The following Terms set out to explain the basis upon which we will act for you, how we charge for the legal services we provide to you and how any concerns you may have will be addressed. If having read through these Terms and Conditions of Business you have any questions arising then please do not hesitate to speak with us.
1. What we aim to achieve:
(a) Provide you with the best possible service and legal advice, delivered in accordance with Regulations which govern the method of our practice.
(b) Keep you advised of progress, on legal issues involved and about costs at regular intervals. We will always consider the likely cost of your matter and the risks involved and advise you whether it is worth continuing or not.
(c) Deal with the entire matter as quickly as possible and achieve your objectives as far as possible.
(d) Continue to act for you until you tell us in writing that you do not wish us to continue or we tell you in writing that we cannot or will not continue to act for you. If we terminate instructions, we will notify you in writing and give reasons where we can. If you or we decide that we should stop acting for you, you will be responsible for the payment of our charges up until that point. Our charges are calculated on an hourly basis as set out in these Terms and Conditions. We can keep all your papers and documents while there is still money owed to us for fees and expenses.
(e) Under certain circumstances we may be required to work on your matter even though our instructions have ceased.
(f) While we are instructed by you we will not act against you for any other client.
2. We ask you to
(a) Provide us with full, accurate and true up to date information upon which we will rely. All information you provide us is confidential. We will not disclose any information to a third party unless we have your written consent, other than in the usual course of your representation (e.g. corresponding with other Solicitors pursuant to your instructions).
(b) Let us know if other Solicitors have at any time been involved in your matter.
(c) Understand that problems or delays may be due to circumstances beyond our control.
(d) Provide us with such information as may be necessary for us to comply with our legal obligations imposed upon us under Money Laundering Regulations.
(e) Contact us if you require any up to date information about your matter.
(f) Respect our professional rules and obligations.
3. Our Bills
(a) Our charges are either fixed or estimated based upon our published hourly rates, details of which will be set out within our Client Care Letter.
(b) We will render bills for our charges either at the conclusion of your matter or from time to time during the course of the matter.
(c) Payment of our bills will be due within 14 days of their delivery and will incur interest charges in the event that they are not paid by the due date. If we are holding client funds at the date the bill falls due for payment we will (unless those funds are designated for other purposes) draw our bill from those funds.
(d) If Payment of our bills remains unpaid after the due date then we reserve the right to decline to act further in the matter.
(e) Should you have any queries regarding our bills then we would ask you to raise those with us without delay following the delivery of the bill either with the fee earner having the conduct of your matter or with Mr Ben Darby (Managing Partner) ben@darbylaw.co.uk.
(f) If we hold any monies on your behalf or receive any commissions as a result of dealing with your affairs we will inform you.
4. Monies held on your behalf in Client Account
(a) During the period of your instructions we may hold money on your behalf in our Client Account. We will maintain a ledger of all monies received, held and spent on your behalf.
(b) If we hold monies for a significant period of time then it is possible that interest will accrue on them. We will account to you for any interest, in excess of £20, accrued on monies held. This is in accordance with our policy and our Regulators guidance on providing a fair and reasonable account to Clients. Interest under £20 will not be paid on monies held as the cost of calculating the same will outweigh the benefit to you.
5. Our Fees (plus VAT and Disbursements)
(a) Our fees are based on the cost of time that we spend on your matter as recorded on our computer system and your file which might include seeing you or other persons, telephone calls, reading, considering and preparing documents, research of your case, going to Court, travelling time and waiting time.
We will also make an additional charge (which will be communicated to you in advance) where a matter is very complex, urgent or vital to you. The value of the matter to you is of course taken into account.
In addition to our fees we may also charge (on a time and materials basis) for administration including photocopying, domestic CHAP and oversees payments, online identification checks.
(b) Our standard fee rates are:
(i) Partner – £295 +VAT @ 20% per hour (£354 per hour)
(ii) Consultant Solicitor – £295 + VAT@ 20% (£354 per hour)
(ii) Assistant Solicitor – £240 +VAT@ 20% per hour (£288 per hour)
(iii) Licensed Conveyancer – £200 +VAT @ 20% per hour (£240 per hour)
(iv) Conveyancing/Legal Executive – £150 +VAT @ 20% per hour (£180 per hour)
We reserve the right to review our rates periodically and any change will be notified to you in advance of implementation.
(c) Where an estimate of fees or fixed fee has been given, and your matter becomes more complex then extra fees may become payable. If an increased or additional fixed fee is not agreed between us then the extra work (work not anticipated at the point of the original estimate) will be charged at our standard fee rates at 5 (b) above.
