only be altered in writing.

We are only able to progress matters on your instructions. We therefore ask that you promptly provide instructions and information to us when requested to do so and that if there are periods during which you will not be available, you warn us in advance and supply alternative contact details.

If two or more persons are instructing us jointly on the same matter then, unless you advise us in writing to the contrary, we shall be entitled to assume that any one of them has the authority to give instructions for all. Everyone jointly instructing us will be individually responsible for the payment of all our fees.

Our commitment to you

We will:

  • REPRESENT your interests and keep your business confidential
  • EXPLAIN to you the legal work that may be required, and the prospects of a successful outcome
  • MAKE SURE that you understand the likely degree of financial risk that you will be taking on.
  • KEEP YOU informed of progress or, if there is none, when you are likely to hear from us.
  • TRY to avoid using technical legal language when writing to you
  • DEAL with your queries promptly.

 

HOURS OF BUSINESS

Our offices at Wellington, Shifnal and Newport are open from 9.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday. Messages can be left on the answerphone outside those hours.

 

PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR WORK

The person responsible for dealing with your work and his or her status is shown in the Client Care letter accompanying these Terms & Conditions. That Fee Earner’s assistant/secretary, who may be able to deal with your queries and who will be pleased to take any message for you, is also shown in the accompanying letter. 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 partner of this firm with final responsibility for your work is named in the accompanying letter.

 

COMMUNICATIONS

We will aim to communicate with you by such a reasonable method as you may request. We may need to virus check discs or email. Unless you withdraw consent, we will communicate with others when appropriate by email, text or fax but we cannot be responsible for the security of correspondence and documents sent by email or fax.

We take our level of service very seriously. In order to maintain our high level of service we will provide you with an update of your matter in writing on a regular basis. If appropriate we will agree the intervals in which you want to be updated. If your matter is on-going we will update you on the costs of your matter at least every six months. Furthermore, we will update you on whether the likely outcomes still justify the likely costs and risks associated with your matter whenever there is a material change in circumstances. We will update you on the likely timescales for each stage of this matter and any important changes in those estimates.

 

CONFIDENTIALITY

We will treat any information which is confidential to you and which we obtain as a result of acting for you as strictly confidential, save:-

  • for the purpose of acting for you; or
  • for disclosures to our auditors or other advisers or for the purposes of our professional indemnity insurance; or
  • as otherwise required by law or other regulatory authority to which we are subject.

We shall be under no duty to disclose to you (or take into account in the course of providing the Services) any information acquired by us in acting for any other client or any information in respect of which we owe a duty of confidentiality to a third party.

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.

Your Duty of Confidentiality

Our advice and other communications with you are confidential and may not, without our consent, be disclosed by you to any third party (other than to your employees and agents who require access and who do not disclose it further) or otherwise made public except as required by law or other regulatory authority to which you are subject.

If, as a result of our acting for you, you acquire any information in respect of which we notify you that we owe a duty of confidentiality to a third party you will keep it confidential and not use it without our consent.

 

OUTSOURCING/AUDITING OF FILES

Occasionally we may ask other companies or people to do work on our files, such as photocopying, typing or costing, to ensure that this is done promptly and in the most cost-efficient manner. We will always seek a confidentiality agreement with these outsourced providers. If you do not want your file to be outsourced, please tell us as soon as possible.

Also, as a law firm we are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). Their rules can be consulted at: www.sra.org.uk/handbook . The SRA need, as our regulator, to be able to inspect client files. By signing and returning a copy of the Client Care letter you are agreeing that we may allow the SRA or other outsourced parties, to have your file for inspection.

