Terms & Conditions

Collings Law Ltd t/a Collings Solicitors is a limited company registered in England andWales with Registered Number 7652387. Our Registered office is 51 Stamford New Road Altrincham Cheshire WA14 1DS. We are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under Practice ID Number 560946. A list of directors is open to inspection at our registered office. The Firm’s VAT number is 115 6869 93.

1. Business Hours

 

Our business hours are between 9.00 a.m. and 5.00 p.m. from Monday to Friday. We are able to provide appointments outside of these hours, by prior arrangement. We are closed on all bank holidays.

 

2. Scope of Terms and Conditions

 

These Terms and Conditions govern our Retainer to the exclusion of any other terms; any variation to these terms must be agreed in writing with Collings Solicitors. Although your continuing instructions in this matter will amount to your acceptance of these terms, we ask that you sign, date and return one copy of the Terms and Conditions we give you for a copy for our file. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, these terms will apply to any future instructions you give us. Any reference to ‘the firm’ means Collings Solicitors.

 

3. Scope of Instruction

 

We will ordinarily not provide taxation advice at all, but may advise you about the taxation implications of any Matter only if you have expressly instructed us in writing to do so and we accept the terms of such instruction in writing.

 

4. Client Care issues: Solicitors’ Code of Conduct

 

Collings Solicitors is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street, Birmingham, B1 1RN (the SRA). You can also contact the SRA at www.sra.org.uk or by calling 0370 606 2555.

 

We are bound by the Solicitors’ Code of Conduct and other professional rules, to advise you as to certain matters as set out below, receipt of which information you acknowledge. In addition, our Engagement Letter sets out details of matters which we commit to deal with and update during the course of the Retainer. 

 

5. Contracts with Consumers

 

If you are instructing us for non-business related purposes and we have not met you in person, the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 apply; this means you have the right to cancel your instructions to us within fourteen (14) working days of receiving our Letter of Engagement. You can cancel your instructions by contacting us by post, fax or email. If you wish to waive your rights under these Regulations because you wish us to start work on a Matter before the expiry of fourteen (14) working days, you should do so in writing: we will charge you for any work we have carried out.

 

6. Important Information

 

Please be aware that we do not notify changes to important business information, such as bank account details, by email.

 

7. Our responsibilities

 

We will:

 

i) treat you fairly and with respect;

ii) communicate with you in plain language;

iii) review your matter regularly;

iv) advise you of any changes in the law that affect your matter; and

v) advise you of any reasonably foreseeable circumstances and risks that could affect the outcome of your matter.

 

8. Your responsibilities

 

You will:

 

i) provide us with clear, timely and accurate instructions;

ii) provide all documentation and information that we reasonably request in a timely manner; and

iii) safeguard any documents that may be required for your matter, including documents that you may have to disclose to another party.

 

9. Contentious Matters

 

To help us to help you:

 

Please give us clear instructions if you are aware that there is a development in your matter about which we should be informed. It is always helpful if instructions can be given in writing, especially if matters of detail are involved.

 

i) In order to prepare your matter properly, we will need to ask you in due course for all the documents which are likely to form part of your matter, including not only those documents supporting your matter, but also those which could adversely affect your matter or another party’s. The documents include not just paper records, but anything on which information of any description is recorded, including video films and computer databases. The court Rules require that you preserve all such documentation and may order that a fair trial may not be possible if the documents are lost or destroyed before the case comes to Court. 

 

10. Service levels and frequency of communication

 

We will update you by telephone or in writing with progress on your matter regularly. We will explain to you by telephone or in writing the legal work required as your matter progresses. We will update you on the likely timescales for each stage of this matter and any important changes in those estimates. Whenever there is a material change in circumstances associated with your matter, we will update you on whether the likely outcomes still justify the likely costs and risks. 

 

11. Limit of liability

 

Our maximum aggregate liability to you in this matter shall not exceed three million pounds (£3,000,000.00) including interest and costs unless we expressly state a different figure in our letter confirming your instructions. If you wish to discuss a variation of this limit, please contact the person dealing with your matter. Agreeing a higher limit on our liability may result in us seeking an increase in our charges for handling your matter.

 

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 profit or opportunity. Collings Solicitors is a limited company. This means that the firm’s directors are not personally liable for any acts or omissions by the firm, unless the law requires otherwise. This does not limit or exclude liability of the firm for the acts or omissions of its directors. We can only limit our liability to the extent the law allows. In particular, we cannot and do not limit our liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence. Please ask if you would like us to explain any of the terms above.

