Terms & Conditions
WEALTH RECOVERY SOLICITORS LIMITED
Terms and conditions
1. General
These terms set out the basis upon which our services will be provided and is to be read in conjunction with our Engagement Letter.
2. Wealth Recovery Solicitors Ltd
2.1 Wealth Recovery Solicitors Ltd is constituted as a Limited company and is registered in England and Wales with Company Number 11325165
Registered Office: Wealth Recovery Solicitors Ltd, 3 Hardman Street, Manchester, M3 3HF;
a) Phone Number: 0203 695 9239;
b) Email: info@wealthrecovery.co.uk;
c) Web Site: www.wealthrecovery.co.uk;
2.2 Value Added Tax (‘VAT’) number: 322119739
2.3 Authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority 8000728
2.4 A list of Directors is available for inspection at Companies House.
3. People responsible for your work
3.1 We set out in the Engagement Letter the procedure of notifying you of the name of the person who will have day to day responsibility for dealing with you in that matter. In addition, the Engagement Letter will also set out any other members of staff who will assist, support or supervise the person who has day to day responsibility.
3.2 We will endeavour to avoid changing the people who handle this matter but if this cannot be avoided then we reserve the right to appoint other people suitably qualified to deal with the matter on your behalf however we will give you notice.
3.3 The Engagement Letter will set out the person who has ultimate responsibility for the work done within the department which is handling your matter.
4. The work to be undertaken
4.1 The Engagement Letter includes a summary of your instructions and gives details of the work which we will undertake on your behalf. We shall not be responsible for any failure to advise or comment or undertake work on matters which fall outside the scope of this summary and we will not undertake work outside the details we give unless we agree in writing.
4.2 We do not give any tax advice unless we make specific reference in our Engagement Letter.
5. Service standards
5.1 We will update you by telephone or email with progress on your matter regularly, – the Law Society believes this should occur at least every six weeks, unless agreed to the contrary.
5.2 We will communicate with you in plain language.
5.3 We will explain to you by telephone or email the legal work required as your matter progresses.
5.4 We will update you on the cost of your matter, at the relevant stages of your case.
5.5 Subject to our DBA, we will update you on whether the likely outcome still justify the likely costs and risks associated with your matter whenever there is a material change in circumstances.
5.6 We will update you on the likely timescales for each stage of this matter and any important changes in those estimates.
5.7 In any matter concerning litigation we will continue where appropriate to review whether there are alternative methods by which your matter can be funded.
6. Charges and expenses
6.1 Unless our charges are fixed by our DBA, they will be calculated mainly by reference to the time actually spent by the person dealing with this matter and any work which they do on your behalf. This to include meetings with you and other people on the matter as well as reading and working on papers, correspondence, including emails, and time spent travelling away from the office when this is necessary. From time to time we may arrange for work to be undertaken by a third party who is not directly employed by us. Such work will be charged to you at such rate as will be notified.
6.2 Time is recorded in units of 1/10th of an hour. We set out in the Engagement Letter the hourly rates of the person dealing with this matter along with those who are providing support.
6.3 The hourly rates have to be reviewed periodically to reflect increase in overhead costs and inflation. The rates are normally reviewed with effect from the 1st January each year. If a review is carried out before this matter has been concluded, we will inform you of any variation in rate.
6.4 In addition to the time spent, we may take into account a number of factors including any need to carry out work outside office hours, the complexity of issues, the speed at which action has to be taken, any particular specialist expertise which the matter demands. In addition, charges will on occasions reflect the value of the consideration surrounding the matter and the financial benefit it may provide.
6.5 If we have provided you with an estimate of the total charges, it is given only as a guide to assist you in budgeting and should not be regarded as fixed unless otherwise confirmed in writing, as there are many factors outside of our control which may affect the level of costs incurred. We will endeavour to update you on such estimates on a regular basis. As part of this process we will inform you if any unforeseen but significant additional work becomes necessary. We will inform you, and under normal circumstances, in writing before any significant extra costs or expenses are incurred.