 

CHARGES AND EXPENSES

  • Unless you have been provided with a written fixed quotation our fees are charged wholly or partly by an hourly rate. This hourly rate depends on the type and complexity of the work involved. You will be advised of the hourly rate at the outset of your matter.
  • VAT will be added to our charges and any disbursements (if applicable) at the rate applicable when the work is carried out. The current VAT rate is 20%.
  • We will provide you with an estimate of what we expect our fees to be once we have sufficient information in relation to your matter to enable us to do so.
  • Time spent on your matter will include meetings with you and perhaps others, any time spent travelling to appointments, considering, preparing and working on papers, written correspondence to include letters, faxes and emails and making and receiving telephone calls.
  • Routine letters that we write and routine telephone calls that we make and receive will be charged as units of one tenth of an hour. Other non-routine letters and telephone calls will be charged on a time basis.
  • In addition to the time spent, our charges may include an “up lift” to take into account various factors including (but not limited to) the complexity of the issues, the speed at which action must be taken, the expertise or specialist knowledge that the case requires and, if appropriate, the value of the property or subject matter involved.
  • The hourly rate will be reviewed on 1st January each year and we will advise you, in writing, of any increased rate from the review date.
  • Factors beyond our control may result in an increase in the complexity, or the amount of time that the matter takes, in which event our initial estimate or quotation may need to be revised. If this arises, we will supply a revised estimate or quotation with an explanation of the reason for the increase. We will require your written agreement to the revised estimate or quotation before we can continue to act.
  • Quotations and estimates are only valid if confirmed in writing. Unless accepted, quotations expire one month from the date the quotation is given.
  • We reserve the right to make an additional charge for certain services such as home visits, international and long distance telephone calls and faxes, courier charges, and bank transfers.
  • We may ask you to make a payment to us on account of anticipated disbursements (that is, fees and expenses paid by us on your behalf) such as Land or Probate Registry fees, court fees, experts’ fees and counsel’s fees including VAT where applicable. It is a condition of our agreeing to act, and of our continuing to act, that clients promptly meet any request for payments on account. Please be aware that we have no obligation to make such payments unless you have provided us with cleared funds for that purpose. We will not accept responsibility for any loss or additional expenses incurred by you as a result of your failure to provide cleared funds which we have requested from you.
  • We reserve the right to submit interim invoices to you for payment if a matter is likely to be protracted.
  • If, for any reason, we cease to represent you or if a matter does not proceed to completion you will be responsible for our fees for all work done up to that date and any disbursements incurred on your behalf unless we have agreed otherwise in writing beforehand.
  • Fees and disbursements invoiced to you are due for payment immediately on delivery of our invoice. Interest will be charged from that date on any amounts not paid within 30 days of delivery of the bill, calculated on a daily basis at 8% above the base rate from time to time of the Bank of England. If any invoice remains unpaid after 30 days from the date of delivery, we reserve the right to terminate our retainer, that is to suspend work on your files and, ultimately, to refuse to continue to act for you.
  • If we are in possession of any monies due to you, for instance damages recovered for you or the proceeds of sale of a property, we will deduct any fees and disbursements due to us from those monies.
  • We will review your account on a monthly basis and where appropriate deliver bills at those intervals. In the event that payment is not received when requested we reserve the right to decline to act and the full amount work done up to that date will be charged.
  • Accounts should be settled within 14 days.

 

OTHER PARTIES’ COSTS AND DISBURSEMENTS

In some 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 which you incur with us. You have to pay our charges and expenses in the first place and any amounts which can be recovered will be a contribution towards them. The other person will not be liable to pay the VAT element of your costs if you are able to recover the VAT yourself.

 

PAYMENT ARRANGEMENTS

Please be aware that any payment which we receive from you should be made in the following forms:

  • Cash (Not exceeding £1000)
  • Bank Draft
  • Debit Card *
  • Personal Credit Card
  • *NB. We are unable to accept high value debit or credit card payments for transaction deposits.
  • Cheque (which must be received in sufficient time for clearance to meet any deadline in connection with the transaction, not less than 10 working days prior thereto.)
  • Telegraphic Transfer to our own bank provided that BEFORE you instruct your bank to make the payment you advise us in advance AND you supply the full name, address, sort code and account number of your bank, and the amount being sent.
  • Subject to prior approval you may be able to engage in a Direct Debit arrangement, which would provide for scheduled payments to be made on a regular basis, therefore spreading the cost of our professional fees.

