Deputyship
Terms of business for making an application to the Court of Protection to appoint a Deputy
These Terms and Conditions form a contract between both parties, and it is therefore important that you read them. If you have any questions, please contact the fee earner dealing with your matter.
The following terms of engagement apply to all work carried out by Stennett & Stennett Ltd except as otherwise agreed. The expression “we”, “us”, and “our” refer to Stennett & Stennett Ltd and “you” and “your” refer to our client.
These terms and conditions may be revised from time to time and a copy will be sent to you to replace these, and the revised terms and conditions will apply from the date you receive them. You are of course free to terminate the arrangement between us if you do not accept the revised terms and conditions.
Stages in the process
Time it takes to complete the matter
On average, it takes the Court of Protection about 12-15 months to issue an order.
Fees and payments to others
They are estimated at £4,000-£6,000 plus value added tax and payments to third parties (“disbursements”). The exact cost will depend on the circumstances of the matter. For example, if the matter is contested, or there is more than one application.
Disbursements
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties. The Court fee to make an application is £365 and the Court charges a further fee of £100 to issue a deputyship order. If the Court decides a hearing a necessary to consider an application, a further fee of £485 is payable. A medical practitioner will also charge a fee to provide a report, and their fees will range from £250 to £900, plus vat if applicable, depending upon whom you instruct to carry out a mental capacity assessment.
Recovery of costs and disbursements
The final court order usually allows the deputy to recover expenses from the patient’s estate.
Anti-Money Laundering
We adhere to Anti-Money Laundering procedures which will require us to take up-to-date proof of identity and proof of address for any payments made from you or a third party on your behalf, to the Firm. This purpose of this policy is to protect you and your money.
Cyber Crime and Financial Management
We will agree with you at the outset (in person or by telephone) how banking details will be handled, including whether any changes are planned. We will hand our bank details to you in person or send them to you by post. Before accepting new banking details from you or others, we will ask for confirmation face-to-face or by letter sent through the post.
This information will never be requested by us by email. If bank details are received by this Firm by email, or in a pdf attachment to an email, they will be verified by independent means before being relied upon. This purpose of this policy is to protect you and your money.
Who will carry out the work?
Our team has many years’ experience in delivering high quality work. We have a team on your matter. They are Michael Stennett, Solicitor and Head of Private Client, Debbie Stimson, Private Client Executive and Support Staff. The hourly rate for Michael Stennett and Debbie Stimson is £350 plus VAT and Support Staff between £195 and £295.00 plus VAT.
How long will it take to do the work?
It takes around 9-12 months for an application to be completed by the Court issuing a final order. It can take longer where the application is opposed.
Our Services
Scope of our Services
The scope of the services we have agreed to provide for you in any matter will be agreed between us within these Terms & Conditions and you agree that you do not require us to provide you advice or further services in relation to any aspect outside of the scope of the services so agreed.
Level of service
We will regularly update you by telephone or in writing with progress on your matter in particular, following key events or stages in your matter. We will always endeavour to communicate with you in plain language.
Joint Instructions
Where we are jointly instructed by you and another client we will assume that either of you are authorised to give us instructions, unless either of you advise us otherwise. In addition, as matters progress we may need to act on instructions of other people from whom we consider it is reasonable to take instructions in order to progress the matter within the timescales set. Unless informed of any change, we will assume that this remains the case until our work is completed.
Provision of Information
To assist us in carrying out the work as efficiently as possible, you will need to ensure that all information provided is to the best of your knowledge complete, accurate and up to date. You should also notify us of any changes or variations to that information which may arise after the date it is passed to us and of any new circumstances that might be relevant to the work we are undertaking.
Matter not concluded
Unless otherwise agreed in writing, our fees are payable whether or not a matter is successfully concluded. If any matter does not proceed to completion for any reason during the period in which we are instructed we will be entitled to charge for work done on an hourly basis plus expenses by proportion of the agreed fee as set out above but, at its absolute discretion, we may waive part or all of such entitlement to fees.
Settlement of bills
Accounts are to be paid by you when due, whether or not the amounts concerned may ultimately have to be paid by another party.
In relation to non-contentious costs, we are entitled to charge interest on unpaid bills at the rate payable on judgment debts from one month after delivery of the bill in accordance with Article 5 of the Solicitors' (Non-Contentious Business) Remuneration Order 2009. We reserve the right to charge interest on any outstanding amounts at the statutory rate (currently 8%).
If any payment on account is not made or a bill is not settled in accordance with these terms, we reserve the right to decline to act further for you.
Concerns over your bill
If you are not satisfied with the amount of our fees please contact us. If you remain unhappy about the level of our fees you may be able to make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman or may be entitled to have the bill assessed by the Court in accordance with Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. Your rights are set out more fully in Sections 70, 71 and 72 of the Solicitors Act 1974.
Lien over papers and documents
Following the conclusion of your matter, we are entitled to retain your file of papers and documents while there is money owing to us for fees.
Client account
We operate a client account facility which allows for money to be held or transferred in relation to a matter we are working on. However, the facility is operated at our discretion and any unauthorised receipts will be held pending further investigation or returned to the sender. Therefore, we ask that you give us advance warning of any receipts.