6.6 In appointing us to act on your behalf you are also instructing us to incur such expenses and fees which we may call as disbursements as we consider necessary. We will consult with you before incurring any significant expense and fee. VAT will be added to those expenses and fees.
6.7 Subject to our DBA, if for any reason this matter does not proceed to completion then we will be entitled to charge you for the work done and expenses incurred. Unless we state to the contrary payment of our fees is not dependent on the outcome of the instructions or any commercial success.
7. Payment arrangements
7.1 In the event our DBA does not apply we reserve the right to request payments on account of our costs and expenses.
7.2 We shall be entitled to send you interim invoices for our costs and expenses at monthly intervals, or as otherwise agreed with you, while working for you. In addition, we may also send you an invoice, or request payment on account of the charges and expenses which we expect to incur as the matter progresses. We will offset any such payment against your invoice.
7.3 Payment is due upon presentation of our invoice and becomes deemed as late the day after it is presented.
7.4 If you have any query about your invoice including the basis upon which it is calculated, you should contact the person who has day to day responsibility for the matter as soon as possible. We reserve the right to charge you interest on the amount outstanding on any invoice at the rate of 8% after the expiry of 14 days from the date of the relevant invoice. Such interest will be charged on a daily basis from the date payment became due to the date payment is received by us whether before or after judgement. In addition you will also indemnify us and be liable for any of our costs, charges, expenses and liabilities of any kind relating to any step to recover an outstanding invoice including any legal proceedings and those relating to the enforcement of any judgement.
7.5 If an invoice is overdue for payment and/or you fail to make any payment on account of our charges and expenses, we reserve the right to suspend work on all matters on which we are instructed by you and retain all documents and papers belonging to you as well as your monies held by us in our client account irrespective of the matter to which they relate until all sums due to us have been paid.
7.6 Subject to the terms of our DBA, we are entitled to keep any interest on costs recovered between the parties, unless our fees have been paid in full, in advance.
7.7 We are entitled to keep any benefits accrued under Civil Procedure Rule 36.17, where we obtain and recover benefits from any opponent in litigation pursuant to any Court Order.
8 Right to costs assessment
Under the Solicitors Act 1974 you have the right to a costs assessment of our fees. You may become liable for the costs of that assessment by Court Order.
9. Your responsibilities
9.1 If you fail to undertake your responsibilities as here set out and in the Engagement Letter then we are entitled to make additional charges. Those responsibilities are:
a) Provide us with detailed clear and timely instructions which allows us to fully advise you;
b) Respond to all our requests within a reasonable period of time;
c) Provide us with consistent instructions and information;
9.2 In addition you are to:
a) Notify us at any stage if any of the information you have provided, is false, inaccurate or misleading:
b) Advise us of any changes in your circumstances that may result in you being unable to pay our fees.
10 Outsourcing
Sometimes we ask other companies or people to do typing on our files to ensure this is done promptly. We will always seek a confidentiality agreement with these outsourced providers. If you do not want your file to be outsourced, please tell us as soon as possible.
11 Liability for charges and expenses
11.1 You are primarily responsible for paying our charges and expenses even if you or we have entered into an agreement for another party to pay or share them.
11.2 If we receive instructions in relation to a matter from more than one party, each party for whom we are acting will be jointly and severally responsible for payment of the whole of our charges and expenses.
12 Confidentiality and conflicts
12.1 All information regarding you and your business will be kept confidential at all time and not disclosed by us to any other person without your permission except as required by law. We may however make public the fact that we act on your behalf.
12.2 As part of our business arrangements it may be necessary for external assessors or insurers to periodically review our files to check that we are complying with standards and procedures and to advise us in relation to any claim that we may receive from you. Files will not be made available to such persons where the subject matter is of an unusually sensitive nature or where you specifically request.