 

Cash payments:

The Firm’s policy is to only accept up to £1000 in cash payments from clients. Please discuss directly with Neil Southern, Practice Manager, if you are not able to pay the balance of the fees / disbursements via your bank account or by cheque.  If you try to avoid this policy by depositing cash directly with our bank, we may decide to charge you for any additional checks we decide are necessary to prove the source of the funds. Where we have to pay money to you, it will be paid by cheque or bank transfer. It will not be paid in cash or to a third party.

 

Payments by third parties

We WILL NOT accept payments by third parties except in exceptional circumstances and only with prior notice and agreement, and will require acceptable evidence of identity and address before the payment is made.

We reserve the right to cease acting for you if any payments are made by you or on your behalf in breach of the above requirements. We will not accept responsibility for any loss or additional expenses incurred by you as a result of such termination, or any delay in the transaction caused while we verify the source of the funds. Any additional charges incurred as a result of such delay will be your responsibility and must be paid before we continue to act for you.

 

PAYMENTS MADE BY US

In relation to sale or re mortgage transactions, by accepting our terms of business you will be giving to us EXPRESS AUTHORITY to discharge all mortgages, charges and other encumbrances that are registered against your property including undertakings given to third parties (such as banks or other financial institutions) to discharge monies due to them out of the proceeds of sale. This authority must be considered as irrevocable.

In relation to monies due to our client(s) during or at the end of a transaction will only be paid to these lawfully entitled to receive the same. We do not accept details of Bank Accounts via email.

 

IDENTITY AND DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS

Solicitors are not allowed to disclose information about a client’s affairs without the client’s authority. By signing these Terms and Conditions of Business 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.

We will not be liable for any loss, damage or delay a rising out of the firm’s compliance with any statutory or regulatory requirement.

 

MONEY LAUNDERING REGULATIONS/THE PROCEEDS OF CRIME ACT 2017

We are required to comply with the Money Laundering regulations and the requirements of the Data Protection Legislation and in particular to verify the identity and permanent address of all new Clients.  This is to ensure that the policy adopted worldwide by Financial and Government Authorities to prevent the use of laundering systems to disguise the proceeds of crime is achieved. We confirm Parry Carver is the data controller. Neil Southern is the nominated representative/data protection officer and we will only process any documentation or personal data received from you in respect of client due diligence for the purposes of preventing money laundering and terrorist financing unless (a) use of that data is permitted by or under any enactment or (b) you give your express consent for the documentation or personal data to be used for other forms of processing.

At the commencement of each and every transaction, you are requested to supply both of the following; one item from List A and one item from List B (please note we require certified copies if you are sending these by post or if you are bringing in the original documents to our offices – we will make certified copies here)

LIST A – Proof of Identity
1. Current fully signed Passport*
2. Current full UK Driving Licence (paper) or UK Photocard Driving Licence.
LIST B – Address Verification
1. A bill for the supply of electricity, gas, water or telephone services (provided it is fewer than three (3) months old).  Mobile phone bills are not acceptable.
2. Television Licence renewal notice.
3. Council Tax bill (provided it is fewer than three (3) months old).
4. Recent Tax Coding Notice.
5. Recent Mortgage Statement.
6. Credit Card/Bank Statement (provided it is fewer than three (3) months old) showing current address.

*If you do not have a current passport we can accept your full birth certificate and a document showing your National Insurance number for instance a P45, P60, National Insurance card or a letter from a Government agency showing your National Insurance number.

Under the provisions of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (“POCA”), we may be required to make a report to the relevant authorities if at any time we become aware of or suspect (whether from you or any other person) the existence of the proceeds of crime in relation to any Services on which we are engaged. Our obligation to make such a report will, in certain circumstances, override our duty of solicitor/client confidentiality and we may not be permitted to inform you whether or not we have made, or might intend to make, such a report.

We may terminate the provision of any Services to you, or be instructed to do so by the relevant authorities, if you fail to comply with your obligation to provide evidence of identity or we suspect that you or any other party connected with you or with the matter is involved in activities prescribed by POCA.

The anti- money laundering guidance which UK banks and other finance services firms must adhere to is issued by the Joint Money Laundering Steering Group (“JMLSG”). The JMLSG considers all clients with funds deposited in a law firm’s pooled client account to be beneficial owners of that account. The JMLSG does not require banks to routinely identify the beneficial owners of law firm’s pooled accounts, as they do with most other accounts they issue. Pooled client accounts are granted this exemption on the proviso that this information is available upon request. In the event of our bank requesting information about the beneficial owners of our pooled client account, you agree to us disclosing your details to them.

