General Terms of Business
We currently maintain client accounts with Royal Bank of Scotland plc and Abbey National plc
CARTER LEMON CAMERONS LLP
As a UK limited liability partnership is a body corporate, we are entitled to refer to 'members' of the LLP rather than 'partners'. However, we have decided to retain the traditional title of 'partner'. When in these terms of business or otherwise we refer to an individual being a 'partner', we use that title to refer to a member of the LLP or an employee or consultant with equivalent standing and qualifications. We refer to the LLP below as the firm.
OUR AIM
We aim to provide value for money, which means charging a reasonable cost for high quality legal services. The firm seeks to offer all clients an efficient, responsive, proactive and friendly approach. To help achieve this, each client has a nominated Client Partner to provide a regular and familiar point of contact and who has ultimate responsibility for the client’s affairs within the firm. The Client Partner may involve other partners to deal with your individual matters according to the areas of specialist advice required.
CONDUCT OF YOUR WORK
Each matter undertaken for you has a Matter Partner assigned to it. The Matter Partner is responsible for the management and supervision of the work to be carried out. Matter Partner and Client Partner may be the same person and the Matter Partner may enlist the assistance of one or more assistant or trainee solicitors or other members of staff (qualified or not) whom we consider to have the requisite expertise. If involved, they will be familiar with the file and can be contacted in the event of the Matter Partner being unavailable for any reason.
We shall assume, unless you advise us to the contrary in writing, that we have your authority to conduct your matter in such a way as we consider appropriate. This authority extends to instructing counsel (a barrister) and expert witnesses, and incurring all disbursements (expenses we incur on your behalf). We aim to keep you informed in advance about disbursements incurred on your behalf. All fees arising out of such instructions and all disbursements are payable by you.
Sometimes conveyancing, probate or company work involves insurance products or investments. We are not authorised by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). However, we are included on the register maintained by the FSA (accessible via the FSA website www.fsa.gov.uk/register), so that we can carry on insurance mediation activity, which is broadly the advising on selling and administration of insurance products. In relation to investments, we may refer you to someone who is authorised to provide any necessary advice. However, we can provide certain limited services in relation to investments, provided they are closely linked with the legal services we are providing to you. In relation to these parts of our business, including arrangements for complaints or redress if something goes wrong, we are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Unless otherwise agreed, our work will be limited to advice on English Law and will not extend to accounting, valuation or (unless we are specifically instructed on this) taxation advice. We would always stress however, the importance of taking specialist advice on your tax situation, as this could have a significant influence on the structuring of the matter. We can liaise with your other advisers, or could recommend advisers to you. In circumstances where you instruct other professionals to be involved in your transaction (eg accountants, financial advisers or valuers), it is your responsibility to provide us with the terms of retainer of those professionals, if you wish us to check the scope of their retainer so as to avoid the risk of gaps in the advice being given.
You should be aware that in conveyancing transactions where we believe that a misrepresentation of the purchase price or mortgage fraud may have occurred we are obliged to notify the lender of the true price paid for the property. This may include us notifying the lender of any discounts or incentives offered by a developer or seller.
General Communication: We shall communicate with you by whatever method is appropriate to the urgency or circumstances at that time. You should advise us of any special instructions you may have in regard to communications (for example, you may wish to restrict types of communication or the people with whom we communicate on your matter).
Email Communication: Often, in order to speed progress on your matter, we may communicate with you and others involved in it, by email. Those communications may contain confidential information. It is not our intention to encrypt such information in outgoing emails sent. As email is not a totally secure means of communication, this means that information which is received by someone other than the intended recipient, could be read by that person. By agreeing to our terms, you are also consenting to our use of emails in this way unless you specifically exclude your consent by notice to us in writing.
CHARGES
Calculation: Unless otherwise agreed with you our charges are based primarily on the time we spend in dealing with a matter, including meeting with you and perhaps others, time spent travelling, considering, preparing and working on papers, correspondence and making and receiving telephone calls and other communications. We record time electronically on a system which rounds up to six minute units. Charges may be adjusted to take into account a number of factors in addition to time spent such as the matter's value, urgency, importance and complexity.
