1. Acknowledgement and Acceptance of Terms
   
   

We regard the electronic/email or verbal acceptance of our quoted fees as your acceptance of our Terms of Business. If there is more than one party to the transaction we regard this acceptance to be on behalf of all of those involved.

Your continuing instructions will amount to your acceptance of these terms and conditions of business as amplified or amended by the terms of our opening email to you (our “Client Care Email”).

Unless otherwise agreed these terms will apply to any future instructions you give us.

Unless advised otherwise, we will assume that we are authorised to accept instructions from any person who we reasonably believe to have your authority to give us instructions (for example a spouse or partner on behalf of the other) and that we may act on instructions given orally. If this is not the case please give us your instruction in writing.

2. The Team Responsible for your Work
   
   

The Conveyancer and any assistants named in our Client Care Email.

We realise that it is important not to change the people who are handling your work but sometimes this cannot be avoided. If a change is necessary, we will inform you promptly of the reason and who will take responsibility for your work. We may substitute staff on a short-term basis to cover work in absence or at times of high demand.

3. Scope of Work
   
   

The Scope of work that these terms relate to is for Residential Conveyancing only and the works to be undertaken will be covered in more detail in our initial email to you.

We will provide you with legal advice and assistance at all stages of the transaction. We will review the matter regularly and we will notify you of the various options available to you as the matter progresses.

In return, we would ask that you deal promptly and accurately with any requests we may make and provide us with such information and documentation as we may reasonably require from time to time.

Please be aware that on some occasions we will act for both buyer and seller in a transaction.  This will be dealt with in accordance with the CLC’s code of conduct, you will be notified in writing before you begin your transaction and you will have to confirm in writing you are happy to proceed on this basis.

4. Charges, Expenses and VAT
   
   

Our Quote and/or our Client Care Email will include confirmation of anticipated fees and disbursements to cover the expected work involved in the proposed transaction.

Referrals – should your matter have been referred to us by a third party we will disclose any referral payment during the course of your transaction.

We will inform you if any additional work becomes necessary due to unforeseen complexities or change in your requirements or circumstances. We will confirm to you the charges for such work before incurring extra costs, in regard to searches, the estimate given is for a Personal Local Authority search and additional searches. Please note that extra charges may accordingly apply even where a fixed fee has been agreed.

In relation to any additional costs that fall outside of your fixed fee quotation New Homes Law reserve the right to charge additional costs where they have not been notified during the course of the transaction by any third party, but the fee is essential to complete the registration of your property. This will include us charging where applicable further costs for protracted correspondence and communication.

We also reserve the right to charge any increase in HM Land Registry fees where an application has not completed within a set time due to HM Land Registry delays. 

Should you require an expedition of your application at any point in time we will charge a minimum of £100.00 VAT to carry out the additional work and communication involved.

Please note that New Homes Law are on all main stream lender panels. If you choose a nonmainstream lender that we are not panelled with, you may be billed for works carried out prior to your mortgage offer being received. Please check with your conveyancer before any work is undertaken.

We can confirm we will initially interim bill on your transaction as follows:

    4.1 Purchases

Upon instruction of any purchase you will be asked to pay the sum of £395 inc VAT on account of costs and disbursements.

We will look to bill your file on an interim basis. Following instruction, the first bill will be produced to cover the opening of your file, AML checks, Land Registry Searches and work undertaken up to the point of producing a report on your contract.  This will amount to £395 inc VAT and disbursements. The second bill will be issued when contract papers have been issued to you.  This bill will be £580 inc VAT. At this point we will also look to request the balance of any outstanding costs and disbursements including searches. We ask that funds for the second bill and balances are remitted to us at the same time as your deposit.

    4.2 Sales

Upon instruction of any sale you will be asked to pay the sum of £295 inc VAT on account of costs and disbursements.

We will look to bill your file on an interim basis. Following instruction, the first bill will be produced to cover the opening of your file, AML checks, Land Registry Searches, and work undertaken up to the point of sending draft contract pack. This bill will be for £295 inc VAT.  Once contract papers have been issued and we receive legal enquiries we will issue the second bill, this will be for £500 inc VAT.  At this point we will also look to request balance for any outstanding disbursements.

    4.3 Any other type of transaction

Upon instruction of any other type of transaction you will be asked to pay the sum of £150 inc VAT on account of costs and disbursements.

Dependant on the type of transaction being undertaken you will be interim billed upon sending documents for signing. This bill will be up to 80% of the outstanding bill balance due. 