It is our policy to only accept cash up to £250. If you 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. 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.
Client Interest
If we hold money on your behalf, in accordance with the SRA Accounts Rules 2011, it is our policy that we will pay you a sum of money in lieu of interest on a fair and reasonable basis.
Client monies will normally be held by us in a general client account with our primary banker, which is NatWest bank.
A sum in lieu of interest will be payable on amounts held in our general client account on the following basis:
Interest will be paid at the conclusion of your matter:
It is unfortunate that Cybercrime and email fraud targeted at law firms and their clients is on the increase. Fraudsters are using very sophisticated methods to manipulate IT and intercept communications. We take the following precautions to prevent cybercrime and email fraud.
Confirmation of our bank details
Our bank account details will be confirmed to you at the outset of the matter. We will not be changing our bank account details during the course of dealing with your matter so the account details we have confirmed in the body of these terms and conditions will stay the same throughout the lifetime of your matter.
We will only notify you of changes to important business information, including bank account details, in official correspondence which will be sent by postal mail. If you ever receive any other communication purporting to come from us and which purports to change our bank account details or to request that you send funds to another account, please do not rely and immediately contact the person at this firm handling your matter by telephone. Even if the request appears to have come from us, you must never send funds to another account unless you have verified this with us.
We cannot take any responsibility for any losses where funds are transferred to other accounts that have not been verified by us.
Sending funds to our bank account
Prior to transferring any funds to our account, we recommend you contact us to verify our account details. Wherever possible, you should contact the person at this firm handling your matter by telephone.
Our firm sending funds to you
We may not agree to send any funds to you unless it is to a pre-agreed bank account which we have verified. At the conclusion of your conveyance we will not transfer any monies to any account holder other than that of the person/s instructing us.
You must take care to protect your own data and bank account details. Confirming your bank details by email should be avoided.
For all new matters, the person with conduct of your matter will contact you by telephone to verify your bank account details, prior to our sending funds to you. We are sorry if this causes any delay to the processing of payments but we do consider that these steps are necessary to help protect you and your money from fraud.
If you are a long-standing client of the firm and/or a client to whom we have previously transferred funds and your bank account details have not changed we may rely on our previous transactions rather than contact you via telephone for verification unless circumstances exist which increase the level of risk or we otherwise consider it appropriate to do so.
Insurance
We are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (formerly the Financial Services Authority). However, our firm is included on the FCA Register so that we can carry on insurance distribution activity, which is broadly the advising on, selling and administration of insurance contracts. This is 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.gov.uk.
We do not generally sell or advise on insurance policies except those that are required in relation to our conveyancing and litigation practices. In conveyancing work, clients may encounter a problem that can be overcome by the taking out of a suitable insurance policy such as to protect against a defect in the title to a property. Should we identify a problem that cannot readily be overcome without taking out such a policy, we will inform clients at the appropriate time.
If we are requested to recommend an insurer, we will advise the client about the range of legal indemnity insurers we have checked before recommending a particular policy and, if it is not on a fair market analysis, we will explain the basis upon which the recommendation has been made and will check the suitability of any such policy. If we are requested to assist in the arranging of any insurance on behalf of a client, we will inform the client of all necessary information by means of a written ‘demand and needs statement’.
If we recommend a referral to a particular insurer, we shall do so in good faith but we shall not be liable to you for any advice or assistance you may be given by them.
Furthermore, you will not be afforded the regulatory protection of the SRA and shall not be entitled to the benefit of the SRA Compensation Fund in relation to those insurance services.
The Law Society of England and Wales is a designated professional body for the purposes of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The Solicitors Regulation Authority is the independent regulatory arm of the Law Society. The Legal Ombudsman is the independent complaints-handling arm of the Law Society. If you are unhappy with any investment advice you receive from us, you should raise your concerns with either of those bodies.
Limitation of Liability
Reliance by third parties
Advice rendered by us is provided for the purpose of the instructions to which it relates and for your benefit. It may not be used or relied on for any other purpose or by any person other than you without our prior agreement.
Liability in respect of other parties
We will use all reasonable endeavours to ensure that all information provided by us is accurate but we cannot account for the accuracy of information provided by or obtained from third parties. We shall not be liable for any decision made or action taken by you or others based upon reliance on or use of information or advice provided by or obtained from third parties.
Where we are asked to recommend the services of another advisor or service provider, we will do so in good faith, but without liability and without warranting the ability or standing of that person or firm. We will not be responsible for the quality of the services provided by that person or firm.
Limitation of our liability
Our liability to you for a breach of your instructions shall be limited to £3,000,000.00. We will not be liable for any consequential, special, indirect or exemplary damages, costs or losses or any damages, costs or losses attributable to lost profits or opportunities.
We can only limit our liability to the extent the law allows. In particular, we cannot limit our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence.
Conflict
An actual or potential conflict between your interests and the interests of another client of the firm may arise during the course of a matter. If this situation arises during our dealings with you, we will discuss the position with you and determine the appropriate course of action.