Hourly Rates: Details of current hourly rates initially applicable to your matter will have been provided to you in a separate letter. Please note that they do not include disbursements, VAT, photocopying or international telecommunication charges which will be added (where appropriate) to all invoices. In the autumn of each year we will review the hourly rates (to take account of various factors which include changes in our overhead costs) and notify you in writing of any increased rate.
Estimate of time: It is often difficult to estimate how much time will be necessary to complete a particular matter or any particular stage of it. Any estimates of charges which we give you will not be binding upon us. Estimates may change as the matter proceeds and it becomes clearer how much time is likely to be needed to complete it. We shall advise you if the amount of time we expect to have to spend will materially exceed that previously estimated.
Sometimes in dealing with courts or a particular Government department, through their own errors or protracted delay more of our time might be incurred than ordinarily expected. In such circumstances and where there is no fault attributable to our part, you will be liable to pay for that extra time incurred.
Limits on costs: You may if you wish agree with us a limit on the charges which may be incurred without further reference to you. This means that you must pay charges incurred up to the agreed limit and we will inform you when it appears that the limit has been or is soon to be exceeded.
Funds held on account: Because solicitors are expected (and in some circumstances required) to ensure that they have cover for their fees and disbursements, we are likely to require a sum on account of our charges and anticipated disbursements before we start work and as matters progress we may at any time, particularly in contentious matters (litigation) before any hearing or trial, require further sums to be paid on account. Sums held in this way are like a deposit and are not an estimate of the charges you will incur. We may at any time require further deposits at appropriate points throughout the transaction so as to ensure there are always sufficient funds to cover the next anticipated stage. The firm does not accept payments in cash other than amounts which are de minimis.
Any payment on account of charges (including disbursements) may be credited against interim invoices (see below). If any interest has been earned on your money held on account, it may be retained and offset by the firm against any outstanding invoices. Otherwise interest will be paid to you in accordance with the Solicitors Accounts Rules 1998.
All transfers and transmissions of your funds are made at your risk and we shall not be liable for any loss, damage or delays which result other than through gross negligence on the part of members of staff of the firm. We will pass on to you as a disbursement what the bank charges us to transfer or transmit your funds directly to your own or any other requested bank account and charge you a small administration fee. It is unlikely that the firm will ever be held liable for losses resulting from a banking failure. Your funds will be held in the firm's client account(s) which will be maintained with one or more financial institution(s) authorised by the FSA as deposit takers. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) applies to certain deposits belonging to clients who are individuals or small businesses up to a limit (the “Limit”) set from time to time under the FSCS per client per institution. Therefore, if a client holds other monies in institutions with which we bank at the time of a collapse, the total for that client under the scheme remains the Limit. Be aware that financial institutions trade under various different names and you should check either with your bank, the FSA or a financial adviser if you are in any doubt. You agree to the firm disclosing your details to the FSCS in the event of a bank failure. Which client accounts we hold from time to time can be ascertained from the General Terms of Business on our website and will be available on written or personal enquiry at our offices.
You agree to be responsible by way of reimbursement for any charges deducted by your or a third party's bank when transmitting funds to the firm which result in our receiving less than the required amount in relation to your matter.
Please note that in certain circumstances (such as where funds for purposes connected with the subject-matter of our instructions emanate from other jurisdictions) we do have to satisfy regulatory requirements and may have to raise enquiries with you for that purpose. It is a term of this retainer that you will deal with any such enquiries immediately and to the best of your ability.
Uncompleted work: For a variety of reasons some matters do not complete. In such circumstances a charge will normally be made in respect of the work that has been undertaken and any disbursements incurred.
INVOICES
Timing: We shall either deliver an invoice at or near the completion of a matter or invoice you on a regular basis. The timing of invoices may be agreed with you but any such agreement will be subject to our entitlement to deliver invoices at earlier intervals in appropriate circumstances.
Payment: Invoices are due for payment when they are rendered, and will include VAT (if chargeable) at the rate applicable as on the invoice date.
Interest: We reserve the right to charge interest at a rate equivalent to that awarded by the High Court on judgment debts on all invoices which remain unpaid after 30 days. In the event of any invoice remaining unpaid after such period, interest will be charged from the date of the invoice compounded at monthly intervals thereafter.