(d) In all Conveyancing matters we may give you a written estimate of our costs and this will be in place of our standard fee rates.
(e) In all Litigation matters, if you lose your Court case, you will usually be ordered to pay your opponent’s legal costs as well as your own. It may be that if you win your opponent may not be able to pay all or even part of your legal costs. In this situation you would be responsible to meet any short fall.
(f) You will be personally responsible for payment of our fees, VAT and for reimbursement of any expenses we incur on your behalf irrespective of whether somebody else is ordered to pay them at the end of your case.
(g) While we will do our best to give you an accurate estimate of costs of your matter it can often be very difficult to be certain how much it will cost. Any monies you pay us on account of fees or expenses should not be taken as an indication as to the likely costs involved.
(h) From time to time we may need to instruct Barristers or other persons of professional standing in relation to your matter. If this proves necessary we will always seek your prior authority before placing instructions and will ensure you are advised of the costs associated with instructing that person.
(i) We reserve our right to exercise a lien (to hold your file in the event of an unpaid bill or outstanding balance) in respect of unpaid fees, VAT and disbursements
6. Right to cancel – Distance Selling
If you have instructed us remotely without meeting one of our team or attending our Offices, you have the right to cancel this contract within 14 days of your initial instruction without giving any reason.
To exercise the right to cancel, you must inform us by contacting the Fee Earner dealing with your matter, or Ben Darby (Managing Partner) ben@darbylaw.co.uk of your decision to cancel this contract by a clear statement in writing via letter or e-mail.
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.
(a) Effects of cancellation
If you cancel this contract, we will reimburse to you any payments received from you on account of our fees.
We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to cancel this contract.
We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of the reimbursement.
(b) Commencing work within the 14 day cancellation period
If you sign and accept our terms of business within the cancellation period we will take that as your request for us to commence work before allowing the period of 14 days to pass.
7. Complaints and Professional Indemnity
(a) While we endeavour to provide an excellent service, problems can from time to time arise. If you feel you have a problem please contact us immediately as we want to deal with it for you.
(b) We would invite you to raise your concerns with the individual that is dealing with the matter on your behalf. This can often resolve any misunderstandings. If you are still concerned please do raise your concerns with our Managing Partner Mr Ben Darby on 01803 313 656 or alternatively via email at ben@darbylaw.co.uk.
(c) We have a complaint handling policy which details how we handle complaints, a copy of which is available upon request or can be viewed on our website www.dary&darby.co.uk.
(d) If you are not satisfied with our handling of your complaint you can ask the Legal Ombudsman at Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167 Slough SL1 0EH or via www.legalombudsman.org.uk or on 0300 555 0333 or email enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk to consider the complaint.
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 time limits for referring a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman are no later than:
(i) one year from the date of the act or omission being complained about; or
(ii) one year from the date when the complainant should have realised that there was cause for complaint.
(iii) We maintain Professional Indemnity Insurance to cover the advice we provide to you. Our current provider is Am Trust Europe Limited, Exchequer Court, 33 St Mary Axe, London, EC3A 8AA.
It is a condition of our Professional Indemnity Insurance that we must notify our insurers and our brokers of any ‘circumstance’ which might give rise to a claim being brought against us. In complying with that condition we may disclose documents and information to our brokers, insurers and their nominated legal advisors on a confidential basis. All parties are obliged to keep all information that was pass to them in strictest confidence.
8. Regulatory Matters
(a) Proof of your identity and residential address
We are under a legal duty to verify your identity and your residential address before we can proceed with your instructions. In order for us to meet that legal duty we will ask you at the outset to complete and return to us a Client Details Form.
Following the receipt of the completed Client Details Form we will complete and submit your details onto a third party ‘verification’ App known as Thirdfort.
Thirdfort will then forward an electronic link to you through which you will be able to submit your verification details.
If you are unable to submit your information through this app then we will require you to provide us with physical evidence. To evidence your identity we will require you to produce either a valid passport or a photo ID driving license. To evidence your residential address we will require you to provide us with either a recent utility bill (no more than three months old) or a current bank statement detailing your residential address.
Although we understand that you may wish to protect your identity we would stress that this is a legal obligation and without verification we will have to decline to act for you.
