Terms of Engagement

OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS:

TERMS OF ENGAGEMENT to be read in conjunction with our 

Useful Information & FAQS documentation

1. Our normal contactable hours when we are open to the public are from 10.00am to 12.30pm and from 2.00pm to 4.30pm Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays). We close between Christmas and New Year. Please be aware that Mondays and Fridays are the busiest days. The last working day of the month is also very busy. In order for us to help you most efficiently please restrict non-essential telephone calls or emails to other times where possible

2. We are only able to progress matters on your instructions. We will keep you informed, if necessary, by copying relevant correspondence and documents to you and writing explanatory letters. In return, we ask that you promptly provide instructions and information to us and that if there are periods during which you will not be available, you warn us in advance.

3. If two or more persons are instructing us jointly on the same matter then, unless you advise us in writing to the contrary, we shall be entitled to assume that any one of them has the authority to give instructions for all. Everyone jointly instructing us will be individually responsible for the payment of all our fees.

4. These Terms and Conditions are issued by the Directors of Adam Ledger Property Lawyers Limited.

Holding Client’s Money

1. Unless agreed to the contrary we will not open any special deposit account for you the client. 

2. Conveyancing transactions can only be completed when we hold cleared funds. If you are paying any part of the purchase price we will require funds to be paid by electronic transfer (Faster Payment, BACS, CHAPS).

Complaints

1. If you have a complaint regarding any aspect of our services please initially ask to speak to Adam Ledger or Sarah Horrocks or Nazma Khatun. We would hope to immediately satisfy any justifiable complaint you may have against ourselves. If this does not provide satisfaction you can complain to the Council for Licensed Conveyancers of WeWork,  120 Moorgate, London EC2M 6UR who are the regulator of Adam Ledger Property Lawyers Limited and deal with the conduct related complaints only. Alternatively, if your complaint is a service related complaint this can be escalated to The Legal Ombudsman  Contact Us | Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6167 Slough, SL1 0EH;  

Enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk or telephone 0300 555 0333. You have six years to make a complaint from the date of the problem occurring or three years after discovering the problem.

2. If you make a valid claim against us for 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.

Costs

1. In carrying out certain types of work, particularly property work, we may have to make substantial payments on your behalf to third parties. Such payments may include, for example, purchase monies or mortgage repayment. In these cases, we are only permitted by our professional rules to make these payments from cleared funds.  We only accept the following payment methods – CHAPS or Faster Payment or BACS

2. Certain services may be charged for separately. These include facsimile transmissions, preparation of detailed narratives, photocopying, international and long distance telephone calls, mobile phone calls, postage and courier charges, bank transfers and deposit account facilities and company registration services, office copy entries, land registry documents as a set fee as stated plus VAT

3. Whenever possible we will offer fee estimates. In certain types of conveyancing work this will not be possible. In these circumstances we will provide you with an estimate of what we expect our fees to be. However, factors beyond our control mean that these may have to be revised and in some situations separate estimates may have to be given for each stage of the proceedings. If unanticipated additional work is undertaken this will be charged for separately/additionally. 

4. In many cases it will be necessary for us to incur or pay fees and expenses on your behalf to progress matters. These include search fees, Land Registry fees, courier fees, travel expenses and stamp duty. We will normally require you to pay the amounts of such fees before we incur liability to pay them on your behalf. All disbursements will be shown and itemised on your bill separately. Some disbursements will be subject to vat.

5. If, for any reason, we cease to represent you or if a matter does not proceed to completion you will be responsible for our fees for all work done up to that date and any disbursements incurred on your behalf unless we have agreed otherwise in writing beforehand. You will be invoiced at the time we cease to act on the transaction. Our minimum charge for taking instruction and processing opening an account and file is £100. Plus VAT

6. In most matters, it is our practice to require that payments are made to us on account of anticipated fees and disbursements. In these circumstances, it is a condition of our agreeing to act, and of our continuing to act, that clients promptly meet any request for payments on account.

7. If your matter is to be completed it is our standard practise that it will be invoiced on or prior to completion.

8. Fees and disbursements invoiced to you are due for payment immediately on delivery of our invoice. Interest will be charged from that date on any amounts not paid within 30 days of delivery of the invoice, calculated on a daily basis at 4% above the base rate from time to time of Virgin Money UK. If any invoice remains unpaid after 30 days from the date of delivery, we reserve the right to terminate our retainer, that is to suspend work on your files and, ultimately, to refuse to continue to represent you.

9. In accordance with our normal practice, where we are in possession of any monies due to you, for instance, re-mortgage funds or the proceeds of sale of a property, we deduct any fees and disbursements due to us from those monies.

10. In certain types of matters such as property purchases, we shall require payment from you of our fees, disbursements, Stamp Duty and Land Registry Fees prior to legal completion taking place. Payment means us having cleared funds.

11. Any fees estimated for this transaction will only be varied if the nature of transaction changes or becomes more complicated than initially envisaged or requires additional work. Any such variation will be advised to yourselves before any such variation is implemented. Our fees shall be calculated at our standard hourly rate of £200 + VAT per hour or part thereof plus vat plus disbursements or maybe varied in accordance with a written fee estimate.