Non-Payment: If any invoice is not paid when due, or if funds are not paid on account within seven days of a request, we reserve the right to give notice to you to decline to act further and to deliver an invoice for the full amount of work carried out to that date.
PAYMENT OF FEES BY THIRD PARTIES
Notwithstanding that an agreement may have been reached in a particular matter that a person other than you is to be responsible for the payment of our fees on your behalf, you nevertheless will remain primarily responsible for our fees. If necessary, we shall endeavour to ensure that the other person makes payment by way of reimbursement to you as the client.
Litigation – Order for Costs: Unless agreed between parties, costs are assessed by the court. Assessment is complex. Whilst we endeavour to recover for you the maximum from the paying party, you should assume that the amount assessed by the court will be less than your total liability to this firm. Furthermore, whether you succeed in recovering from the paying party depends upon their ability to pay. You as the client will be responsible for the payment of our fees as and when invoices are rendered.
In the event of you winning the case or otherwise being successful, we may be able to claim interest on “assessed costs” from the date on which the Order for costs was made. To the extent that any of our invoices have not been paid in full, we reserve the right to retain such interest up to the amount of any outstanding sum.
GRIEVANCES
We very much hope you will be satisfied with our service. However, should there be any aspect of it with which you are unhappy, dissatisfied or simply unsure do not hesitate to discuss it with either the Matter Partner or the Client Partner at the earliest opportunity. On the rare occasions that we do get complaints, we have always found those raised quickly can be most easily solved. If after such discussion you still feel aggrieved please write to the Senior Partner, who will investigate the complaint and aim to respond substantively in writing within 7 days of the completion of that investigation. A copy of our Complaints Policy is available upon request. If for any reason we are unable to resolve the problem between us, then we are regulated by the Law Society which also provides a complaints and redress scheme.
CONTRACTUAL ARRANGEMENTS
We will write to you as soon as possible after receipt of initial instructions referring to these terms of business and giving further information relevant to our acting for you in relation to the particular matter. Your continuing instructions in this matter will amount to your acceptance of these terms of business. Even so, we will ask you to sign and date a copy of the letter accompanying these terms and return it to us immediately. We can then be confident that you understand the basis on which we will act for you.
All disputes in relation to these terms and the services we provide to you shall be determined by the courts of England and Wales which shall have exclusive jurisdiction. English law will govern these terms.
Your file on the matter will be made available for external inspection as part of audit or other statutory or regulatory requirement purposes or (unless you inform us otherwise) for external quality mark or accreditation reviews during the course of the retainer or after its expiry.
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
You agree that the following provisions will govern the extent of the firm's liability for loss or damage which you may suffer arising out of this engagement.
The firm's liability will be limited to that proportion of loss and damage which is just and equitable having regard to the extent of your own responsibility and that of any other party who may also be liable to you in respect of it.
The firm's aggregate liability in respect of all claims by addressees of the retainer letter shall be limited to any amount specified in that letter or, if no amount is specified there, to £25 million or the firm's professional indemnity insurance cover from time to time, whichever is the greater.
TERMINATION
You may terminate your instructions to us in writing at any time. We are entitled to keep all your papers and documents whilst there is money owing to us for our charges and expenses. We will decide to stop acting for you only with good reason and on giving you reasonable notice.
STORAGE OF PAPERS AND DOCUMENTS
After completing your matter, we are entitled to keep all your papers and documents whilst there is money owing to us for our charges and expenses. We will keep the file on your matter (except for any of your papers which you ask to be returned to you) for not more than 6 years after sending you the final bill. Copies of letters and documents on your file may be stored on CD ROM computer system or microfilm, and the originals destroyed after a reasonable time. We reserve the right to make a reasonable charge for producing copies of these documents, if they are later requested. We will not destroy title deeds and documents which you ask us to deposit in safe custody.
Ordinarily, no charge will be made for retrieving stored papers or documents in response to continuing or new instructions to act for you. We do however reserve the right to make a charge based on reading the papers, writing letters or other work necessary to comply with those instructions.
CLIENT SATISFACTION QUESTIONNAIRE
We may send out a client satisfaction questionnaire to you from time to time. We would be grateful if you could complete this and send it back to the Business Development Manager as soon as you have completed it.
Edition Date: 08.10.2009