(b) Source of wealth and source of funds
If you are instructing us in relation to a transactional matter, for example you are seeking to purchase a property, we are under a legal duty to verify how you will fund the transaction. We will ask you to provide us with evidence relating to how the funds were acquired (source of Wealth) and the location of the funds that will be used to complete your transaction.
If you are souring funds from a third party (other than a financial institution) we are also required to verify that third party, their source of wealth and where the funds will be coming from.
If you are unable to supply the evidence required to enable us to comply with our legal duty then we reserve the right to decline acting on your behalf.
(c) Cash
It is the Firms Policy not to accept Cash save only in specific circumstances were we have agreed with you to accept a cash payment not exceeding £200.
9. Financial Services
We are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). However, we are included in the register maintained by the FCA so that we can carry out insurance distribution 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 FCA website (www.fca.org.uk).
10. Mortgage Fraud
You need to be aware that if we are acting for you and your lender, we have a duty to fully reveal to your lender all relevant facts about the transaction. This includes (this is not an exhaustive list):
(a) Any differences between your mortgage application and information we receive during the transaction.
(b) Any cash back payments or discount schemes that a seller is giving you.
(c) Any third party contributions used to fund your purchase.
11. 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 are 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. 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.
12. Electronic Communication
We may communicate with you by email or other electronic means unless instructed otherwise by you.
We will take reasonable precautions to protect information sent electronically by us but we cannot guarantee this to be the case.
We are not liable for any damage or claim arising from any viruses, malware, Trojan horse or unauthorised code. You are responsible for ensuring you have in place suitable and up-to-date anti-virus and malware software.
13. Data Protection – How we use your data and your Rights
This section of our Terms of Business should be read in conjunction with our privacy privacy and legal policy.
We are registered with the Information Commissioners Office under Registration number Z2138820.
During the course of your transaction/matter it is inevitable that we will receive, hold and share personal data. The data we receive is used primarily for the provision of legal services to you and for related purposes including: updating and enhancing client records; analysis to help us manage our practice; statutory returns; and legal and regulatory compliance. The following paragraphs outline our data and data privacy policy:
(a) How we receive your data
You are our main source of your data. We will ask you for personal information including your name, address, date of birth as well as financial information including bank details, national insurance number. We will also receive data, on your behalf and depending on the nature of your instruction to this Firm, from 3rd parties such as a Mortgage Company, Estate Agents, Courts, and Solicitors acting on the other side.
(b) Why we hold and use your data
To enable us to progress your matter we utilise the data we receive. We only use that data to:
(i) Fulfil our Contract – completing your instructions in this matter.
(ii) Comply with a Legal Duty – such as external audit or a disclosure to HMRC, a Court or the Land Registry (for example).
(iii) Our own legitimate interest – we check for Conflicts between existing and prospective clients to ensure that no dispute arises.
(iv) In accordance with your consent – we will ask you for consent to us releasing your data in accordance with these terms of business.
(c) How we store your data
Your data is retained in either paper and/or electronic format. Paper copies of your data will be retained on your personal file. Electronic data is stored within our Legal Software Case Management system. Only the staff of Darby & Darby will have access to your physical and electronic files. Their access is password protected and encrypted.
(a) When we share your data
Internally your data is available to all Partners and Staff at Darby & Darby. Their access to your data is limited for their use in the furtherance of your matter.
Externally, we will use your data to advance your matter. It would be impossible to actively provide legal services without the ability to share your data, where necessary or relevant. It is for this reason we seek your specific consent.
We DO NOT share your data with Third parties outside the scope of your consent or the purposes of advancing your instructions.
We may from time to time send you information which we think might be of interest to you. If you do not wish to receive that information please notify our office in writing.
(b) Your Rights
Under the GDPR legislation you are entitled to:
(a) Be informed of this Policy
(b) Access your data
(c) Seek rectification of any errors in your data
(d) Seek destruction of your data
(e) Withdraw your previous consent for us to use your data
(f) Object to the use of your data
(g) Request transfer of your data (where possible/practicable)
(h) Complain to the regulator at https://ico.org.uk
To request any of the above to be actioned you can send a “Subject Action Request” in writing to the person responsible at this Firm namely Ben Darby. Your Subject Action Request should be sent for Ben Darby’s attention at the Torquay Office or to his email ben@darbylaw.co.uk.
We endeavour to deal with all complaints and concerns direct with you as swiftly as possible. Should you not be satisfied with our response you can complain to the Information Commissioner.
Further details can be found at https://ico.org.uk.