By signing these terms and conditions of business 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.

We will not be liable for any loss, damage or delay arising out of the firm’s compliance with any statutory or regulatory requirement.

 

STORAGE OF PAPER & DOCUMENTS

Upon completion of any matter for you we are entitled to retain your papers, documents or other property held by us if there is any money owing to us in respect of our charges until you have paid any outstanding amount, including interest.

We shall keep our file of papers {except for any of your papers which you ask to be returned to you) in storage but on the understanding that we have your authority to destroy the file six (6) years from the date of delivery of our final invoice in respect of the matter.

We shall not, however, destroy documents which you specifically ask us to deposit ln safe custody.

We do not normally make a charge for retrieving stored papers or deeds in respect of continuing or new instructions to act for you. However, we reserve the right to make a charge based on the time we spend reading papers, writing fetters and other work necessary to comply with your instructions.

lf we are given or asked to take custody of any documents or deeds belonging to you, those documents or deeds will be retained in our storage system to your order until their return is requested by you or separate arrangements have been made with your consent. We reserve the right to withhold release of any documents or deeds until payment of any outstanding charges is made by you. We will make every reasonable effort to keep documents left with us safe and undamaged and in the event of loss or damage will help to restore or replicate any document, but we do not guarantee absolute safe custody and if this is required any deeds or documents should be deposited with a bank. We do not accept responsibility for the loss or damage of any item which we hold on your behalf unless we expressly agree in writing to the contrary.

 

DATA PROTECTION

You have a series of rights outlined under Data Protection legislation over how your personal data is used, including erasure in specific circumstances.  However, we may not always be able to agree with the exercise of such rights, as often your personal data remains necessary in relation to the purpose for which it was originally collected and processed.  Further information is available in our Privacy Policy, a copy of which accompanies these Terms of Business, is available on request [or can be viewed on our website at any time].

 

What personal information we process

The categories of personal data we process include general personal data (which includes normal personal data, personal identity, email addresses and personal financial data) and special categories of personal data if these have been voluntarily provided to us (which includes ethnicity, nationality and medical history).

 

How we use your personal information

When your file is open, the personal data is necessary in relation to the purpose for which it was originally intended. We process your personal information to fulfil our contract with you, or where you or we have a legitimate interest in doing so, where otherwise permitted by law, or to comply with applicable law and regulation.  We use your personal information for:

  • Service provision and internal processing (i.e. to assess and/or provide and to service your matter).
  • Management of relationship (e.g. to develop your relationship with us).
  • Resolving queries.
  • Training and service review (e.g. to help us enhance our services and the quality of those services).
  • Statistical analysis (e.g. to help us enhance our products and services or delivery channels to keep costs down).
  • Complying with legal obligations (e.g. to prevent, investigate and prosecute crime, including fraud and money laundering).

 

When your matter is completed and / or your file is closed, we may still process your personal information where we have a legitimate interest in doing so, where we are permitted by law, or to comply with applicable laws and regulation.

 

Examples of such instances will include:

  • Complying with legal obligations for statutory and regulatory requirements including for example, HMRC Returns, complaint handling, anti-money laundering, reporting to our regulatory body – the Solicitors Regulation Authority;
  • Archiving and Storage of your file for the periods outlined in our Retention Policies – see section [29] of these Terms of Business. (Archiving and Storage of personal data is still classed as a processing activity even though it is not being regularly accessed and remains securely locked away); and
  • Our legitimate interests to conduct conflict of interest checks, statistical analysis and research to help us enhance our products and services.

 

 

How We Share Your Information

  • We may share your personal data with a range of organisations which enable us to fulfil our contract with you, or where we have legitimate interests to do so, or otherwise are required by applicable law and regulation.  We can provide more details specific to your personal data on request.
  • For further information on how we use your data please see our Privacy Policy which is available on request or can be viewed and downloaded at

 

You have a right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (https://ww.ico.org.uk ), which regulates the processing of personal data. You may also seek a judicial remedy.