Following initial interim billing:

Prior to completion of your transaction, we will send a completion statement which will account for the previous bills and any shortfall in the amounts paid. If sufficient funds are available at completion and we have sent you a completion statement, we will deduct monies due from such funds on completion. If we do not hold cleared funds to cover monies immediately prior to the proposed completion date, we reserve the right to suspend working on your matter. We will notify you if that becomes necessary.

We may require further documentation from you after completion. If this is the case, we will contact you. If you do not provide the necessary documentation to us in good time and we have cause to apply for an Official Search with Land Registry to protect you or a Lenders or Equity Charge Holders position, there will be an additional charge of £35 inc VAT per instance. These charges will need to be paid prior to registration of your property. 

Please remember that this firm does not accept payment in cash under any circumstances and that if you have any query over our invoice/statement you should contact the person dealing with your work straight away. 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.

Our VAT number 123 904 238.

5. Interest
   
   

Any money received on your behalf will be held in our client account.  Please note that New Homes Law Ltd does not pay interest on client money held in our client account.

Under the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) Code of Conduct, we are required to keep client money safe and separate from office money.  If you feel you are entitled to interest on the money we hold on your behalf, you may contact the CLC.

6. Accounts
   
   

We will send you an account for our charges and expenses on our Completion Statement prior to completion. Payment of the account is due on or before completion. If sufficient funds are available on completion we will deduct our charges from those funds. If you have any query about the account please contact us without delay.

7. Bank Failure
   
   

You are probably aware that the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) covers deposits of up to £85,000 per client (£170,000 for joint accounts).  If we are holding funds on your behalf and our bank fails, it is unlikely that we will be held responsible for your losses.  If you hold money with the same bank in addition to any funds we are holding on your behalf these will be aggregated and compensation would be limited to a total of £85,000 (£170,000 for joint accounts) in the event of our bank failing.  You should also be aware that some banks trade under other names and the limit of £85,000 (£170,000 for joint accounts) is for all brands.

Our client account is held at NatWest Bank.

8. Storage of Papers and Deeds
   
   

Upon receiving payment in respect of our final invoice, our policy is to store your file for a minimum period of six years on a sale but all other files will be retained for fifteen years, after which it will automatically be destroyed. “Store” means either (at our option) the simple storage of any paper on the file or scanning that paper and retaining it electronically (and destroying the paper immediately thereafter). Information gathered electronically in the course of the transaction will continue to be stored.

By instructing us to act on your behalf, you thereby expressly consent to us destroying your file as set out above unless you notify us otherwise.

If you require a copy of any document after completion of your matter, we reserve the right to make a reasonable charge for its retrieval and supply.

Naturally we will not destroy documents which you have asked us to retain in safe custody.

9. Liabilities
   
   

Any work that we do for you may involve tax implications or necessitate the consideration of tax planning strategies. Unless very specifically contained within the scope of work (paragraph 3), we will not advise you on the tax implications of a transaction or the likelihood of them arising. If you have concerns in this respect, please raise them with us immediately.

In regard to Stamp Duty Land Tax, we give our estimate as to your Liability, however, this is a personal tax and we accept no liability in regard to the accuracy of the estimate given. If you have concerns in this area, you should consult a suitably qualified accountant.

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

Our liability insurance, in the event of a professional negligence claim against this matter gives us cover up to £2,000,000.00, provided that our liability shall not be limited in relation to any matter for which we are unable to limit our liability by law such as death or personal injury caused by our negligence.

If you make a valid claim against us for a loss arising out of work for which we are legally responsible, and we are unable to meet our liability in full, you may be entitled to claim from the Compensation Fund administered by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (from whom details can be obtained).

In these times of financial uncertainty, we will take reasonable action to protect funds held in our client account. However, we advise you that provided we deal with such funds in accordance with the CLC Accounts Code, we accept no liability to repay money lost through a failure or collapse of any banking institution.

If you are purchasing or selling a leasehold property, the following will also apply:

Service Charge

The lease will require your landlord, management company or managing agent to provide services such as repairing the structure and common parts of the building, and things such as caretaking and cleaning of the building as set out in the lease.

It is important to appreciate that the lease will permit the landlord to recover the expenses incurred in connection with the provision of these services from you as a leaseholder.