Equality & Diversity
We are committed to promoting equality and diversity in all of our dealings with clients, third parties and employees. Please contact us if you would like a copy of our equality and diversity policy.
Data Protection
How we use your data
We are registered as a Data Controller with the Information Commissioners Office. We will use the information that you give us to provide you with legal services, as per your instructions. We will keep your information confidential and will only use it for the purpose(s) for which it was provided or as is permitted in law (i.e. for dealing with complaints or regulatory investigations).
Sharing information
Occasionally, we may need to share some or all of your information with our quality assurance auditors for the purposes of their assessment of whether we are adhering to quality standards. In particular, our files may need to be assessed for quality purposes by a Lexcel or Conveyancing Quality Scheme assessor and your file may be one of a sample which is to be assessed. Any examination will be strictly controlled and will be shared for the sole purpose of ensuring that our handling of your matter meets the requirements of the quality standard.
We may have to share some or all of your information with other third parties. This may include experts and other third parties who we need to instruct to assist us with your matter. We may also have to share information with the Legal Ombudsman (if you complain about our services) and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (the statutory body that regulates solicitors). In doing so we will always take care to ensure that your information remains confidential and safe.
We may wish to contact you in the future about our other services. Please let us know if you are happy to receive that information. To inform us of your preference, you are invited to tick the relevant box in the notice provided and return it to us.
Your Rights
You have rights under the General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018 and these include the right to be informed what information we hold about you. However, it is obviously likely that you will have provided us with such information as we hold. If you believe that the information we hold is wrong or out of date, please let us know and we will update it.
The person in this firm responsible for data protection is Michael Stennett and enquires and requests can be sent to him by telephone 0208 920 3190 or in writing at 4 Winchmore, Southgate, London N14 6PT.
How long will we hold your data?
We will only hold your information for as long as necessary to provide you with legal services and then for only so long as we are required either contractually or under our regulatory obligations.
This will generally be six years after the end of your matter. After this time, we will confidentially destroy all information that we hold about you (in accordance with the clauses below relating to storage and retrieval) other than your name, address and date of birth which we will be obliged to continue to hold for the purposes of ensuring that we never act for another client where doing so would conflict with our obligations of confidentiality to you.
Money Laundering
Notification
Solicitors who deal with money and property on behalf of their client can be used by criminals wanting to launder money.
Under the provisions of our statutory obligations (in particular with regard to our obligations under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 and other relevant legislation including the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and the Terrorism Act 2000), we are under a strict duty to report any circumstances where we know or suspect that a client or matter is involved in money laundering or terrorist financing to the National Crime Agency.
Under these circumstances, we will be precluded from informing you of the disclosure or seeking your consent. If we make a disclosure, we may also have to stop working on your matter for a period of time and may not be able to tell you why.
Identification
In view of the above, it is our policy to obtain satisfactory proof of your identity and/or to make searches of appropriate databases and to make detailed enquiries as to the source of funds being used in relation to transactions on which we are instructed to advise.
We are required to retain records of the identification obtained. We may delay, decline or cease to act for you if we have requested to see proof of your identity, but there has been an unreasonable delay in providing it.
If as a result of meeting our statutory obligations, or executing our internal procedures put in place to meet those obligations in good faith, we cause you loss, damage or delay, our liability to you will not exceed the minimum level of Professional Indemnity insurance cover as specified by the SRA Indemnity Insurance Rules.
Email Communications
If you have the necessary facilities we will sometimes use Email for communication with you unless you tell us not to.
There are some specific points of which you should be aware:
You may withdraw your instructions at any time by written notice to us.
Should your matter not be carried through to completion then a charge will be made in respect of the work that has already been completed based upon the fee structure that has been agreed. VAT or similar taxes will be payable on that amount and you will also be billed for any disbursements incurred.
We will be entitled to keep all your papers and documents whilst there is money owing to us for our fees and expenses.
Termination by us
In some circumstances, we may consider that we ought to cease acting for you. We will only decline to act further for you where we have reasonable grounds to do so, for example:
At the conclusion of your matter, we will store your file of papers for a reasonable period of time. We would usually store casefiles for six years from the date of the final bill but reserve the right to determine the period of storage. Such papers or files may be stored in an electronic form (with the original paper version being destroyed as soon as it is scanned and saved as an electronic file).
There may be documents such as deeds or wills which we have agreed to deposit for you in safe custody or documents that you have otherwise asked to be returned to you. We will not destroy any such documents. This service is currently free of charge.
We also reserve our rights to destroy your files and papers (whether electronic or paper based) after a reasonable period, without prior notice to you, unless we receive a written request from you during this period. At your request we will return any papers or property belonging to you which are not subject to a lien or otherwise being stored for safe keeping.
If we retrieve papers or documents or electronic data from storage in relation to continuing or renewing instructions to act for you, we will not normally charge for the direct cost for retrieval from storage. However, in all other cases, we reserve the right to make a charge for the retrieval or delivery of any stored files (including electronic data), papers or deeds or a charge based on the time we spend reading stored files, papers of deeds, writing letters or other work necessary to comply with your instructions. Our charges would be based on our hourly rate applicable at the given time and we would always discuss this with you beforehand.