 

CONVEYANCING MATTERS

In conveyancing matters when acting for you as a purchaser, we may also be acting for your proposed lender and as such we have a duty to fully reveal to your lender all relevant facts about the purchase and mortgage. This includes but is not limited to:

  • Any differences between your mortgage application and information we receive during the transaction;
  • Any cash-back payments or discount schemes that a seller is giving you.
  • Any payments received by a third party.

 

THIRD PARTY RIGHTS

Unless we specifically agree to the contrary in writing, we shall act only on your behalf in relation to the work that we do for you and the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 shall not apply.

Any legal advice that we give you is for your own use only and we shall not be liable to anyone else in relation to that advice (including anyone that you pass or transmit it to) unless we agree to be liable to the recipient(s) in writing.

 

ACTING FOR 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.

 

HOLDING CLIENTS MONEY

  • 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 2011, interest will be calculated and paid to you at the rate from time to time payable on our bank’s Designated Client Accounts. The period for which interest will be paid will normally run from the date on which funds are received by us until the date of issue of any cheque from our Client Account.
  • In the event that the calculated total interest accruing to a client for the duration of a matter is less than £20 then no interest will be paid to the client on the basis that it is a de-minimis amount. The firm takes the view that any amount below £20 is reasonably retained by the firm to cover the administrative cost of dealing with client funds.
  • If a client instructs us in writing, monies on which interest may be payable can be held in separate deposit accounts exclusively related to that client and designated by the use of the client’s name. Where clients require us to open separate deposit accounts, we will do so. Naturally this involves additional administrative work and a charge for opening and operating such an account may be made. Transfers between designated deposit accounts and our general clients account will also be subject to a charge for each transfer. If you wish us to hold funds in this way please instruct us in writing. We will not open such an account on our own accord due to the large volume of client matters we deal with on a daily basis.
  • In common with most other Solicitors and Banks, we charge a fee + VAT for arranging the transfer of funds through the banking system (telegraphic transfers or other such payments) and for the provision of bank drafts. A charge will also be made where a cheque credited to your account with us is dishonoured. This does not apply to cheques drawn by debtors in our favour in respect of debt recovery matters which we are handling for you.
  • Where a client obtains borrowing from a lender in a property transaction, we will ask the lender to arrange that the loan is telegraphed the day before the completion date. This will enable us to ensure that the necessary funds are available in time for completion. Please be aware that the lender may charge interest from the date of issue of their mortgage advance.

 

FINANCIAL SERVICES COMPENSATION SCHEME

In the event of a banking failure it is unlikely that the firm would be held liable for any losses of client account money. If a corporate body client is not considered a small company by FSCS, then they will not be eligible for compensation. We currently hold our client account funds in the HSBC Clients Premium Deposit Account. The £85,000 Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) limit will apply to each individual client so if you hold other personal monies yourself in the same bank as our client account, the limit remains £85,000 in total, so it may be advisable to check with your own bank as some banks now trade under different trading names. In the event of a bank failure you agree to us disclosing details to the FSCS.

However, with effect from 3rd July 2015, the FSCS will provide a £1 million protection limit for temporary high balances held with a bank, building society or credit union if it fails.  Further details relating to what constitutes a temporary high balance and the rules relating to the protection can be found at www.fscs.org.uk

In the event of a bank failure, you agree to us disclosing details to the FSCS.

 

FCA / INSURANCE MEDIATION FINANCIAL SERVICES

If during the course of the matter upon which we are advising you, you need advice on investments, we may have to refer you to someone who is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, as we are not. However, as we are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, we may be able to provide certain limited investment services where these are closely linked to the legal work we are doing for you.

If you have any problem with the services, we have provided for you, then please let us know. We will try to resolve any problem between ourselves.  If for any reason we are unable to resolve the problem between us, then we are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and complaints and redress mechanisms are provided through the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Legal Ombudsman.

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 Ombudsman is the independent complaints handling body of the Law Society.

