Terms and Conditions
Standard Terms of business
Our aim
We aim to offer our clients exceptional legal services at a fair cost. We aim to foster a strong solicitor-client relationship built on trust, transparency and open communication ensuring that you are informed and advised sufficiently throughout the legal process. Ultimately our goal is to achieve the best possible outcome for our clients and to offer guidance and support at a fair price.
Hours and place of Business
Our office is based at 14 Madoc Street, Llandudno, LL30 2TL. The normal hours of opening at our offices are between 9.00am and 5.00 pm Monday to Thursday and 9.00am and 3.00pm on a Friday. Messages can be left on the answer phone outside those hours and appointments can be arranged at other times to include evenings and weekends. We do not charge any extra for appointments outside of normal hours or home/hospital visits.
1. People responsible for your work
Zoey Marie Smith will be responsible for all matters.
2. Charges and expenses
When we open a matter for you, we will explain to you how our charges are calculated. The current hourly rates are also set out in our client care letter. For non-fixed fee price work, our fees are based upon the amount of time spent.
Time spent will include (amongst other things):-
- Advising you (in person, on the telephone or in writing including emails)
- Negotiating with others on your behalf (in meetings, by letter or on the telephone)
- Considering, drafting and completing documents
- Preparing for and attending at Court or Tribunal Hearings (this includes travelling and waiting time)
- Instructing third parties to act on your behalf (e.g. Medical Experts, Barristers, Surveyors etc)
- Legal and factual research
The length of time that we anticipate it will take to deal with your matter will be clearly set out in the Costs Estimates in writing.
Time is recorded on your matter in units of six. The current hourly rates which we apply are £200.00 per hour.
We will never change our rates without informing you in writing. Our rates are reviewed yearly on or around 01 April. We will always give you an estimate of the fees from the outset and if it needs to be revised or we exceed our estimate we will inform you in writing.
At various stages throughout a matter, solicitors have to pay other expenses on behalf of clients ranging from court fees, experts fees and so on. We have no obligation to make such payments unless you have provided us with cleared funds or we are satisfied that funds are available to reimburse these expenses.
3. Payment arrangements
Your matter will be billed regularly and usually monthly. It is normal practice to ask clients to pay interim bills on account of the charges and expenses which are expected in the following weeks or months. This not only helps client’s budget for costs but also keeps them informed of the legal expenses which are being incurred. If we invoice you and there is insufficient money held in your client account and requests are not met with prompt payment, there may be a delay in the progress of your case. In the unlikely event of any bill or request for payment not being met, and the invoice remains outstanding for more than 28 days, this firm reserves the right to stop acting for you.
In the event you object the bill you can apply to the Court for an assessment of the Bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974.
Payment is due to us within 30 days of our sending you a bill.
We accept standing orders and offer payment plans (by agreement).
We do not accept payments in cash in excess of £250.00. Monies due to you from us will be paid by cheque or bank transfer and will not be made payable to a third party in any circumstances.
Credit/Debit card payments. We accept debit card payment of your legal fees and disbursements to a maximum of £2,500 on any one matter. We also accept credit card payments up to a limit of £2,500 on any one matter. We do not accept American Express.
Your matter will be billed usually monthly (unless by way of CFA or by agreement). If we do not receive payment within 30 days, we reserve the right to sever the retainer and are entitled to charge interest which may be charged at a rate of 8% per annum.
4. Interest
If we hold money on your behalf interest will be calculated and paid in accordance with the Solicitors Accounts Rules 1998 a copy of which is available upon request.
5. Insurance (after the event)
Insurance can be taken out after a dispute has arisen in relation to certain disputes. If insurance is applicable, we will discuss with you whether it is relevant to your case. Legal expenses insurance can also cover your own legal costs if the case is unsuccessful and also any legal costs that you are ordered to pay to the other person. ‘Costs’ includes fees, disbursements and expenses and VAT where applicable. Premiums for this type of insurance range depending on the type of case. Under some policies, the premium is reimbursed if the claim is unsuccessful. If the case is successful, in some cases you may be able to recover the cost of the premium (or a proportion of it) from the other person (more so in clinical negligence cases).