Complaints about our Service
We want to give you the best possible service. However, if at any point you become unhappy or concerned about the service, we have provided please inform us immediately.
We will always attempt to resolve any problems that may arise with our service, and we wish to ensure that any concerns are dealt with promptly and to your satisfaction. In the first instance it may be helpful to contact the advisor who is working on your case to discuss any concerns and we will do our best to resolve any issues at this stage.
Complaints Process
If you would like to make a formal complaint, please contact the Complaints Manager:
Email: enquiries@stennett-stennett.co.uk
Post: 4 Winchmore Hill Road, Southgate, London, N14 6PT
To deal with your complaint correctly, it would be helpful when contacting us if you could provide the following information:
Upon receipt of your complaint, a written copy of our Complaint Procedure will be sent to you detailing the steps and confirming who will be carrying out the investigation. The Legal Ombudsman allows us a period of eight weeks from receipt of your complaint to try and resolve matters with you before you can refer your concerns to them.
Referrals to the Legal Ombudsman
If we are unable to resolve the complaint with you once we have concluded our professional obligation to try and resolve it, then you can have the complaint independently looked at by the Legal Ombudsman. Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you have, then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman no more than one year from the date of the act or omission which you are complaining about or no more than one year from the date of you realising there was cause for complaint and within six months of you receiving our final response.
You can contact the Legal Ombudsman:
Telephone: 0300 555 0333
Email on enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Post: Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough SL1 0EH.
The Legal Ombudsman has provided further guidance on its service please visit www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Solicitors Regulation Authority
The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help if you are concerned about our behaviour, or that we have not adhered to the SRA Rules and Regulations. This could be for things like dishonesty, treating you unfairly. Please visit their website to see how you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority at https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor
Regulation
We are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). Our SRA number is 564879.
We operate in accordance with a code of conduct and other regulations contained with the SRA’s Handbook. For further information or to see a copy of the Handbook, please visit www.sra.org.uk
We practice through a Stennett & Stennett limited liability compensation.
Stennett & Stennett limited is registered in England and Wales with registration number CRN7666275. A list of our directors and their professional qualifications is open to inspection at our registered office 4 Winchmore Hill Road, Southgate, London N14 6PT.
Contacting Us
Our office is located at 4 Winchmore Hill Road, Southgate, London N14 6PT. The normal hours of opening are between 09.30 and 17.30 on weekdays. Appointments can be arranged outside those hours when essential to the interests of a client.
Professional Indemnity
In the interests of our clients, we maintain compulsory professional indemnity insurance to a total level of three million pounds. Our insurers are International General Insurance Company (UK) Ltd whose registered office is Forum House, 15-18 Lime Street, London EC3M 7AN. The territorial coverage of our insurance is within England & Wales. A full hard copy of our insurance is available to view at our offices. Please ask for details.
Third Party Rights
The Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 does not apply to the terms of our retainer with you or any subsequent amendment to it unless we expressly confirm in writing this it does apply.
Enforcement
In the event that any of these terms and conditions is held to be invalid, the remainder of the terms and conditions will remain in full force and effect.
Governing law
These terms and conditions shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the law of England & Wales.
The Courts of England & Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction in relation to any claim, dispute or difference concerning this agreement and any matter arising from it.
Future instructions
Unless otherwise agreed, and subject to the application of then current hourly rates, these Terms and Conditions of Business shall apply to any future instructions given by you to us. Although your continuing instructions in this matter will amount to an acceptance of these terms and conditions of business, it will be helpful if you will please sign and return one copy of them for us to retain on our file.
As this is an important document, please keep your copy in a safe place for future reference.
I have read, understood and accept the terms and conditions of business set out above.
Signed................................................ Date................................................
PRIVACY NOTICE
We may wish to contact you in the future about our other services. Please indicate if you are happy for us to do so?
Yes, I am happy for you to contact me about other services
No, I do not want you to contact me about other services
Please tick as appropriate.
If you change your mind at any point in the future then please do not hesitate to let us know.
We may need to share some or all of your information with our quality assurance auditors for the purposes of their assessment of whether we are adhering to quality standards.
Do you consent to us sharing that information?
Yes, I consent
No, I do not consent
Please tick as appropriate.
If you change your mind at any point in the future then please do not hesitate to let us know.
These Terms and Conditions form a contract between both parties, and it is therefore important that you read them. If you have any questions, please contact the fee earner dealing with your matter.
The following terms of engagement apply to all work carried out by Stennett & Stennett Ltd except as otherwise agreed. The expression “we”, “us”, and “our” refer to Stennett & Stennett Ltd and “you” and “your” refer to our client.
These terms and conditions may be revised from time to time and a copy will be sent to you to replace these, and the revised terms and conditions will apply from the date you receive them. You are of course free to terminate the arrangement between us if you do not accept the revised terms and conditions.
Stages in the process
- Attend upon you and give initial advice
- Take detailed instructions about the patient, their family and financial affairs
- Obtain a medical report to confirm the patient lacks mental capacity
- Prepare the application forms and file application with the Court of Protection
- Give notice of the application to relevant persons
- Deal with requisitions and orders made by the Court in respect to the application
- Advising you throughout the application and what to do with the final order
- Completing the matter
Time it takes to complete the matter
On average, it takes the Court of Protection about 12-15 months to issue an order.