(c) Destruction of your data
In the absence of a request from you to destroy your data your paper file of papers will be destroyed after a period in archived storage which will be notified to you at the end of your matter. It is intended that electronic data we hold will be stored on our computer system to assist with future audit processes and to mitigate the risk of Conflicts of Interests arising in future matters.
14. Cybercrime
As a Firm that holds client money, we may be a target of cybercrime. We take this risk very seriously and do all that we can to ensure that your money is safe and secure with us.
If you need to transfer funds to us, please quote your file reference and use the Firms Bank Account the details which will have been provided to you within our Client Care Letter.
If at any point during our engagement you receive communication purporting to be someone from within or outside of this firm indicating that our account details have changed, please contact our accounts team immediately. You must not under any circumstances make payment into the account until you have spoken with us.
If we have cause to ask you for your bank details, please do not provide these within an email. Bank details must be provided to us either in person, by post or by telephone.
15. Vetting of Files and Confidentiality
Solicitors are under a professional and legal duty to keep the affairs of their clients confidential. During the course of your transaction we will have to disclose certain details to third parties (e.g.: Mortgage Company, Estate Agents, Solicitors, Barristers etc.) to further your instructions. Save for these aforementioned routine disclosures there are three further scenarios that we bring to your attention at this stage:-
(i) Legislation on money laundering and terrorist financing has placed Solicitors under a legal duty in certain circumstances to disclose information to the National Crime Agency (“NCA”). Where a solicitor knows or suspects that a transaction on behalf of a client involves money laundering disclosure will be made to NCA. If this happens, we may not be able to inform you that disclosure has been made or of the reason for it.
(ii) We may be required to produce all or part of your file to assessors, the Law Society, Solicitors Regulatory Authority or similar, as part of an audit or quality check.
(iii) Concerns and/or disclosure to a relevant authority (for example Social Services and Police) in accordance with Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults Policy where there are concerns that an individual who may be seen as Vulnerable Adult is at risk of, or the victim of, abuse. Abuse in the policy is not limited to physical, mental or psychological and includes financial abuse (or the risk of exposure to such abuse).
16. Limiting Liability
(a) We do not limit our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, any losses caused by wilful misconduct or dishonesty, contractual breach or any other liability we cannot limit by law.
(b) Our maximum liability to you in relation to any single or any group of connected matters which may be aggregated by our insurers will be £3 million including interest and costs.
(c) We are only liable for direct losses and costs arising from our negligence. All indirect.consequential losses and costs, loss of profit, data and goodwill are excluded. If you are a Consumer client, we carry out the work for your personal and private use only.
(d) Your relationship is solely with the partnership of Darby & Darby and we have sole legal liability for the work undertaken on your behalf and for any act or omission that might arise during the course of the Work. No representative, partner, employee agent or consultant will have any personal legal liability for any loss or claim in respect of the work. In particular, the fact that an individual signs in their own name any letter, email or other document in the course of carrying out the work does not mean that they are assuming any personal legal liability. You agree that you will not bring a claim against any representative, partner, employee agent or consultant of Darby & Darby in respect of or in connection with services provided to you.
(e) If our ability to claim a contribution from a third party is prejudiced by any limitation of liability agreed with that third party by anyone other than us, we will not be liable for any amount that we would have received from that third party but for that limitation of liability.
17. Bank Failure and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme
We are not liable for any losses you suffer as a result of any bank in which we hold client money being unable to repay depositors in full. If you are a consumer client, you may, however, be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) in such circumstances.
The FSCS is the UK’s statutory fund of last resort for customers of banking institutions. The FSCS can pay compensation up to £85,000 if a banking institution is unable, or likely to be unable, to pay claims against it.
The current limit is £85,000 per banking institution. If you hold other personal money in the same banking institution as our client account, the limit remains £85,000 in total. Some banking institutions have several branded accounts. The compensation limit is £85,000 per institution, not per brand.
More information about the FSCS can be found at their website (www.fscs.org.uk).
18. Applicable Law
Any disputes or legal issue arising from our terms of business will be determined by the law of England and Wales, and considered exclusively by the English and Welsh Courts.
19. Storage of Electronic and Hard Copy Papers and Documents
After completing the work, we are entitled to keep all your papers and documents while there is money owing to us for charges and expenses. In addition, we will keep your file of papers for you in storage for a period of six years. After that period storage is on the clear understanding that we have the right to destroy your file after such period.
20. Equality & Diversity
This firm is committed to promoting equality and diversity in all of its dealing with clients, third parties and employees. Please contact us for further information about our equality and diversity policy.