 

12. Banking

 

We hold all client money in Lloyds Bank which is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). It is unlikely we will be held liable for any losses you suffer as a result of any such banking institution being unable to repay depositors in full. You may, however, be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

 

The FSCS is the UK’s statutory fund of last resort for customers of banking institutions. The FSCS can pay compensation up to £85,000 if a banking institution is unable, or likely to be unable, to pay claims against it. The limit is £85,000 per banking institution. If you hold other personal money in the same banking institution as our client account, the limit remains £85,000 in total. Some banking institutions have several brands and the limit is£85,000 per institution, not per brand. You should check with your banking institution, the FCA or a financial advisor for more information.

 

The FSCS also provides up to £1,000,000.00 (one million) of short-term protection for certain high balances, e.g. relating to property transactions, inheritance, divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership, unfair dismissal, redundancy, and personal injury compensation (there is no financial limit on protection for personal injury compensation). This is called the temporary high balance scheme and, if it applies, protection lasts for a maximum of six months.

 

The FSCS (including the temporary high balance scheme) will apply to qualifying balances held in our client account. In the unlikely event of a deposit-taking institution failure, we will presume (unless we hear from you in writing to the contrary) we have your consent to disclose necessary client details to the FSCS.

 

13. Professional indemnity insurance

 

We have professional indemnity insurance giving cover for claims against the firm. Details of this insurance, including contact details of our insurer and the territorial coverage of the policy, can be inspected at our office and/or available on request.

 

To comply with our regulatory obligations and the terms of our professional indemnity insurance, we may disclose relevant documents and information tonsures, brokers and insurance advisers on a confidential basis. This could include details of any circumstances arising from our work for you that might give rise to a claim against. Unless you notify us to the contrary, you agree to such disclosure by us even if the documents and information in question are confidential and/or subject to legal professional privilege.

 

14. Storage and retrieval files

 

After completing the work, we will be entitled to keep all your papers and documents while there is still money owed to us for fees and expenses. Thereafter, we will keep your file for a minimum of 6 years, save any papers you ask to be returned to you. We will not charge for storing original documents in safe custody, e.g. wills and title deeds.

 

We store files on the understanding that we can destroy them 6 years after the date of the final bill. We will not destroy documents you ask us to deposit in safe custody.

 

If we retrieve your file from storage (including electronic storage) in relation to continuing or new instructions to act for you, we will not normally charge for the retrieval. If we retrieve your file from storage for another reason, we may charge you for:

i) time spent retrieving the file and producing it to you;

ii) reading, correspondence, or other work necessary to comply with your instructions in relation to the retrieved file;

iii) providing additional copies of any documents.

 

For information on how long we will hold your personal data, please request a copy of the Firm’s Privacy policy if required.

 

15. Outsourcing

 

Sometimes we ask other companies or people to carry out photocopying on our files to ensure this is done promptly and in the most cost-effective manner. We will always seek a confidentiality agreement with these outsourced providers. For information on outsourcing in relation to your personal data, please request a copy of the Firms’ Privacy policy.

 

16. External auditing and due diligence

 

External firms or organisations may conduct audit or quality checks on our practice from time to time. They may wish to audit or quality check your file and related papers for this purpose. It is a specific requirement imposed by us that these external firms or organisations fully maintain confidentiality in relation to any files and papers which are audited or quality checked.

 

Your files may also be reviewed in a due diligence exercise relating to the sale or transfer of all or part of our business, the acquisition of another business by us or the acquisition of new business. If you do not wish your file to be used in this way, please let us know as soon as possible.

 

For information on external auditing and due diligence in relation to your personal data, please request a copy of the Firms’ Privacy policy.

17. Terminating your instructions

 

You may end your instructions at any time by giving us notice in writing. We can keep all your papers and documents while our charges or disbursements are outstanding.

 

We can only decide to stop acting for you with good reason and we must give you reasonable notice.

 

If you or we decide that we should stop acting for you, you are liable to pay our charges up until that point. These are calculated on the basis set out in our letter confirming your instructions.