 

INSURANCE MEDIATION

As we have said, we are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. However, we are included on the register maintained by the Financial Conduct 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 Solicitors Regulation Authority. The register can be accessed via the Financial Conduct Authority website at www.fca.org.uk. 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 Ombudsman is the independent complaints handling body of the Law Society.

 

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 in writing immediately. If we can undertake the research necessary to resolve the issue, we will do so and advise you accordingly. If we cannot, we may be able to identify a source of assistance for you.

 

CONFLICTS

“Conflict of Interest” means any situation where:-

we owe (or, if we accepted your instructions, would owe) separate duties to act in the best interests of two or more clients in relation to the same or a related matter and those duties conflict, or there is a significant risk that those duties may conflict; or

our duty to act in your best interests in relation to a matter conflicts, or there is a significant risk that it may conflict, with our own interests in relation to that or a related matter; or

we have confidential information in relation to a client or former client, and you wish to instruct us on a matter where:-

that information might reasonably be expected to be material; and

you have an interest adverse to our other client or former client.

Third Parties

Once we have agreed to act for you in relation to a matter, we will not act for a third party in relation to the same matter if there is a Conflict of Interest between that third party’s interests and your interests.

Instructions Creating a Conflict of Interest

We may decline to act for you where accepting your instructions would create a Conflict of Interest or cause us to break an existing agreement with a third party.

Consent

Where our professional rules allow, and subject to satisfying the requirements of those rules (for example by implementing an information barrier), we may act for you and another client where a Conflict of Interest would otherwise exist, provided that we have the consent of both parties.

Cessation of Services

If, whether through a change in circumstances or otherwise, we find that we have agreed to provide services to you in circumstances which give, or could give, rise to a conflict of interest we will discuss with you how to deal with the conflict and may, be obliged to stop providing services to you and/or to all other clients affected by the Conflict of Interest.

 

TERMINATION

  • You may terminate your instructions to us in writing at any time.
  • 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.
  • We will stop acting for you immediately if you show any aggression or abuse directed towards our staff, this will not be tolerated. Aggressive or abusive behaviour includes language (whether verbal or written) that may cause staff to feel afraid, threatened or abused and may include threats, personal verbal abuse, derogatory remarks and rudeness.
  • On termination of the relationship between us you must pay us for all work we have done and expenses and liabilities (for example, under an undertaking) we have incurred on your behalf but not then invoiced or paid by you. You will also be responsible for and pay us for all work we do and expenses we incur in closing our file and ceasing to act for you. Where the courts are involved you must consent (or if you do not you will be deemed to consent) to an application to the court for the name of our firm to be removed from the record and must pay all costs and expenses incurred. We have and shall retain a lien on all your papers, deeds and documents until all monies owing to us or for which you are responsible are paid to us.

 

REGULATIONS AFFECTING YOUR CANCELLATION RIGHTS

The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013:

If we have not met you either in person (because, for example, instructions and signing of the contract documentation is taking place by telephone/mail, e mail or on-line – ie: by way of a “distance” contract) or we have taken instructions and a contract has been concluded away from our business premises (because, for example, we have met with you at home – ie: by way of an “off-premises” contract) and the contract was entered into on or after 14 June 2014, you have the right to cancel this contract within 14 calendar days of entering into the contract without giving any reason.

The cancellation period will expire after 14 calendar days from the day of the conclusion of the contract.

To exercise your right to cancel, you must inform us of your decision to cancel this contract by a clear statement (eg: a letter sent by post, fax or e mail).

Should you require the work to be commenced within the 14 calendar day cancellation period, you must provide your agreement to that in writing, by e mail, post or fax to enable us to do so.  Where you have provided your consent for work to commence within the 14 calendar day cancellation period and you later exercise your right to cancel, you will be liable for any costs, VAT and disbursements incurred up to the point of cancellation.  Unless you make an express request for us to commence work within the 14 day period, we will not be able to undertake any work during that period.