There are a number of important things to understand –

1. a)In entering into a new lease with the landlord or developer or buying an existing flat (this means the lease will be transferred to you from the previous owner) you will be contractually bound to pay the service charge and any failure to do so could lead to the landlord bringing court proceedings or even being entitled to bring your lease to an end by a process called forfeiture. This means that you will be repossessed and lose the property entirely.
2. b)You need to appreciate that in committing to the obligations to pay a service charge within the lease you are committing to payments that are unascertainable at this stage.

1. c)Where estimated service charge accounts are produced by a developer or landlord on a new build property or three years service charge accounts are produced where you are buying an existing flat it is vital that you understand that these estimates or accounts for previous years are not to be taken as indicators or guides as to what the service charges will be during your ownership. Buildings can require repairs and remediation at any time and the cost of those repairs can be included in a service charge. Costs for the provision of services can increase from year to year due to inflation or due to supply and demand.
2. d)The lease will provide how the service charge will be apportioned between leaseholders and the accounts should confirm this and although it can be assumed this will be on a fair and reasonable basis, we will report to you as to how the lease apportions service charge but will be unable to check whether the service charge has in fact been apportioned by the landlord as the lease requires. You must undertake your own investigations.
3. e) There are a number of ways you are protected from excessive service charges.

•  The landlord can only provide services and charge for those services if the lease contains provisions to enable it to do so.
•   Section 19 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 states that a service charge is only recoverable by a landlord so far as the costs have been reasonably incurred. The section also states that a service charge is only recoverable if works carried out for the charge are of a reasonable standard. An application can be made to the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) or the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal in Wales. A fee is payable which is recoverable if the application is successful. The Tribunal has the power to find whether a service charge is payable at all or how much of the claimed service charge is payable. 
•  Section 20 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 states imposes an obligation on the landlord to consult with leaseholders where the cost of an individual item of service charge is more than £250.00 per flat or more than £200.00 per flat where a long term contract is envisaged. If the landlord has failed to go through the consultation process properly or at all the liability of each leaseholder is capped at £250.00 or £200.00. A landlord can apply in certain circumstances to the Tribunal to dispense with the need to consult but must obtain permission before the expenditure is incurred except in exceptional circumstances.
• Section 20B of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 requires a landlord to notify a leaseholder within 18 months of service charge costs being incurred or to demand payment from the leaseholder. Where a landlord fails to comply with this timescale the landlord will not be able to recover the charges.
• The landlord will only be entitled to recover any service charge from you where the demand for payment includes the landlord`s name and address and must also include a “summary of leaseholders’ rights and obligations” (as set out in the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002) which will include details of your right to Tribunal to assess the reasonableness of the service charge being claimed. Where the demand does not comply, the leaseholder has a legal right not to pay unless and until the service charge is demanded in the proper manner.

•  The Building Safety Act 2022 provides protection against certain types of service charge costs. The Act is only partly in force, but it is important that it could affect a service charge that you are required to pay in three ways –
  
  

1. Your landlord might be required to undertake additional works in order to comply with the Act and the requirements of the newly formed Building Safety Regulator and this is likely to increase the costs incurred by the landlord relating to the management of the building which can be passed on in the service charge.
   
   
2. Section 112 of the Building Safety Act 2022 introduces a new Section 30 C into The Housing Act 1985 which in turn implies covenants imposed on the landlord into your lease where the lease exceeds 18 metres in height or has in excess of 7 storeys.

1. a)Where the landlord is an accountable person for the higher-risk building, to comply with their building safety duties.
2. b)To cooperate with any person in connection with a relevant person complying with their building safety duties.
3. c)Where a special measures order in relation to the higher-risk building is in force, to comply with that order so far as it relates to the landlord.
   
   

The same Act implies covenants which are imposed on you as the leaseholder –

1. a)To allow the landlord, a relevant person or a person authorised in writing by the landlord or a relevant person to enter the premises for a relevant building safety purpose.
2. b)   To comply with duties under sections 95 and 97 of the Building Safety Act 2022 which apply to you as a leaseholder and any resident of your property over the age of 16.
   
   

• Section 95 BSA 2022 – states you or a relevant resident —
  
  

1. a)Must not act in a way that creates a significant risk of a building safety risk materialising.
2. b)Must not interfere with a relevant safety item which means damaging it, removing it or doing anything with it which would interfere with its intended function.
3. c)Must comply with a request, made by the landlord, for information reasonably required for the purposes of complying with their duties under Section 112 mentioned in 2 above.
   