 

18. Data Protection

 

We use your personal data primarily to provide legal services to you, but also for related purposes as described in this Firm’s Privacy Notice:

 

i) conducting checks to identify you, verify your identity and screen for financial or other sanctions;

ii) gathering and providing information required by or relating to audits, enquiries and investigations by regulatory bodies;

iii) complying with professional, legal and regulatory obligations that apply to our business;

iv) ensuring business policies are adhered to, e.g. policies covering security and internet use;

v) operational reasons, such as improving efficiency, training and quality control;

vi) ensuring the confidentiality of commercially sensitive information;

vii) statistical analysis to help us manage our practice e.g. in relation to our financial performance, client base, work type or other efficiency measures;

viii) updating and enhancing client records;

ix) preventing unauthorised access and modifications to systems;

x) preparing and filing statutory returns;

xi) ensuring safe working practices, and monitoring and managing staff absences and staff access to systems and facilities; staff administration and assessments, monitoring staff conduct, and disciplinary matters;

xii) marketing our services;

xiii) credit reference checks via external credit reference agencies;

xiv) external audits and quality checks.

 

Our use of your personal data is subject to your instructions, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), other relevant UK and EU legislation and our professional duty of confidentiality.

 

Collings Solicitors is a data controller for the purpose of the GDPR and other relevant data protection legislation. we have nominated Lesley Ottavianelli as the firm’s representative for the purpose of the GDPR.

 

We take your privacy very seriously. Please request our Privacy policy as it contains important information on:

 

i) what personal data we collect about you and how data is collected;

ii) how, why and on what grounds we use your personal data;

iii) who we share your personal data with;

iv) where your personal data is held and how long it will be kept;

v) whether your personal data may be transferred out of the European Economic area and, if so, the measures taken to protect that data;

vi) your rights in relation to the personal data we hold or use;

vii) the steps we take to secure your personal data;

viii) how to make a complaint in relation to our use of your personal data;

ix) how to contact us with any queries or concerns in relation to your personal data.

 

 

19. Promotional communications

 

We may use your personal data to send you updates (by email, text, telephone or post) about legal developments that might be of interest to you and/or information about our current or new services.

 

You have the right to opt out of receiving promotional communications at any time by contacting us.

 

20. Prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing

 

We are required by law to confirm satisfactory evidence of the identity of our clients and, sometimes, people related to them. This is because solicitors who deal with money and property on behalf of their clients can be used by criminals wanting to launder money. To comply with the law, we need evidence of your identity as soon as possible. This is explained in our letter confirming your instructions. Any personal data we receive from you for the purpose of preventing money laundering or terrorist financing will be used only for that purpose or:

 

i) with your consent, or

ii) as permitted by or under another enactment

 

We are professionally and legally obliged to keep your affairs confidential. However, solicitors may be required by statute to make a disclosure to the National Crime Agency where they know or suspect that a transaction may involve money laundering or terrorist financing. If we make a disclosure in relation to your matter, we may not be able to tell you that a disclosure has been made. We may have to stop working on your matter for a period of time and may not be able to tell you why. 

 

Subject to section ‘Limit of liability’ above, we shall not be liable for any loss arising from or connected with our compliance with any statutory obligation which we may have, or reasonable belief we may have, to report matters to the relevant authorities under the provisions of the money laundering and/or terrorist financing legislation. 

 

21. Confidentiality

 

The information and documentation you provide us is confidential and subject to legal professional privilege unless:

 

i) stated otherwise in this document, our letter confirming your instructions or the attached Privacy policy, e.g. in relation to prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing; or

ii)  we advise you otherwise during the course of your matter.

 

We cannot absolutely guarantee the security of information communicated by email or mobile phone. Unless we hear from you to the contrary, we will assume that you consent for us to use these methods of communication. 

 

22. Receiving and paying funds

 

Our policy is not to accept cash from clients. If you try to avoid this policy by depositing cash directly with our bank, we may decide to charge you for any additional checks we decide are necessary to prove 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.

 

Please be aware that we do not notify changes to important business information, such as bank account details, by email.

 

23. Complaints

 

We are committed to providing high-quality legal advice and client care. If you are unhappy about any aspect of the service you receive or about the bill, please contact Matthew Wightman on mwightman@collings-solicitors.co.uk or by post to 51 Stamford New Road, Altrincham, Cheshire WA14 1DS. We have a written procedure that sets out how we handle complaints. It is available by contacting mdempsey@collings-solicitors.co.uk

 

We have eight weeks to consider your complaint. If we have not resolved it within this time, you may complain to the Legal Ombudsman. If you are not satisfied with our handling of your complaint, you can ask the Legal Ombudsman to consider the complaint. The Legal Ombudsman’s contact details are:

 

PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ
0300 555 0333—from 8.30am to 5.30pm

 

enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
www.legalombudsman.org.uk

 

Normally, you will need to bring a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months  of receiving a final written response from us about your complaint, or within six years of the occurrence of the act or omission about which you are complaining (or if outside of this period, within three years of when you should reasonably have been aware of it). Generally, the Legal Ombudsman deals with complaints relating to acts or omissions that happened after 5 October 2010.