Fees and payments to others
They are estimated at £4,000-£6,000 plus value added tax and payments to third parties (“disbursements”). The exact cost will depend on the circumstances of the matter. For example, if the matter is contested, or there is more than one application.
Disbursements
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties. The Court fee to make an application is £365 and the Court charges a further fee of £100 to issue a deputyship order. If the Court decides a hearing a necessary to consider an application, a further fee of £485 is payable. A medical practitioner will also charge a fee to provide a report, and their fees will range from £250 to £900, plus vat if applicable, depending upon whom you instruct to carry out a mental capacity assessment.
Recovery of costs and disbursements
The final court order usually allows the deputy to recover expenses from the patient’s estate.
Anti-Money Laundering
We adhere to Anti-Money Laundering procedures which will require us to take up-to-date proof of identity and proof of address for any payments made from you or a third party on your behalf, to the Firm. This purpose of this policy is to protect you and your money.
Cyber Crime and Financial Management
We will agree with you at the outset (in person or by telephone) how banking details will be handled, including whether any changes are planned. We will hand our bank details to you in person or send them to you by post. Before accepting new banking details from you or others, we will ask for confirmation face-to-face or by letter sent through the post.
This information will never be requested by us by email. If bank details are received by this Firm by email, or in a pdf attachment to an email, they will be verified by independent means before being relied upon. This purpose of this policy is to protect you and your money.
Who will carry out the work?
Our team has many years’ experience in delivering high quality work. We have a team on your matter. They are Michael Stennett, Solicitor and Head of Private Client, Debbie Stimson, Private Client Executive and Support Staff. The hourly rate for Michael Stennett and Debbie Stimson is £350 plus VAT and Support Staff between £195 and £295.00 plus VAT.
How long will it take to do the work?
It takes around 9-12 months for an application to be completed by the Court issuing a final order. It can take longer where the application is opposed.
Our Services
Scope of our Services
The scope of the services we have agreed to provide for you in any matter will be agreed between us within these Terms & Conditions and you agree that you do not require us to provide you advice or further services in relation to any aspect outside of the scope of the services so agreed.
Level of service
We will regularly update you by telephone or in writing with progress on your matter in particular, following key events or stages in your matter. We will always endeavour to communicate with you in plain language.
Joint Instructions
Where we are jointly instructed by you and another client we will assume that either of you are authorised to give us instructions, unless either of you advise us otherwise. In addition, as matters progress we may need to act on instructions of other people from whom we consider it is reasonable to take instructions in order to progress the matter within the timescales set. Unless informed of any change, we will assume that this remains the case until our work is completed.
Provision of Information
To assist us in carrying out the work as efficiently as possible, you will need to ensure that all information provided is to the best of your knowledge complete, accurate and up to date. You should also notify us of any changes or variations to that information which may arise after the date it is passed to us and of any new circumstances that might be relevant to the work we are undertaking.
Matter not concluded
Unless otherwise agreed in writing, our fees are payable whether or not a matter is successfully concluded. If any matter does not proceed to completion for any reason during the period in which we are instructed we will be entitled to charge for work done on an hourly basis plus expenses by proportion of the agreed fee as set out above but, at its absolute discretion, we may waive part or all of such entitlement to fees.
Settlement of bills
Accounts are to be paid by you when due, whether or not the amounts concerned may ultimately have to be paid by another party.
In relation to non-contentious costs, we are entitled to charge interest on unpaid bills at the rate payable on judgment debts from one month after delivery of the bill in accordance with Article 5 of the Solicitors' (Non-Contentious Business) Remuneration Order 2009. We reserve the right to charge interest on any outstanding amounts at the statutory rate (currently 8%).
If any payment on account is not made or a bill is not settled in accordance with these terms, we reserve the right to decline to act further for you.
Concerns over your bill
If you are not satisfied with the amount of our fees please contact us. If you remain unhappy about the level of our fees you may be able to make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman or may be entitled to have the bill assessed by the Court in accordance with Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. Your rights are set out more fully in Sections 70, 71 and 72 of the Solicitors Act 1974.
Lien over papers and documents
Following the conclusion of your matter, we are entitled to retain your file of papers and documents while there is money owing to us for fees.
Client account
We operate a client account facility which allows for money to be held or transferred in relation to a matter we are working on. However, the facility is operated at our discretion and any unauthorised receipts will be held pending further investigation or returned to the sender. Therefore, we ask that you give us advance warning of any receipts.
It is our policy to only accept cash up to £250. If you 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. 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.
Client Interest
If we hold money on your behalf, in accordance with the SRA Accounts Rules 2011, it is our policy that we will pay you a sum of money in lieu of interest on a fair and reasonable basis.
Client monies will normally be held by us in a general client account with our primary banker, which is NatWest bank.