12. We charge a Lenders Panel Admin fee of £50 + VAT for mortgage assisted clients.

13.  We are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. However, we are included in the register maintained by the Financial Conduct Authority so that we can carry on Insurance Distribution Activities, which is broadly advising on, selling and administration of insurance contracts. This part of  our business is regulated by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, and arrangements for complaints or redress if something goes wrong are subject to  the jurisdiction of the Legal Ombudsman (www.legal ombudsman.org.uk),. The  register can be accessed via the Financial Conduct Authority website at  https://register.fca.org.uk” 

14. Our professional fees are liable to VAT.

Leasehold Enquiries

When acting for you in connection with a purchase of a Leasehold Property the transaction may be more complicated than originally envisaged, in particular, enquiries may be required of Freeholders and Management Companies and costs may be incurred which are unknown at the outset of the transaction. There may be additional or more complicated documentation required, more so than a Freehold purchase, a fee may have to be paid to the Freeholder or the Management Company or other Third Parties. We will ask you for these fees in advance of payment. Further our costs may be increased when the transaction warrants the same.

Other Terms and Conditions

1. Unless we agree otherwise, Adam Ledger Property Lawyers Limited retain copyright in all written material prepared for or supplied to our clients. Our clients may of course use the material but only in respect of the matters in respect of which this firm is instructed and for which the material was specifically prepared. This firm accepts no responsibility for the consequences of clients using such material in any other circumstances.

2. Once a particular matter has been concluded we cannot accept ongoing responsibility for reminding clients of changes in the law which might affect them or of critical dates in respect of such matters as rent reviews, lease renewals, the exercise of options, court proceedings and the like. We will only do so where we have accepted specific instructions in writing from you to advise you upon specific changes in law or to deal with the relevant matters immediately prior to the critical date in question.

3. In the interests of efficiency, much of the information that you give us will be recorded on word or data processing systems. By instructing us, you are deemed to have consented to this. Our firm is registered under the provisions of the Data Protection Act 2018. Information held by us is confidential and will not be disclosed by us to a third party without your consent unless we are required to do so by law, including but not limited to, under the rules of professional conduct, following a request by the police or other law enforcement organisations or under Money Laundering Regulations that we are obliged to comply with from time to time. In instructing us you give us consent to disclose such information as may be necessary for the successful and efficient conclusion of the matter upon which your instructions are based. 

4. Upon accepting these terms and conditions you are authorising us to pay any Estate Agents bill or charges plus VAT you may incur in respect of the sale of your property.

5. It is important that you tell us in writing of any change in your address as soon as possible but in any event within seven days. Unless you do so we shall be entitled to treat your last address known to us as your address for all purposes including correspondence, notices and proceedings.

6. Our failure to enforce at any time or for any period any one or more of these terms shall not be a waiver of them or of the right at any time subsequently to enforce all or any applicable terms and conditions.

7. By instructing or continuing to instruct us, you are deemed to have accepted these Terms and Conditions. These Terms and Conditions can only be altered in writing.

8. On termination of the relationship between us you must pay us for all work we have done and expenses and liabilities (for example, under an undertaking) we have incurred on your behalf but not then invoiced or paid by you. You will also be responsible to pay us for all work we do and expenses we incur in closing our file and ceasing to act for you. Where the courts are involved you must consent (or if you do not you will be deemed to consent) to an application to the court for the name of our firm to be removed from the record and must pay all costs and expenses incurred. We have and shall retain a lien on all your papers, deeds and documents until all monies owing to us or for which you are responsible are paid to us.

9. If you are obtaining a mortgage to finance your purchase, then it will be your responsibility to apply to the lender for the correct amount and also be aware of any deductions that may be made by the lender from your mortgage advance. We will, of course, advise you throughout on the legal implications of the mortgage but will not advise on the financial services and suitability of your mortgage product. This you must obtain direct from your Lender or Financial Advisor. We will obtain the mortgage advance the working day prior to completion to enable us to complete your transaction in a timely fashion. Your mortgage provider will charge you interest from the date funds are transferred to us. 

10. If we are acting for your mortgage lender in addition to yourself (which is usually the case) any fees incurred for the mortgage lender will be charged separately and the fees paid by yourself for your Mortgage Lender will be detailed on our Completion Statement and where possible will be included in the estimate given.

11. In the unusual case that we are not acting for your mortgage lender, then it is standard practice for the mortgage lender to ask the client to meet any fees of the Mortgage Company’s Solicitor. You will need to arrange for your mortgage offer to be issued to solicitors on the panel of your mortgage provider. Those solicitors will charge for drawing down the mortgage advance and we anticipate this will cost in the region of £300 + VAT and will be treated by ourselves as a disbursement which will be payable by yourself.

12. On redemption of any mortgage on the Property a mortgage redemption fee will be charged plus a Bank charge for repayment of the mortgage and any second or subsequent mortgages will be charged at the same rate. These charges are profit costs and will be subject to VAT.