 

The Legal Ombudsman deals with complaints by consumers and very small businesses. This means some clients may not have the right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman, e.g. charities or clubs with an annual income of more than £1m, trustees of trusts with asset value of more than £1m and most businesses ( unless they are defined as micro-enterprises). This does not prevent you from making a complaint directly to us about the service you have received or about the bill. 

 

If we are unable to resolve your complaint, and it relates to a contract we entered into online or by other electronic means you may also be able to submit your complaint to a certified alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider in the UK via the EU ODR platform.

 

The ODR platform is an interactive website offering a single point of entry for disputes between consumers and traders relating to online contracts. The ODR platform is available to consumer clients only, i.e. where you have instructed us for purposes outside your trade, business, craft or profession. 

 

The website address for the ODR platform is: http://ec.europa.eu/odr.

 

24. Our bill

 

You are liable to pay legal costs as set out in our letter confirming your instructions. We will also usually discuss this at our initial meeting with you. Our charges are intended to be a fair and reasonable fee taking into account the nature of the work and other factors. Unless otherwise agreed in the Representation Agreement, the basis of our charges will be the time spent on the Matter (including prior to the date of our Representation Agreement) charged at the hourly rates set out in the letter or agreement to which these Terms and Conditions are attached. However, we may adjust that sum to reflect matters such as the efficiency and skill with which the work was carried out, the nature and complexity of the Matter, the size or value of the Matter, the risks and the value provided to you or any saving achieved. You may, of course, agree with us a prior limit on our charges and expenses. Any limit may however affect how much work we can do within your instructions. Our hourly charging rates are reviewed regularly and may be increased from time to time but no increase will have effect earlier than fifteen days from its notification to you. All charges and hourly rates stated are exclusive of VAT, Our VAT number is GB 115 6869 93.

 

25. Other work charged for 

 

Invoices will set out our own charges. These may include photocopying and other services or charges carried out within or incurred by Collings Solicitors on your behalf. We reserve the right to show these items separately. Invoices and/or Completion Statements will also include payments made to third parties on your behalf (“disbursements” or “expenses”). We charge an administration fee of £48 for each transfer of funds made by us through our bank. Any charges by your own or other transferee bank will be payable by you or such transferee.

 

VAT at the then prevailing rate will be charged on all items to which it is applicable.

 

26. Estimates

 

We aim to provide estimates where possible. Where the Matter is contentious, estimates may be required by the Court for the purposes of certain proceedings. Any estimate is intended to be a guide only and will not be a quotation binding upon us. If, in the course of a particular Matter, we have not heard from you within a reasonable time of giving an estimate for any work required to progress a Matter, we may proceed with such work as is, in our discretion, necessary or desirable to progress the Matter in accordance with such instructions as we have previously received from you. The giving of an estimate will not prevent us from charging for work you have instructed us to undertake which is evidently in excess of or outside the scope of our original estimate.

 

27. Timing of Invoices

 

Unless otherwise stated in the Representation Agreement, invoices will normally be prepared and sent to you on completion of your matter unless the level of activity on the matter makes this inappropriate. Such invoices represent a final charge for the period they cover unless otherwise indicated and include third party invoices then received.

 

Bills should be paid on receipt by you. You agree to accept delivery of invoices by email. Receipt by you of our invoice will constitute notice to you of the amount of the sum due. Where the invoice is not paid within one month, we reserve the right to charge interest at the rate payable on judgment debts. We are entitled to use funds provided by you or received on your behalf to settle any outstanding invoices. We will not accept payment in cash. Our charges and expenses are payable even if the Matter to which they relate is not completed. You must pay all invoiced amounts without making any deduction, unless you are required by law to make such deduction. If you are required by the law of any non-UK jurisdiction to make a withholding from any such payment, you shall pay to us such sum as will, after the making of any withholding, leave us with the same amount as we would have received had no withholding been made. We may charge interest on overdue bills at 2% over the Bank of England base rate.