A sum in lieu of interest will be payable on amounts held in our general client account on the following basis:
Interest will be paid at the conclusion of your matter:
- The period for which interest will be paid normally runs from the date the funds are received by us cleared in our account until, where paid electronically, the date when the funds are sent or, where paid by cheque, the date(s) on the cheque(s) issued to you;
- The rate of interest paid to clients will be in line with NatWest bank’s published interest rates on Client Deposit Accounts over the period when interest is due;
- All sums that are paid to you will be paid as a gross amount;
- On money held for the payment of a professional disbursement if the person to whom the money is owed has requested a delay in settlement;
- On money on an advance to us to fund a payment on your behalf in excess of funds already held for you;
- Where the total amount of interest calculated over the course of the matter is £50 or less;
- Otherwise, where there is an agreement to contract out of the provisions of this policy.
It is unfortunate that Cybercrime and email fraud targeted at law firms and their clients is on the increase. Fraudsters are using very sophisticated methods to manipulate IT and intercept communications. We take the following precautions to prevent cybercrime and email fraud.
Confirmation of our bank details
Our bank account details will be confirmed to you at the outset of the matter. We will not be changing our bank account details during the course of dealing with your matter so the account details we have confirmed in the body of these terms and conditions will stay the same throughout the lifetime of your matter.
We will only notify you of changes to important business information, including bank account details, in official correspondence which will be sent by postal mail. If you ever receive any other communication purporting to come from us and which purports to change our bank account details or to request that you send funds to another account, please do not rely and immediately contact the person at this firm handling your matter by telephone. Even if the request appears to have come from us, you must never send funds to another account unless you have verified this with us.
We cannot take any responsibility for any losses where funds are transferred to other accounts that have not been verified by us.
Sending funds to our bank account
Prior to transferring any funds to our account, we recommend you contact us to verify our account details. Wherever possible, you should contact the person at this firm handling your matter by telephone.
Our firm sending funds to you
We may not agree to send any funds to you unless it is to a pre-agreed bank account which we have verified. At the conclusion of your conveyance we will not transfer any monies to any account holder other than that of the person/s instructing us.
You must take care to protect your own data and bank account details. Confirming your bank details by email should be avoided.
For all new matters, the person with conduct of your matter will contact you by telephone to verify your bank account details, prior to our sending funds to you. We are sorry if this causes any delay to the processing of payments but we do consider that these steps are necessary to help protect you and your money from fraud.
If you are a long-standing client of the firm and/or a client to whom we have previously transferred funds and your bank account details have not changed we may rely on our previous transactions rather than contact you via telephone for verification unless circumstances exist which increase the level of risk or we otherwise consider it appropriate to do so.
Insurance
We are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (formerly the Financial Services Authority). However, our firm is included on the FCA Register so that we can carry on insurance distribution activity, which is broadly the advising on, selling and administration of insurance contracts. This is 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.gov.uk.
We do not generally sell or advise on insurance policies except those that are required in relation to our conveyancing and litigation practices. In conveyancing work, clients may encounter a problem that can be overcome by the taking out of a suitable insurance policy such as to protect against a defect in the title to a property. Should we identify a problem that cannot readily be overcome without taking out such a policy, we will inform clients at the appropriate time.
If we are requested to recommend an insurer, we will advise the client about the range of legal indemnity insurers we have checked before recommending a particular policy and, if it is not on a fair market analysis, we will explain the basis upon which the recommendation has been made and will check the suitability of any such policy. If we are requested to assist in the arranging of any insurance on behalf of a client, we will inform the client of all necessary information by means of a written ‘demand and needs statement’.
If we recommend a referral to a particular insurer, we shall do so in good faith but we shall not be liable to you for any advice or assistance you may be given by them.
Furthermore, you will not be afforded the regulatory protection of the SRA and shall not be entitled to the benefit of the SRA Compensation Fund in relation to those insurance services.
The Law Society of England and Wales is a designated professional body for the purposes of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The Solicitors Regulation Authority is the independent regulatory arm of the Law Society. The Legal Ombudsman is the independent complaints-handling arm of the Law Society. If you are unhappy with any investment advice you receive from us, you should raise your concerns with either of those bodies.
Limitation of Liability
Reliance by third parties
Advice rendered by us is provided for the purpose of the instructions to which it relates and for your benefit. It may not be used or relied on for any other purpose or by any person other than you without our prior agreement.
Liability in respect of other parties
We will use all reasonable endeavours to ensure that all information provided by us is accurate but we cannot account for the accuracy of information provided by or obtained from third parties. We shall not be liable for any decision made or action taken by you or others based upon reliance on or use of information or advice provided by or obtained from third parties.
Where we are asked to recommend the services of another advisor or service provider, we will do so in good faith, but without liability and without warranting the ability or standing of that person or firm. We will not be responsible for the quality of the services provided by that person or firm.
Limitation of our liability
Our liability to you for a breach of your instructions shall be limited to £3,000,000.00. We will not be liable for any consequential, special, indirect or exemplary damages, costs or losses or any damages, costs or losses attributable to lost profits or opportunities.
We can only limit our liability to the extent the law allows. In particular, we cannot limit our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence.
Conflict
An actual or potential conflict between your interests and the interests of another client of the firm may arise during the course of a matter. If this situation arises during our dealings with you, we will discuss the position with you and determine the appropriate course of action.