6. Archive storage of file of papers
After completing the work, we will be entitled to keep all papers and documents whilst there is still money owed to us for fees and expenses. Once our charges and expenses have been discharged, we will store your file for such period as is required by law or recommended by Law Society guidance. By agreeing to us carrying out the work on your behalf, you consent to the destruction of your file in a confidential manner, to include documents and data after we retrieve papers and documents from storage in relation to continuing or new instructions to act in connection with your legal matters. We do not charge for such retrieval.
7. File Audits
External firms and/or other organizations may conduct auditing or quality checks on your file. These external firms and organizations are required to maintain confidentiality in relation to your files.
8. Termination of Instructions
If at any stage you wish to terminate your instructions with us, you must do clearly in writing. We are entitled to keep all of your papers and documents whilst there is money owing to us for our charges and expenses.
We are not obliged to accept instructions from you and may decide to stop acting for you with good reason (if for example, you do not pay an interim bill, comply with the request for payment on account or there is a conflict of interest). If we do decide to stop acting for you, you will pay our charges up until that point which will be calculated as set out in our letter to you confirming the terms and conditions relating to payment of our fees.
9. Money Laundering and precautions
In order to comply with statutory obligations, the firm operates an anti-money laundering reporting procedure. If we know or suspect that you or any other person involved in the matter are involved in the laundering of money we may be required to report.
To comply with the law, we need to get evidence of your identity as soon as possible. The letter accompanying these terms and conditions will explain our requirements in more detail.
We are entitled to refuse to act for you if you fail to supply appropriate proof of identity for yourself or for any principal whom you may represent. We may arrange to carry out an electronic verification of your identity if we consider that a saving of time and cost will be achieved by doing so. The cost of any such search will be charged to you (unless we are acting on a no win no fee basis).
Solicitors are under a professional and legal obligation to keep the affairs of the client confidential. This obligation, however, is subject to a statutory exception. Legislation on money laundering and terrorist financing has placed solicitors under a legal duty in certain circumstances to disclose information to the National Crime Agency. Where a solicitor knows or suspects that a transaction on behalf of a client involves money laundering, the solicitor may be required to make a disclosure. If, while we are acting for you, it becomes necessary to make such a disclosure, we may not be able to inform you that it has been made, or of the reasons for it, because the law prohibits ‘tipping-off’. Where the law permits us, we will tell you about any potential money laundering problem and explain what action we may need to take.
In order to comply with court and tribunal rules, all documentation relevant to any issues in litigation, however potentially damaging to your case, have to be preserved and may be required to be made available to the other side. This aspect of proceedings is known as ‘disclosure’. Subject to this, we will not reveal confidential information about your case except as provided by these terms of business and where, for example, your opponent is ordered to pay your costs, we have to meet obligations to reveal details of the case to them and to the court.
10. Communication between you and us
We will aim to communicate with you by such method as you may request. Unless you withdraw consent, we will communicate with others when appropriate by e-mail or fax but we cannot be responsible for the security of correspondence and documents sent by e-mail or fax.
Where we act for two or more clients jointly it is on the clear understanding that we are authorised to act on instructions from either, both or any of them.
11. Limitation of Liability
Limitation and exclusion of liability in common with other professional advisers. It is the firm’s policy, on all matters on which the firm is instructed, to exclude and/or limit its liability to clients in certain situations. Our insurance covers £2 million and the insurer can be contacted at Bridgehaven Speciality UK Ltd, Suite 326, 70 Gracechurch Street, London, EC3V 0HR. Please note, it will be Baines Solicitors who provides services to you and that Baines Solicitors liability to you will be limited to £2 million on each matter on which it is instructed unless otherwise agreed in respect of that specific matter.
12. Client Satisfaction
Client satisfaction is our top priority. We are dedicated to providing high-quality legal services tailored to meet your unique needs. We welcome your feedback and from time to time will encourage you to share your thoughts and feedback as your input helps us continually improve.