13. Any commission received or paid by ourselves for effecting the transaction on your behalf will be advised to you. During the course of your transaction we may expect to receive or pay a commission or other benefit due to your introduction to us or from introducing you to another person or company. Where clients are introduced to the Practice by a third party we reserve the right to pay a completion fee for that introduction to the introducer e.g. Cowell & Norford £250; Martin & Co. £150; FSNW Ltd £100; Nest Estates £100; Cornerstone Estate Agents £100. This does not affect our ability to act with independence and integrity or maintain high standards of work or prevent us to act in the best interest of our clients. Any referral arrangement we have does not affect your choice of conveyancer.  In accepting these terms you give your consent for us to pay or retain such fee, commission or benefit. 

In many matters now Defective Title Indemnity Insurance is required and our firm have an arrangement with GCS Title Insurance which is speedy and effective. We do not receive any commission from GCS and upon accepting these terms and conditions you accept that we may use GCS in respect of any Indemnity or Defective Title Insurance. Our charge for arranging each Defective Title Indemnity Insurance is £75 plus VAT. Similarly our charges for approving/considering Defective Title Indemnity Insurance provided by the seller’s lawyer is £75 to £100 plus VAT dependant on the complexities involved. 

14. We will give you professional advice on property law; we are not qualified to give advice on non-legal matters such as surveys or the structural condition of the property or specific finance investment advice.

15. It is always our policy to advise clients when purchasing a new property to obtain a structural survey, or, at the very least, a Home Buyers’ Report against any property.

16. To assist in the speedy progression of the transaction, please provide written confirmation of any change in your instructions and reply promptly to any correspondence.

17. We shall keep your paper file for up to 15 years on a purchase, upto to 15 years on a re-mortgage and up to 6 years on a sale. If you require the same information we have already passed to you an administration fee of £100.00 plus VAT will be charged. After this time you consent to ourselves arranging confidential destruction destroying the file. Six months after completion the file will be stored in our office thereafter it will be sent to deep storage from our premises and then there will be a cost to you should you require retrieval of the same thereafter. This fee will be £100 + VAT

18. We do not retain title deeds.

19. We charge an administration fee of £250 + VAT in respect of processing a HCA Equity Charge on new build purchases.

20. We charge an administration fee of £200 + VAT in respect of processing First Registration of Title Applications to HM Land registry.

21. Our standard charge for dealing with processing and redeeming each subsequent legal charge are £150 + VAT 

22. Our standard hourly rate is charged at £200 + VAT for unanticipated or additional work undertaken.

23. If it becomes necessary to arrange to see you away from our office (e.g. home visits) we will do so where possible but this will be subject to the payment of an attendance fee of a minimum of £200 + VAT.

24. We shall inform you in writing of any services we provide which are not regulated by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers and that the activity is not covered by CLC approved Professional Indemnity Insurance or the CLC-administered Compensation Fund.

25. If a matter does not proceed or falls through we shall keep your file open for upto an additional 3 months before we close the file and account following which you may need to re-instruct us.

Proof of Identity

We must by law obtain satisfactory evidence of your identity and address. Please help us to do so by giving us the information and documentation we ask for. We are unable to proceed with your transaction and will not be able to exchange contracts until this has been provided.

Money Laundering Requirements

Due to the stringent nature of the Money Laundering Requirements from the 2017 Money Laundering Regulations as amended we will require a clear full up to date bank statement showing all deposit monies deposited therein. This must clearly state the full name of the account holder.

If you are purchasing a Property by way of cash i.e. without the aid of finance, mortgage or the sale or re-mortgage of any other properties owned by yourself/yourselves we will require a certified copy of the bank statement for the account from which the full purchase monies are held. This must clearly state the full name of the account holder.

Our estimate includes for upto 15 minutes per transaction to deal with money laundering requirements. However if additional time is required to deal with this aspect of the transaction this will be charged at our standard rate of £200 + VAT per hour or part thereof.

If you are supplying monies from any other account other than your own (e.g. gifted deposit monies) we will require a certified copy of the bank statement for the account from which the monies are held together with a certified copy identification from the Donor in connection with your purchase. Please note that gifted deposits will have to be reported to your Lender. We charge a minimum of £100 + VAT for processing each gifted deposit or private unsecured loan.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Stamp Duty was abolished in 2003 and replaced by a new tax called Stamp Duty Land Tax which is commonly known as Stamp Duty. Stamp Duty Land Tax is however a self-assessment tax and it is crucial when we ask you questions to enable us to fill in your Stamp Duty Land Tax return on your behalf that you supply full and frank information. In particular we require information of simultaneous or future linked transactions or additional Properties that you own in order that we assist you in calculating whether your Stamp Duty Land Tax is payable. We must advise the Inland Revenue may revert back to you for further Stamp Duty Land Tax if full and frank disclosure is not supplied. If there is anything unusual about your tax situation and the purchase of the Property complex situations may mean that you need to obtain specialist tax advice from a Chartered Accountant. We will require you to give details if you think that your tax situation is not straightforward. 

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.