Equality & Diversity
We are committed to promoting equality and diversity in all of our dealings with clients, third parties and employees. Please contact us if you would like a copy of our equality and diversity policy.
Data Protection
How we use your data
We are registered as a Data Controller with the Information Commissioners Office. We will use the information that you give us to provide you with legal services, as per your instructions. We will keep your information confidential and will only use it for the purpose(s) for which it was provided or as is permitted in law (i.e. for dealing with complaints or regulatory investigations).
Sharing information
Occasionally, we may need to share some or all of your information with our quality assurance auditors for the purposes of their assessment of whether we are adhering to quality standards. In particular, our files may need to be assessed for quality purposes by a Lexcel or Conveyancing Quality Scheme assessor and your file may be one of a sample which is to be assessed. Any examination will be strictly controlled and will be shared for the sole purpose of ensuring that our handling of your matter meets the requirements of the quality standard.
We may have to share some or all of your information with other third parties. This may include experts and other third parties who we need to instruct to assist us with your matter. We may also have to share information with the Legal Ombudsman (if you complain about our services) and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (the statutory body that regulates solicitors). In doing so we will always take care to ensure that your information remains confidential and safe.
We may wish to contact you in the future about our other services. Please let us know if you are happy to receive that information. To inform us of your preference, you are invited to tick the relevant box in the notice provided and return it to us.
Your Rights
You have rights under the General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018 and these include the right to be informed what information we hold about you. However, it is obviously likely that you will have provided us with such information as we hold. If you believe that the information we hold is wrong or out of date, please let us know and we will update it.
The person in this firm responsible for data protection is Michael Stennett and enquires and requests can be sent to him by telephone 0208 920 3190 or in writing at 4 Winchmore, Southgate, London N14 6PT.
How long will we hold your data?
We will only hold your information for as long as necessary to provide you with legal services and then for only so long as we are required either contractually or under our regulatory obligations.
This will generally be six years after the end of your matter. After this time, we will confidentially destroy all information that we hold about you (in accordance with the clauses below relating to storage and retrieval) other than your name, address and date of birth which we will be obliged to continue to hold for the purposes of ensuring that we never act for another client where doing so would conflict with our obligations of confidentiality to you.
Money Laundering
Notification
Solicitors who deal with money and property on behalf of their client can be used by criminals wanting to launder money.
Under the provisions of our statutory obligations (in particular with regard to our obligations under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 and other relevant legislation including the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and the Terrorism Act 2000), we are under a strict duty to report any circumstances where we know or suspect that a client or matter is involved in money laundering or terrorist financing to the National Crime Agency.
Under these circumstances, we will be precluded from informing you of the disclosure or seeking your consent. If we make a disclosure, we may also have to stop working on your matter for a period of time and may not be able to tell you why.
Identification
In view of the above, it is our policy to obtain satisfactory proof of your identity and/or to make searches of appropriate databases and to make detailed enquiries as to the source of funds being used in relation to transactions on which we are instructed to advise.
We are required to retain records of the identification obtained. We may delay, decline or cease to act for you if we have requested to see proof of your identity, but there has been an unreasonable delay in providing it.
If as a result of meeting our statutory obligations, or executing our internal procedures put in place to meet those obligations in good faith, we cause you loss, damage or delay, our liability to you will not exceed the minimum level of Professional Indemnity insurance cover as specified by the SRA Indemnity Insurance Rules.
Email Communications
If you have the necessary facilities we will sometimes use Email for communication with you unless you tell us not to.
There are some specific points of which you should be aware:
- Communications over the Internet are not completely secure. You will have to guide us as to what should or should not be sent over the Internet.
- Viruses or other harmful devices may be spread over the Internet. We take reasonable precautions to prevent these problems by use of a firewall and virus checking software. If we are to communicate by Email, it is on the basis that you will do likewise.
You may withdraw your instructions at any time by written notice to us.
Should your matter not be carried through to completion then a charge will be made in respect of the work that has already been completed based upon the fee structure that has been agreed. VAT or similar taxes will be payable on that amount and you will also be billed for any disbursements incurred.
We will be entitled to keep all your papers and documents whilst there is money owing to us for our fees and expenses.
Termination by us
In some circumstances, we may consider that we ought to cease acting for you. We will only decline to act further for you where we have reasonable grounds to do so, for example:
- Failure by you to settle invoices in full on the due date or to make payments in advance when so requested;
- Failure by you to give clear and proper instructions on how we are to proceed;
- If it is clear that you have lost confidence in how we are carrying out your instructions;
- If by continuing to act we would be in breach of the law or rules of professional conduct.
- If we do cease to act for you then we will confirm in writing the reasons why and give you reasonable notice.
At the conclusion of your matter, we will store your file of papers for a reasonable period of time. We would usually store casefiles for six years from the date of the final bill but reserve the right to determine the period of storage. Such papers or files may be stored in an electronic form (with the original paper version being destroyed as soon as it is scanned and saved as an electronic file).
There may be documents such as deeds or wills which we have agreed to deposit for you in safe custody or documents that you have otherwise asked to be returned to you. We will not destroy any such documents. This service is currently free of charge.