 

We may cease acting for you if an interim bill remains unpaid after 60 days or if our reasonable request of a payment on account of costs is not met.

 

You have the right to challenge our bill by applying to the court to assess the bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. The usual time limit for making such an application is one month from the date of delivery of the bill. If the application is made after one month but before twelve months from delivery of the bill, the court’s permission is required for the bill to be assessed.

 

Unless there are special circumstances, the court will not usually order a bill to be assessed after:

 

i) 12 months from delivery of the bill;

ii) a judgment has been obtained for the recovery of the costs covered by the bill;

iii) the bill has been paid, even if this is within 12 months.

 

We can keep all your papers and documents while there is still money owed to us for fees and expenses.

 

28. Enhanced Statutory Rate of Interest

 

If our Retainer is in the course of your business you agree that in substitution for the rate set out in 27 above, we may following notice to you charge statutory interest at the rate prescribed under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. The applicable interest rate is 8% above the Bank of England repo rate (formerly base rate) as defined in the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Rate of Interest) (No. 3) Order 2002. We also reserved the right to recover compensation for the costs incurred as a result of pursuing the unpaid invoice as defined by the Act.

 

29. Payment on Account

 

Before we start work on any Matter (or during the progress of any Matter) we may ask you to make a payment on account of our charges or disbursements which we have made or are to make in the proper conduct of any Matter; we may decline to provide further services and/or to incur the disbursements or to instruct any third party (such as a barrister, trade mark agent or other third party) until the requested payment is received by us. If you owe us any fees, expenses, VAT or other amounts, we may deduct such amounts from any money of yours held by us for your account.

 

30. Other Remedies

 

Without prejudice to our right to charge you interest or to any other remedy available to us, if you do not pay any invoice when due or if you do not meet any request to make a payment on account, we may terminate your Retainer and/or suspend or cease working on any current Matter.

 

31. Payment by Third parties

 

If your insurers (or any other person) accept responsibility for our charges and expenses, we will ask them for payments. However we reserve the right to recover them from you in the event that they refuse or fail to pay these charges and expenses. You must tell us immediately if your insurers plan to withdraw cover. If you are registered for VAT, you (rather than your insurers or such other person) will be responsible for the VAT on our charges and expenses.

 

32. Contentious Matters

 

If the Matter is contentious, you are obliged to pay us the full amount of our charges and expenses notwithstanding that this may be greater than the amount which you might recover from another party to the proceedings.

 

33. Payment of interest 

 

Our Interest policy explains our approach to paying interest where we hold money in client account for a client, person funding all or part of our fees, trust or person to whom a stake is to be paid (when we hold money as stakeholder). Interest will be calculated and paid in accordance with our policy and will take into account various factors that are explained therein. Please ask us to send you a copy of our Interest Policy should you wish to view it.

 

We are required by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to deposit monies in instant access accounts only. This means that the interest rate paid on monies in a Separate Designated Client Account (SDCA) or in our general client account may not be as high as the recipient can achieve by placing the money on deposit themselves.

 

To summarise, we will pay interest when it is fair and reasonable to do so in all the circumstances unless we have agreed with the recipient to contract out of our obligation to pay interest or where the amount of interest, calculated in accordance with this policy, is less than £20.

 

34. Investment advice services

 

We are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). If, while we are acting for you, you need advice on investments, we may refer you to someone who is authorised to provide the necessary advice.
However, we may provide certain limited investment advice services where these are closely linked to the legal work we are doing for you. This is because we are members of the Law Society of England and Wales, which 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 deals with complaints against lawyers. If you are unhappy with any investment advice you receive from us, you should raise your concerns with the SRA or Legal Ombudsman.

 

35. Insurance mediation activity

 

We are not authorised by the FCA. 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, selling and administration of insurance contracts. This part of our business, including arrangements for complaints or redress if something goes wrong, is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The register can be accessed via the Financial Conduct Authority website at: https://register.fca.org.uk/.

 

The Law Society of England and Wales 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 the SRA or Legal Ombudsman.

 

36. Equality and diversity

 

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

 

37. Applicable law

 

Any dispute or legal issue arising from our Terms of Business will be determined by the law of England and Wales, and considered exclusively by the English and Welsh courts.

 

38. Future instructions

 

Unless otherwise agreed, these Terms of Business will apply to all future instructions you give us on this or any other matter.