12.3 It is our practice to check for conflicts of interest before taking on matters in appropriate cases. However, an actual or potential conflict between your interests and interests of another client of the firm may arise during the course of a matter. If this situation arises during our dealings with you, we will discuss the position with you and determine the appropriate course of action. In order to protect your interests we may not be permitted to continue to act for you and if this occurs you will still be liable for our charges and disbursements.
13. Anti-Money Laundering Regulations
13.1 To comply with the law, we need to obtain evidence of your identity as soon as possible. The evidence we request from you will depend upon the type of work we undertake for you. If you cannot provide us with the specific identification requested please contact us as soon as possible to discuss other ways of verifying your identity. In the event that we are of the opinion that we are unable to properly identify you or where we are not satisfied over any source of funds we will cease to act and will charge you for any work undertaken to that point. As part of our charges we are entitled to charge you for the work we do in identifying you, identifying source of funds and “getting to know our client” to comply with our legal obligations.
13.2 In any transaction we require you at the outset of your instructions to provide us with details of your bank account from where payment will be made and which we will need to verify. We will charge for this and will not proceed with any transaction where we are unable to verify such bank details and we will not be liable for any losses arising therefrom. We will also not be liable for any delay in providing such details or should you change your bank account.
13.3 It is our policy not to accept cash from clients. If in the event you circumvent this policy by depositing cash direct with our banks we reserve the right to charge for any additional checks or work we deem necessary regarding the source of the funds.
13.4 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: recent legislation on money laundering and terrorist financing has placed Solicitors under a legal duty in certain circumstances to disclose information to certain agencies. Where a solicitor knows or suspects that a transaction on behalf of a client involves money laundering, the Solicitors may be required to make a money laundering disclosure. If, while we are acting for you, it becomes necessary to make a money laundering disclosure, we may not be able to inform you that a disclosure has been made or the reasons for it. Where the law permits us to do, we will tell you about any potential money laundering problem and explain what action we may need to take. We will also charge for any work that is necessary for us to comply with any anti-money laundering regulations.
14. Data Protection (GDPR)
14.1 By agreeing to engage us under the terms of the attached Engagement Letter, you consent to our using your personal data in certain defined ways. We intend to process data for the following purposes:
a) To enable us to supply professional services to you as our client.
b) To fulfil our obligations under relevant laws in force from time to time (e.g. the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 or HMRC regulations).
c) To comply with professional obligations to which we are subject as a member of the Law Society and under the Solicitors Regulatory Authority.
d) To use in the investigation and/or defence of potential complaints, disciplinary proceedings and legal proceedings.
e) To enable us to invoice you for our services and investigate/address any disputes that may have arisen.
d) To contact you about other services we provide which may be of interest to you if you have consented to us doing so.
e) To obtain any accreditation necessary for the services we provide.
f) To hold such data by our cloud provider.
14.2 We keep information passed to us confidential and will not disclose it to third parties except as authorised by you or required by law. In certain circumstances the law requires us to disclose information relating to you (for example, payments of interest earned on a clients’ account may have to be disclosed under the EU Savings Directive or any such equivalent legislation which may apply from time to time). If on your authority we are working with other professional advisers or lawyers, we will assume that we may disclose any relevant aspect of your affairs to them.
14.3 We may in some cases consult credit reference agencies in order to assess your creditworthiness or verify your identification. If you are an individual, we require your consent before we do this. Your continuing instructions to us will constitute your consent to us carrying out such a search. Details of the credit agency we use are available on request. We have procedures designed to ensure that personal data is used only by appropriately authorised and trained personnel and to safeguard such information against accidental loss or unauthorised disclosure. We will keep that information strictly confidential unless otherwise required by law or court order.
14.4 During the course of the firm’s work it may be necessary to discuss your case with cost specialists, experts, our professional indemnity insurers or counsel. Your acceptance of these Terms of Business amounts to your consent to us to disclose information which we consider necessary to progress or deal with issues involving your case.