 

COMPLAINTS

Our aim is to give our clients the best possible service at a competitive price. We are confident that you will be pleased with the services we provide. However, should there be any aspect of our service with which you are unhappy, please raise your concern in the first instance with the person dealing with your case, or their supervising partner if applicable, who will take all reasonable steps to resolve your concerns. If they are unable to resolve any problem quickly, we operate an internal complaint handling system to help us to resolve the problem between ourselves.  If for any reason we are unable to resolve the problem between us, then we are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, which also provides a complaints redress scheme.  We have a complaints policy which can be provided on request.  The Complaints Manager, responsible for dealing with all complaints handling is Mr Neil Southern, Practice Manager. In order to avoid any misunderstandings, we would prefer any formal complaint to the Complaints manager to be made in writing.

If you are not satisfied with our handling of your complaint you can ask the Legal Ombudsman to deal with it and they he can be contacted by telephone on 0300 555-0333 or in the alternative you can email enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk or can be viewed on their website www.legalombudsman.org,uk.. If you prefer to write then the address is: PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV1 9WJ. Normally you will need to bring a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving a final written response from us about your complaint. The complaint must be brought6 years from the date of the act or omission giving rise to the complaint or alternatively 3 years from the date you should reasonably have known there are grounds for complaint (if the act/omission took place before 6 October 2010 or was more than 6 years ago).

 

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

Unless we agree otherwise, we retain copyright and other intellectual property rights in all written material prepared for or supplied to you. This copyright will not be transferred to you, although you have our licence to use our work for the purposes for which it was created provided we have been paid all of our fees and expenses relating to the transaction or matter in respect of which our work was created. We have the right to be identified as the author of the work and to object to any misuse of it. You agree that we may store any counsel’s opinion or other document created in the course of our work for you in our case management system. We will ensure the system is secure, confidentiality is maintained and that any identifying references are removed.

 

LOSS OF PROFIT

We shall not be liable for any indirect loss or damage or any loss of profit, income, production or accruals arising in any circumstances whatsoever, whether in contract, tort, under statute or otherwise, and howsoever caused (including but not limited to our negligence or non-performance).

 

REFERRALS AND COMMISSIONS

                If you have been referred to us by an introducer with whom we have a financial arrangement:

  • We shall not disclose your information to that introducer unless you consent;
  • We shall make clear the amounts involved in your client care letter;
  • If we also act for the introducer in the same matter and a conflict of interest arises, we may have to cease acting for you;
  • Any advice we give will be independent and you can raise questions on all aspects of the matter.

We are prevented by the Solicitors’ Code of Conduct from making a secret profit from our relationship with you. If any occasion arises where there is potential for us to earn commission, for example if we introduce you to another practice to undertake work for you which we cannot do ourselves, we will establish a separate written agreement with you to deal with the acceptance and allocation of any commission arising. 

 

EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY

We are committed to promoting equality and diversity in all of our dealings with clients, third parties and employees. We shall treat everyone equally and with the same attention, courtesy and respect and we, in return, expect the same from our clients in their treatment of our staff. We reserve the right to terminate the contract between us, should we feel that there has been unacceptable behaviour towards a member of staff.

Please contact us if you would like a copy of our Equality and Diversity Policy.

 

PROFESSIONAL INDEMNITY INSURANCE    

We maintain professional indemnity insurance in accordance with the rules of the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Details of the insurers are as follows: WRB Underwriting / Zurich Insurance Plc Policy No. B0509FINPE2250265.

 

CRIMINAL FINANCES ACT 2017

We are committed to promoting compliance with the requirements of the Criminal Finances Act 2017 within its practices as well as in those areas in which it has influence.  We do not tolerate tax evasion, or the facilitation thereof in any circumstances, whether committed by or facilitated by a client, personnel or associated persons/companies.

 

HELP TO BUY ISA SCHEME INFORMATION

The Help to Buy ISA Scheme was launched by HM Treasury on 1st December 2015.  If you have taken out a Help to Buy ISA, then you may be eligible for a bonus payment of up to 25% of the closing balance of the Help to Buy ISA subject to a minimum bonus payment of £400 and a maximum of £3000 and provided that you and the property you are purchasing meet the eligibility criteria set out in HM Treasury ISA Scheme Rules.  The fee earner with conduct of your matter (who under the Help to Buy ISA Scheme is known as the Eligible Conveyancer) will be able to advise you on eligibility and, if appropriate, will undertake the necessary process to apply for any bonus payment.