   

• Section 97 BSA 2022 states you or a relevant resident must allow the landlord to enter the flat or apartment where a request is made to enter your flat or apartment where the request to a relevant person to enter relevant premises for the purpose of assessing a building safety risk etc) or whether you or a resident has breached your duty under Section 95.

1. d)Where a special measures order is made by a Court or Tribunal in relation to the higher-risk building is in force, to comply with that order so far as it relates to the tenant.

1. It is important that you understand that the Building Safety Act 2022 could apply to your lease where the building in which your flat or apartment is situated is within a building that exceeds 11 metres or 5 storeys and where the owner of the flat or apartment at the 14 February 2022 or a subsequent owner has provided a valid leaseholder deed of certificate which confirms that the lease you are buying was a relevant lease as at the 14 February 2022 and the landlord has produced a landlord certificate that provides information that the landlord is liable for remediation costs incurred.
   
   If the above conditions are satisfied, then some or all of the protection below will apply –

•  The landlord will be unable to add to the service charge costs incurred resulting from remediation work undertaken by the landlord for defective works which had been performed by the landlord or party connected to the landlord.
• The landlord will be unable to add to the service charge costs it incurs resulting from remediation work undertaken by the landlord in connection with cladding.
• The landlord will be required to pursue contractors or third parties who have done work to the building where your property is located where that work requires remediation for the cost incurred before compelling you to pay for it by way of service charge.
• The landlord will be required to attempt to recover costs incurred for remediation work from government schemes and funds established to meet remediation costs before compelling you to pay for those costs by way of service charge.
• The landlord will not be able to include remediation costs in the service charge where the landlord under the lease at 14 February 2022 had a net worth of more than £2,000,000 multiplied by the number of relevant buildings owned by the relevant landlord.
• The landlord will not be able to include remediation costs within a service charge where your property was at 14 February 2022 worth less than –
  
  

1. a)£325,000, if the flat or apartment is in Greater London.
2. b)£175,000, in all other cases.
   
   

There will be a cap on service charge costs incurred relating to remediation where the BSA 2022 applies –

1. a)If the premises are in Greater London the cap is £15,000;
2. b)Otherwise, £10,000.
3. c)Where the value of the flat or apartment as of 14 February 2023 exceeded £1,000,000 but did not exceed £2,000,000, the cap is set at £50,000.

1. d)Where the value of a flat or apartment as of 14 February 2023 exceeded £2,000,000, the cap is set at £100,000.
2. e)Where the flat or apartment is protected by the BSA 2022 the remediation costs recoverable by way of service charge are limited to one-tenth of the service charge cap mentioned above.
   
   

Please note that where your flat or apartment is within a building where the height exceeds 5 storeys, or 11 metres and your lease is not protected by the BSA 2022 in connection with remediation costs the landlord cannot add to your service charge any service charge this is irrecoverable from leaseholders whose leases are protected under the BSA 2022.

It is important that from the outset of our instructions, you understand that we are unable to confirm whether your property is protected by the BSA 2022 because we –

• Are unable to confirm whether the building within which your flat or apartment is situated is more than 11 metres in height or exceeds 5 storeys or for higher risk buildings whether the building within which your flat or apartment is situated is more than 18 metres in height or exceeds 7 storeys.
• Are unable to confirm whether the landlord certificate or the leaseholder deed of certificate that has been provided contains information which can be safely relied upon by you or this firm to enable us to decide that your lease is protected.
• In any event, we are unable as part of the conveyancing process to advise you as to what your liability will be in connection with the future annual service charge which you are obliged to pay as a leaseholder. A surveyor or valuer might be able to provide an opinion as to future service charge costs, whether the state or condition of the building in which your flat or apartment is situated is likely to lead to additional service charge costs or whether remediation works and costs are likely to be incurred which could be subject to the BSA 2022 and the protection we have explained in this document.
• Where you are concerned as to future remediation costs and the impact of those costs on a service charge, we may be able to undertake further investigative work or to provide advice relating to investigative work undertaken by you or a third party on your behalf, but this is not part of our current work and retainer. It would warrant additional fees to be paid to us and would require us to expressly agree to do that work and for our retainer to be extended for that purpose.
• It is extremely important that you are aware that our firm is unable to advise you on the Building Safety Act, which is a complex and evolving piece of legislation. The above is given on an information basis only and cannot be relied upon as legal advice. The provisions of the BSA (including the relevant certificates) extend beyond the scope of our retainer. This means we are not instructed to advise you on this aspect of your purchase, and you must therefore seek specialist advice.
• Where you independently of this firm obtain additional information or external advice on any of the issues specified above and provide this to us, we will consider it however, we will not be able to provide you with any advice upon it. If you have any questions or queries arising from the additional information or advice you will need to raise it with the advisor who provided it.