14.5 In addition we may, from time to time, utilise external service providers who through providing those services, may have access to information relating to your file, (e.g. locums, solicitors, agents, barristers, transcription companies). These service providers are all required to comply with similar professional obligations or to provide a Confidentiality Agreement. Your acceptance of these Terms of Business amounts to your consent to such disclosure.
14.6 You may contact our Data Protection Compliance Officer at Wealth Recovery Solicitors Ltd, 3 Hardman Street, Manchester, M3 3HF in order to:
a) request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
b) request that we amend or remove any personal data we hold about you
c) inform us that you wish to withdraw your consent to the data we hold about you being processed for any of the purposes identified above.
15. Storage of papers and documents
15.1 After completing the work we are entitled to keep all your papers and documents while there is money owing to us for our charge and expenses. We will keep our file of papers in either paper or electronic form except for any of your papers which you asked to be returned to you for no more than six years. We will keep the file or scanned in pages on the understanding that we have the authority to destroy or delete it six years after the date of the final bill we send you for this matter. We will not destroy documents you ask us to deposit into safe custody.
15.2 If we retrieve papers or documents from storage in relation to continuing or new instructions to act in connection with your affairs, we will not normally charge for such retrieval. However, we may make a charge based on time spent producing stored papers or documents to you or another at your request. We may also charge for reading correspondence or other work necessary to comply with the instructions given by you or on your behalf.
15.3 Storage of client files may be provided by third party contractors. You consent to this arrangement. You also agree to meet the costs of accessing your files in off-site storage for reasons which do not relate to on-going work.
15.4 We will return original documents and deeds to you at your last notified address unless otherwise agreed with you.
16. Termination
Subject to our DBA should it apply:
a) You may terminate your instructions by written notice to us at any time but we will be entitled to keep all correspondence and documents while there is any money owing to us for our charges and expenses in respect of any matter on which you have instructed us.
b) We may decide to stop acting for you where we have reasonable grounds to do so (including, but not limited to, where you fail to pay invoices in full by the due date or to make payment on account when so requested). We will give you reasonable notice in such circumstances.
c) In the event of termination, you will pay our fees and expenses up to the point of termination.
d) If you are an individual consumer (and not a business entity) the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Payments) Regulations 2013 (“the Regulations”) will apply to our agreement. If we have not met with you or the agreement was not made at our premises (i.e. at your home or place of work) you have a right to cancel the agreement within 14 days of entering into it. If you have requested us to do work within this 14 day cancellation period, we are entitled to charge for the work undertaken prior to cancellation. In the event that you wish to cancel our instructions within the 14 day period, please confirm that to us in writing.
17 Limitation of liability
17.1 Agree that the limitations on our liability as set out in this agreement are reasonable. having regard to the nature of your instructions and the work involved and the availability and cost of professional indemnity insurance. We are, however, happy to consider options to increase these limitations, should you so require (which may result in an increase to our fees).
17.2 We will undertake the work relating to your matter with reasonable skill and care.
17.3 We accept liability without limit for the consequences of fraud by us or any of our Directors, Shareholders and Employees which is affected in their capacity as Directors, Shareholders and Employees and for any other liability which we are not permitted by law or rules of professional conduct to limit or exclude. If any part of this agreement which seeks to exclude, limit or restrict liability (including provisions limiting the amount we will be required to pay or limiting the time you have to bring a claim) is found by a court to be void or ineffective for any reason, the remaining provisions shall continue to be effective.
17.4 We will not be liable under this agreement or laws of negligence for any deficiencies in the work we have undertaken if and to the extent that deficiencies are due to any false, misleading or incomplete information or documentation which has been provided to us (whether by you or any third party) or due to the acts or omissions of you or any third party. However, where any failure by us to identify any such false, misleading or incomplete information (or any failure by us to inform you that we have identified such information or any failure to act on your resulting instructions) constitutes negligence then we shall, subject to the other provisions of this agreement, remain liable for such failure.