If you are purchasing a property through the Help to Buy ISA Scheme, HM Treasury will be the Data Controller of any relevant personal data that is given, via the Eligible Conveyancer, to HM Treasury and to the Administrator and / or any sub-contractor of HM Treasury or of the Administrator, for the purposes of the Help to Buy: ISA Scheme.

The information will be disclosed to HM Treasury and the Administrator for the purposes of verifying the eligibility of a Help to Buy: ISA Bonus payment and payment of Bonus funds, carrying out audits of Eligible Conveyancers and any investigations or compliance work in accordance with the Scheme Rules.

By signing and dating a copy of these Terms of Business (or) the accompanying client care letter (or) the buyer questionnaire, you agree to us providing all necessary Relevant Personal Data to HM Treasury and to the Administrator and / or to any sub-contractor of HM Treasury or of the Administrator and to the processing of your Relevant Personal Data by any or all of the aforementioned parties.

 

OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS

  • Once a particular matter has been concluded we cannot accept ongoing responsibility for reminding clients of changes in the law which might affect them or of critical dates in respect of such matters as rent reviews, lease renewals, the exercise of options, court proceedings and the like. We will only do so where we have accepted specific instructions in writing from you to advise you upon specific changes in law or to deal with the relevant matters immediately prior to the critical date in question.
  • In the interests of efficiency, much of the information that you give us will be recorded on word or data processing systems. By instructing us, you are deemed to have consented to this. Our firm is registered under the provisions of the Data Protection Legislation. Information held by us is confidential and will not be disclosed by us to a third party without your consent unless we are required to do so by law, including but not limited to, under the rules of professional conduct, following a request by the police or other law enforcement organisations or under Money Laundering Regulations that we are obliged to comply with from time to time. In instructing us you give us consent to disclose such information as may be necessary for the successful and efficient conclusion of the matter upon which your instructions are based.
  • It is important that you tell us in writing of any change in your address as soon as possible but in any event within seven days. Unless you do so we shall be entitled to treat your last address known to us as your address for all purposes including correspondence, notices and proceedings.
  • Our failure to enforce at any time or for any period any one or more of these terms shall not be a waiver of them or of the right at any time subsequently to enforce all or any applicable terms and conditions.

 

By signing the Client Care Letter we have provided, you confirm that you have read and understood and accept these Terms and Conditions of Business.

 

Parry Carver Solicitors

7 Church Street, Wellington, Telford, Shropshire.  TF1 1BX

Telephone: 01952 641291

 

The Forum, Victoria Road, Shifnal, Shropshire. TF11 8FE

Telephone: 01952 460777

 

64 Upper Bar, Newport, Shropshire. TF10 7EJ

Telephone 01952 797900

 

SRA 71413

 

hello@parrycarver.co.uk

 

updated: January 2023

  

NOTICE OF RIGHT TO CANCEL

THE CONSUMER CONTRACTS (INFORMATION, CANCELLATION AND ADDITIONAL CHARGES) REGULATIONS 2013

You have the right to cancel this contract within 14 days without giving reason.  This is called the cancellation period. To exercise the right to cancel, you must inform us of your decision to cancel this contract by a clear statement (eg: a letter sent by post, a fax or an email).

You may use the attached model Cancellation Form, but it is not obligatory.

To meet the cancellation deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right to cancel before the cancellation period has expired.

Effects of Cancellation:  If you requested to begin performance of services during the cancellation period, you shall pay us an amount which is in proportion to what has been performed until you have communicated to us your cancellation from this contract, in comparison with the full coverage of the contract.

 

“……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

CANCELLATION FORM

To: Parry Carver Solicitors

I / We [*] hereby give notice that I / We [*] cancel my / our [*] contract of sale for the supply of the following services [*],

Name:

Address:

Signature:

Date:

[*} Delete as appropriate.

 

Name of relevant Fee Earner or Department :  ………………………………………………………………….

You can return this form by:

  • Post to: 7 Church Street, Wellington, Telford, Shropshire TF1 1BX
  • E mail to: hello@parrycarver.co.uk
  • Fax to: 01952 257519