13. Equality and diversity
We are fully committed to fostering an inclusive environment that fully promotes equality and diversity. If you require a hard copy of our Equality and Diversity policy, please contact the firm.
14. Data Protection Act & the General Data Protection Regulation 2018
All information we that we hold regarding you as an individual will be processed by the firm and any third parties at our request strictly in accordance with the provisions of the EU General Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). As Solicitors, we have a duty of confidentiality to you under the SRA Code of Conduct for Firms 2019. We take that duty very seriously and it is part of our professional culture to protect your personal data.
Any personal information we collect from you will be used solely for the purpose of providing legal services to you, managing our client relationship and complying with our legal obligations.
Please note, we will not supply your details to a third party unless it is part of the services we undertake. For that purpose, we may be required to give information to external third parties such as insurers, expert witnesses and other third parties. Should you have any queries concerning this, please contact Zoey Marie Smith at zoey.smith@baineslaw.uk
As a client of Baines solicitors, you have the right to access the personal data that we hold about you. This includes the right to request information about what data we collect, how it is processed and for what purposes. To exercise this right, you may submit a written request to Zoey Marie Smith at zoey.smith@baineslaw.uk. We will respond to your request within one month providing you with a copy of your personal data in a clear and understandable format. If you have difficulty in putting your request in writing, then please contact us in some other way and we will do all that we reasonably can to accommodate you.
For more detailed information on how we handle your data please refer to our Privacy Policy on our website. If you do not have access to the internet, then please contact the firm and we will send you a paper copy of the Privacy Notice.
15. Professional Indemnity Insurance
We have professional Indemnity Insurance arranged with Bridgehaven Speciality UK Ltd. Contact details are available from Zoey Marie Smith.
16. Distance selling or contracts made off premises (ie: in homes, hospitals)
If we have not met with you, or have met you off site, we have entered into a contract with you and the Consumer Contract Regulations 2013 apply.
- Cancellation
You have the right to cancel this contract within 14 days without giving any reason. The cancellation period will expire after 14 days from the day of the conclusion of the contract. To exercise the right to cancel, you must inform us at Baines Solicitors,
14 Madoc Street, Llandudno, LL30 2TL Tel: 01492 685096 email: zoey.smith@baineslaw.uk of your decision to cancel this contract by a clear statement (e.g. a letter sent by post, fax or e-mail). You may use the attached model cancellation form, but it is not obligatory. To meet the cancellation deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right to cancel before the cancellation period has expired.
Effects of Cancellation
If you cancel this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery. We reserve the right to make a deduction from
the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you. We will make the reimbursement without undue delay and not later than 14 days from the day on which we are informed about your decision to cancel this contract. We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless we have agreed otherwise.
Requests by you for us to start work immediately
We will not carry out any work within the cooling off period unless you expressly instruct us to do so, in writing. If you would like us to start work on your file, within the next 14 days, please sign and return the terms of business and signed declaration below.
Baines Solicitors
Authorised and Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under SRA Number 8013097
Address: 14 Madoc Street, Llandudno, LL30 2TL Tel: 01492 685096
We operate in accordance with the Solicitors Code of Conduct 2011, as amended from time to time. Details of the Code of Conduct can be found on the website of the Solicitors Regulation Authority at www.sra.org.uk. If you continue to instruct us to act on your behalf, those instructions will amount to acceptance on your part of these terms of Business. However, we would be obliged if you would sign date and return to us the enclosed copy within seven days so that we can be confident that you understand the basis upon which we will act for you Signed
Signed
Dated ................................................. ...................................................
................................................
I confirm that I would like you to start work on my file with immediate effect. I am aware once work has been started I may be charged for such work.
Signed Dated
Cancellation Form
To Baines Solicitors of
14 Madoc Street, Llandudno, Conwy LL30 2TL Tel: 01492 685096
Email: zoey.smith@baineslaw.uk
Delete as applicable
I/We ……………………………………………………………. of …………………………
…………………………………………. hereby give you notice that I/we cancel my/our
contract for the provision of the following service.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Name…………………………………………………..
Address…………………………………………………
Signature………………………………………………
Date…………………………