17.5 Despite anything else contained in this agreement, we are not under any obligation to act for you (or to continue to act for you) if to do so would breach any laws or professional rules. Therefore, we will not be responsible or liable to you for any loss which you or any other party may suffer as a result of our refusal to proceed with your matter where we would be in breach (or we reasonably believe that we would breach) of our legal obligations or our professional rules.
17.6 Except as stated, the total aggregate liability of Wealth Recovery Solicitors to you under or in connection with this agreement (including any addition or variation to it), whether for breach of contract, negligence, breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, shall not exceed £3,000,000.00 (three million pounds).
17.7 Where we are instructed jointly by more than one party, the limit on our liability applies, in total, to all of you collectively (including anyone claiming through you or on your behalf).
17.8 You agree that you will not bring any claims or proceedings in connection with this agreement against our Directors, Shareholders and Employees personally, unless (and to the extent that) you are otherwise permitted to do so by law or our professional rules. Our Directors, Shareholders and Employees may enforce this clause even though they are not parties to this agreement (but despite having such rights, this agreement may be varied or ended without their consent).
17.9 Proceedings in respect of any claim against us must be commenced within six years after you first had (or ought reasonably to have had) both the knowledge for bringing an action for damages and the knowledge that you had the right to bring such an action and in any event no later than six years after any alleged breach of contract, negligence or other cause of action. This provision expressly overrides any statutory provision which would otherwise apply; it will not increase the time within which proceedings may be commenced and may reduce it.
17.10 If we and any other party or parties are liable to you together in respect of the same claim, then we shall only be liable to pay you the portion which is found to be fair and reasonable having regard to the level of our default. Therefore, we shall not be liable to pay you the portion which is due to the fault of such other party, even if you do not recover all or any money from such other party for any reason.
17.11 If we are liable to you and any other party or parties would have been found liable to you together with us in respect of the same claim if either:
a) You had also brought proceedings or made a claim against them; or
b) We had brought proceedings or made a claim against them for a contribution towards our liability,
c) then any sum due from us to you shall be reduced by the proportion for which such other party or parties would have been found liable had those proceedings been brought or those claims been made.
17.12 Nothing in this agreement excludes or limits the liability of Wealth Recovery Solicitors for:
a) Death or personal injury caused by negligence;
b) Fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or
c) Any liability if and to the extent that it is not permissible in law for such liability to be limited or excluded.
18 Copyright
18.1 Unless we agree otherwise, all copyright which exists in the documents and other materials that we create whilst carrying out work for you will remain our property. You have the right to use such documents and materials for the purposes for which they are created, but not otherwise.
18.2 If you use such documents for any purpose other than that for which they were created we are not responsible to you for any losses that you may suffer as a result.
18.3 Unless otherwise required by law or court order, you agree not to make our work, documents or materials available to third parties without our prior written permission. Our work is undertaken for your benefit alone and we are not responsible to third parties for any aspect of our professional services or work that you make available to them.
19 Referrals to Third Parties
19.1 If we recommend that you use a particular firm, agency or business, we shall do so in good faith and because we believe it to be in your best interests. If we recommend that you use a particular firm, individual, agency or business that can only offer products from one source, we shall notify you in writing of this limitation. We will pay to you any commission that we receive from any particular firm, agency or business that we recommend you use.
19.2 If we recommend that you use a particular firm, individual, agency or business, we shall not be liable to you for any advice you may be given by that firm, agency or business and you are advised that if that firm, agency or business is not another firm of solicitors you will not be afforded the regulatory protection of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) or of the SRA Code of Conduct and SRA Indemnity Insurance Rules, nor shall you be entitled to the benefit of the SRA Compensation Fund.