We also reserve our rights to destroy your files and papers (whether electronic or paper based) after a reasonable period, without prior notice to you, unless we receive a written request from you during this period. At your request we will return any papers or property belonging to you which are not subject to a lien or otherwise being stored for safe keeping.
If we retrieve papers or documents or electronic data from storage in relation to continuing or renewing instructions to act for you, we will not normally charge for the direct cost for retrieval from storage. However, in all other cases, we reserve the right to make a charge for the retrieval or delivery of any stored files (including electronic data), papers or deeds or a charge based on the time we spend reading stored files, papers of deeds, writing letters or other work necessary to comply with your instructions. Our charges would be based on our hourly rate applicable at the given time and we would always discuss this with you beforehand.
Complaints about our Service
We want to give you the best possible service. However, if at any point you become unhappy or concerned about the service, we have provided please inform us immediately.
We will always attempt to resolve any problems that may arise with our service, and we wish to ensure that any concerns are dealt with promptly and to your satisfaction. In the first instance it may be helpful to contact the advisor who is working on your case to discuss any concerns and we will do our best to resolve any issues at this stage.
Complaints Process
If you would like to make a formal complaint, please contact the Complaints Manager:
Email: enquiries@stennett-stennett.co.uk
Post: 4 Winchmore Hill Road, Southgate, London, N14 6PT
To deal with your complaint correctly, it would be helpful when contacting us if you could provide the following information:
- Your Full Name, Contact details and preferred method of contact.
- Our file reference number.
- Details of your concern and how you would like us to put things right.
Upon receipt of your complaint, a written copy of our Complaint Procedure will be sent to you detailing the steps and confirming who will be carrying out the investigation. The Legal Ombudsman allows us a period of eight weeks from receipt of your complaint to try and resolve matters with you before you can refer your concerns to them.
Referrals to the Legal Ombudsman
If we are unable to resolve the complaint with you once we have concluded our professional obligation to try and resolve it, then you can have the complaint independently looked at by the Legal Ombudsman. Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you have, then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman no more than one year from the date of the act or omission which you are complaining about or no more than one year from the date of you realising there was cause for complaint and within six months of you receiving our final response.
You can contact the Legal Ombudsman:
Telephone: 0300 555 0333
Email on enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Post: Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough SL1 0EH.
The Legal Ombudsman has provided further guidance on its service please visit www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Solicitors Regulation Authority
The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help if you are concerned about our behaviour, or that we have not adhered to the SRA Rules and Regulations. This could be for things like dishonesty, treating you unfairly. Please visit their website to see how you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority at https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor
Regulation
We are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). Our SRA number is 564879.
We operate in accordance with a code of conduct and other regulations contained with the SRA’s Handbook. For further information or to see a copy of the Handbook, please visit www.sra.org.uk
We practice through a Stennett & Stennett limited liability compensation.
Stennett & Stennett limited is registered in England and Wales with registration number CRN7666275. A list of our directors and their professional qualifications is open to inspection at our registered office 4 Winchmore Hill Road, Southgate, London N14 6PT.
Contacting Us
Our office is located at 4 Winchmore Hill Road, Southgate, London N14 6PT. The normal hours of opening are between 09.30 and 17.30 on weekdays. Appointments can be arranged outside those hours when essential to the interests of a client.
Professional Indemnity
In the interests of our clients, we maintain compulsory professional indemnity insurance to a total level of three million pounds. Our insurers are International General Insurance Company (UK) Ltd whose registered office is Forum House, 15-18 Lime Street, London EC3M 7AN. The territorial coverage of our insurance is within England & Wales. A full hard copy of our insurance is available to view at our offices. Please ask for details.
Third Party Rights
The Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 does not apply to the terms of our retainer with you or any subsequent amendment to it unless we expressly confirm in writing this it does apply.
Enforcement
In the event that any of these terms and conditions is held to be invalid, the remainder of the terms and conditions will remain in full force and effect.
Governing law
These terms and conditions shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the law of England & Wales.
The Courts of England & Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction in relation to any claim, dispute or difference concerning this agreement and any matter arising from it.
Future instructions
Unless otherwise agreed, and subject to the application of then current hourly rates, these Terms and Conditions of Business shall apply to any future instructions given by you to us. Although your continuing instructions in this matter will amount to an acceptance of these terms and conditions of business, it will be helpful if you will please sign and return one copy of them for us to retain on our file.
As this is an important document, please keep your copy in a safe place for future reference.
I have read, understood and accept the terms and conditions of business set out above.
Signed................................................ Date................................................
PRIVACY NOTICE
We may wish to contact you in the future about our other services. Please indicate if you are happy for us to do so?
Yes, I am happy for you to contact me about other services
No, I do not want you to contact me about other services
Please tick as appropriate.
If you change your mind at any point in the future then please do not hesitate to let us know.
We may need to share some or all of your information with our quality assurance auditors for the purposes of their assessment of whether we are adhering to quality standards.
Do you consent to us sharing that information?
Yes, I consent
No, I do not consent
Please tick as appropriate.
If you change your mind at any point in the future then please do not hesitate to let us know.