In agreeing for this firm to act on your behalf in this transaction you acknowledge that our firm cannot be held liable for any loss, diminution, or inconvenience that you may experience as a result of –

1. This retainer in connection with the explanation provided by this firm or advice given concerning the application and implications of the BSA 2022.
2. Not obtaining the surveying, valuation or other specialist advice that might be necessary to determine whether the building where your new flat or apartment is situated requires remediation work to which the BSA 2022 applies.
3. Relying on where appropriate the leaseholder deed of certificate and any information within it provided by the seller or the landlord or the landlord certificate and any information within it provided by the seller or the landlord as we are unable to warrant or verify that the information provided in either is correct or accurate.

By signing a copy of this document you are declaring that you understand the above information and waive your right to bring about any action for professional negligence or breach of contract against this firm should you experience any loss or detriment of any kind resulting from or relating to the BSA 2022 or any information, explanation or advice from this firm on the BSA 202 (including but not limited remediation costs) following completion of your purchase.

It is important that you understand and acknowledge that this firm does not owe you a duty of care and that there can be no contractual liability arising from this retainer from any loss or damage you sustain concerning the application of the BSA 2022 to your acquisition or any service charge liability arising from your acquisition.

You proceed on you at your own risk with regard to future remediation costs or additional service charge costs arising from the BSA 2022 or due to the lack of protection afforded to you by the BSA 2022.

10. Termination
    
    

You have the right to withdraw your instructions, without charge, by notice in writing to us at any time within 14 days of us receiving your instructions. Please note that this right will cease if we start work within that time with your consent (see paragraph 1 above).

You may terminate your instructions to us in writing at any time but we are entitled to keep all your papers and documents while any money is owing to us for fees or expenses.

Our refund policy is as follows;

If the purchase transaction fails before we have received contracts and we have only undertaken limited work such as undertaking AML checks and opening communications with others we will limit our charges to £95.  If we have received contracts and undertaken more extensive work, we will limit our charges to £395, plus any searches and disbursements.  If we have prepared a report on contract we reserve the right to charge 75% of our overall fee plus searches and disbursements less items not yet undertaken, such as SDLT return and Land Registry Transaction.

If the sale transaction fails before we have issued contracts and we have only undertaken limited work such as undertaking AML checks and opening communications with others we will limit our charges to £95.  If we receive your protocol forms and prepare contract papers and/or undertaken more extensive work, we will limit our charges to £295, plus any disbursements.  If we receive and begin dealing with legal enquiries we reserve the right to charge 75% of our overall fee plus disbursements.

We may decide to stop acting for you, with good reason (e.g. if you do not pay an invoice or comply with our request for payment on account or there is a conflict of interest or if we adjudge that the relationship of trust has broken down between us). We will give you reasonable notice that we will stop acting for you.

If our instructions are terminated or we decide we must stop acting for you, you will pay our reasonable charges up to that point. Where there is an agreed fee, it will be the proportion shown above.

11. Raising Queries or Concerns
    
    

We aim to give you a high-quality service. However, as mentioned in our Client Care Email, if you do have any queries or concerns about our work for you (including billing related matters) then please take the matter up immediately, first with your Conveyancer referred to in the client care email. If that does not resolve the problem to your satisfaction or you would prefer not to speak to your conveyancer, then please take it up with our Customer Care team who will handle your complaint, and at conclusion will supply you with a copy of our Formal Complaints Handling Procedure which will include details of your right to take the matter to the Legal Ombudsman if you are not satisfied with the outcome. A copy of our Procedure is available now and at any time on request.

You have the right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman at the conclusion of our complaints process. There are time limits to your right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman and these are 6 years from the date of the act/omission and 3 years from the date the complainant should reasonably have known there were grounds for complaint. The Legal Ombudsman can be contacted by post at PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ or by telephone on 0300 555 0333 between 8.30am and 5.30pm or by email on enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk.

If you have any form of disability which makes it difficult or impossible for you to make use of our service, please let us know so we can take immediate steps, as far as it is possible for us to do so, to enable you to receive the service.