20 Rights of Third Parties
Except as stated otherwise, a person who is not a party to this agreement shall not be entitled to enforce or have the benefit of any of its terms.
21 Cloud computing
We reserve the right at any time to store any documentation we hold on your behalf in the Cloud. We will have an agreement with such a provider. If you have any objection to information being stored this way then you are to contact us.
22 Avoiding scams
22.1 We will not be responsible for any breach of your own data and bank account details or any issues arising from social engineering scams or IT manipulation as a result of any of your actions.
22.2 We will only provide our own banking details in a secure manner. We will not be responsible if you pay any monies into a wrong account. In addition we will not be liable where as a result of any scam we also pay your monies into a wrong account.
23 Communication between you and us
23.1 Our aim is to offer all our clients an efficient service at all times. However, should there be any aspect of our service with which you are unhappy with, please raise your concern in the first place with the person dealing with the matter. If you still have any queries or concerns please contact the Head of Department or such other person as you are notified of.
23.2 We will aim to communicate with you by such method as you may request. We need to virus check disks or email. Unless you withdraw consent, we will communicate with others where appropriate by email or fax but we cannot be responsible for the security of correspondence and documents sent by email or fax.
24 Emails
Please also note, that whilst we are keen to use email to assist the speed of communications with our clients and other third parties, we cannot accept any liability in the event that a properly addressed email does not promptly reach its destination for any technical or other reason beyond our reasonable control, or if its contents are read or disclosed by any unauthorised third party. We do take reasonable steps to ensure that our network is free from viruses. However, you should check any emails or attachments yourself on receipt, as we cannot accept responsibility for any computer virus which is transferred by us by way of email.
25 Provisions of Service Regulation 2009
We comply with this regulation by displaying the required details of our Professional Indemnity Insurance at our office. Please ask if you require further information on this matter.
26 Equality and Diversity
This firm is committed to promoting equality and diversity in all of its dealings with clients, third parties and employees, and is required to produce a written equality and diversity policy. Please contact us if you would like us to send you a copy of that equality and diversity policy.
27 Financial Services
27.1 The Law Society of England and Wales is a designated professional body under Part XX of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 which means that we may carry on certain regulated activities without being regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. This means that we may be able to provide limited financial services to you where such services arise out of, or are complementary to, the provision of legal services.
27.2 The Law Society is the designated professional body for the purposes of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, but responsibility for regulation has been delegated to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (the independent regulatory body of the Law Society), and responsibility for handling complaints has been delegated to the Legal Ombudsman. The contact details for the Solicitors Regulation Authority can be found on their website https://www.sra.org.uk/ and the contact details for the Legal Ombudsman can be found at their web site www.legalombudsman.org.uk.
27.3 The limited regulated activities that we carry out are issuing certain insurance policies, such as after the event legal expenses insurance, defective title insurance and other property indemnity insurance (such as breach of covenant, absence of easement, lack of planning permission, unknown rights and covenants policies).
27.4 This firm is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. However, we are included on the register maintained by the Financial Conduct Authority so that we can carry on insurance mediation activity, which is broadly the advising on, selling and administration of insurance contracts related to the services we offer. This part of our business, including arrangements for complaints or redress if something goes wrong, is regulated by Solicitors Regulation Authority. The register can be accessed via the Financial Conduct Authority website at www.fca.org.uk/register
27.5 Any insurance policy arranged by us on your behalf, shall, in our opinion, be adequate to meet your needs, but you are hereby informed that we do not recommend any policy over and above any other and that it is your responsibility to check that you are satisfied with the excess levels, exclusions, limitations and other policy terms. We do not conduct a fair analysis of the insurance market prior to arranging insurance policies. You can request details of the insurance undertakings with which we conduct business at any time.
27.6 You hereby agree to provide us with details of any relevant existing insurance policies you may have and you agree that we shall not be liable to you for any losses you sustain as a result of your failure to provide us with such details.
28 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.