12. Exempt Insurance Mediation
    
    

We are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. However, we are included on the register maintained by the FCA so that we may carry on insurance mediation activity which is broadly the advising on and arranging/administering of insurance contracts. Such contracts would include defective title insurance etc. This part of our business, including arrangements for complaints or redress if something goes wrong is regulated by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers. The register can be accessed via the Financial Conduct Authority website at www.fca.gov.uk/register.

The Council for Licensed Conveyancers is a designated professional body for the purposes of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

If you are unhappy with any insurance advice you receive from us, you should raise your concerns with either the Council for Licensed Conveyancers or the Legal ombudsman.

13. Email Communication
    
    

Please note that we do not currently encrypt our outgoing email messages.  If you provide us with an email address, we assume that you are happy for us to communicate with you via email. If you do not wish us to store your emails, please do not correspond with us by email.

14. Data Protection
    
    

We use the information you provide 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/regulatory compliance. We also confirm that we record all calls.

Our use of that information is subject to your instructions, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), other relevant UK and EU legislation and our professional duty of confidentiality. Please note that our work for you may require us to give information to third parties e.g. defective title insurers. You have the right of access under data protection legislation to the personal data that we hold about you on request.

Please also note that external firms or organisations may conduct audit or quality checks on our practice. These external firms and organisations are required to comply with our Data Protection and Privacy Policies.  They are also required to maintain confidentiality in relation to your file(s).

Upon receiving payment in respect of our final invoice, our policy is to store your complete file for a minimum period of six years on a sale, and fifteen years for all other file types such as purchases, remortgages, transfer of equity’s etc. 

15. Equality and Diversity
    
    

This firm is committed to promoting equality and diversity in all of its dealings with clients, third parties and employees. Please contact us if you would like a copy of our equality and diversity policy.

16. Identity and Source of Funds
    
    

Proof of Identity

The law requires that solicitors obtain satisfactory evidence of the identity of each of their clients in accordance with the current Money Laundering Regulations. As we need to comply with these rules we are required to confirm satisfactory evidence of your identity as soon as practically possible and before any substantive work begins on your file. In addition, due to the higher risk of fraud and money laundering associated with property transactions, we also conduct enhanced due diligence checks by electronic means and other appropriate methods to confirm information relating to your identity and that of any other beneficial owners, relevant giftors or other 3^rd parties.

Please note, New Homes Law charge an Enhanced Electronic ID verification fee of £25 inc VAT per person for each check completed.

New Homes Law have partnered with Thirdfort to give our clients the flexibility to complete the necessary identity checks in an efficient, timely and secure manner. Thirdfort is an FCA regulated business that use cutting edge ID verification technology and bank level encryption to allow you to complete the enhanced ID verification process from the comfort of your own home in a matter of minutes using your smartphone. I have enclosed an information sheet giving you more details about the process. Upon instruction you will receive a notification from Thirdfort to initiate the ID verification process.

Confidentiality

As lawyers, we are under a general professional and legal obligation to keep your affairs private. However, we are required, by current legislation, to make a report to the National Crime Agency (NCA) where we know or suspect that a transaction involves Money Laundering or Terrorist Financing. By instructing us to act on your behalf in accordance with these terms of engagement you give us irrevocable authority to make a disclosure to NCA if we consider it appropriate.

You agree that this authority overrides any confidentiality or entitlement to legal professional privilege. We shall be unable to tell you if we have made a report.

17. Miscellaneous Terms
    
    

Where you the client are an individual consumer only: your statutory rights are not affected by any of these terms and conditions. Further information on your statutory rights can be obtained from any Solicitor, Trading Standards Office or Citizens Advice Bureau.

In accordance with the disclosure requirements of The Provision of Services Regulations 2009, our professional indemnity insurer is Arch Insurance UK Ltd.  The territorial coverage of our policy is England and Wales.

You have the right to use copies of materials we create for you for the particular purpose for which they were prepared. However, all copyright remains with us and you must obtain our permission if you wish to use copies of these materials for any other purposes.

This firm’s services are provided solely for your benefit as our client, and our terms of business are enforceable only by you and us, and not by any third party. This firm has no duty to or responsibility towards any other person (unless that person is also a client of ours), even if the objective of your instructions is to benefit a third party.

If any provision of these terms of business is invalid or unenforceable for any reason that shall not affect the remainder of our agreement with you.

These terms of business are governed by English Law, and any dispute between you and us shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

18. Investment Advice
    
    

We are not authorised by the FCA. If, whilst we are acting for you, you need advice on investments we may have to refer you to someone who is authorised to provide the necessary advice.

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