Terms of Business
In accordance with Law Society of Scotland recommendations, we provide all clients with a copy of our Terms of Business when we begin work.
The following is a specimen of our current General Terms of Business - these will apply in all cases where we do not advise otherwise.
This is provided for information only, for prospective clients and other interested parties; the publishing of these Terms does not create any solicitor/client relationship with users of this website. Where we accept instructions from you, we will issue you with a copy of the applicable Terms of Business at that time.
GENERAL TERMS OF BUSINESS
The following terms will apply to all work carried out by us. In addition specific transactions may have specific terms of business. If this applies we will provide a copy of the specific terms which apply. All headings are for ease of reference only.
A: Taking Your Instructions
A1. We are only able to act on information and instructions received from you. If you wish us to take instructions from anyone else on your behalf, you must tell us this in writing. You should not assume that we have knowledge of any factual matters.
A2. We will usually take your instructions by any means of communication. We may however require confirmation of instructions in writing, and in certain cases we will be unable to proceed with your instructions until such signed written confirmation is received.
A3. Where we are acting for more than one person together (e.g. if you are a couple), we will assume that instructions received from one of you are approved by all of you. If you require us to confirm instructions from each of you, please advise us in writing. In this case your fee will be increased by the additional work we require to carry out.
A4. If you state that you are acting for a company or firm or other person, we may require written confirmation of your authority. However we will be entitled to carry out work immediately without checking this: if you are not authorised, you personally will be liable for all fees and expenses incurred as a result of your instructions.
A5. If we have not previously acted for you, we will usually require to obtain proof of identity from you before proceeding with your business. We will advise you of the particular requirements under current regulations. If someone else is providing money for your transaction, we are also obliged under Money Laundering regulations to receive proof of identity for that person also. If we do not receive satisfactory proof of identity or satisfactory explanation of the source of funds, we can not carry on further with your work regardless of the consequences to you, and we will not be legally liable for any loss or expense caused to you. We may also require to inform the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS): we are not permitted by law to tell you whether or not we have made such a report.
A6. Unless you specifically instruct us in writing to the contrary, if you communicate with us by E-mail, or you print an E-mail address on any correspondence we receive, we will assume that you have no objection to us communicating with you by un-encrypted E-mail, and that you have satisfied yourself about any security issues. E-mails will be deemed to be received within 24 hours of them being sent by us and will not normally be confirmed by ordinary post. Unless we are specifically instructed by you in writing to the contrary, we reserve the right to communicate with any other party in a matter for which we act for you, by using un-encrypted E-mail.
A7. If you give your initial instructions to us by E-mail, Fax, telephone or any other method covered by the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations, and are a "Consumer" as legally defined, you may have the right to withdraw your instructions, without charge, within 7 working days of your instructions. If these regulations apply, unless you have already instructed us, or instruct us immediately upon your receipt of these terms of business, to wait for such period to elapse you will be held to consent to us starting work at once. Also if you have specifically instructed us to start or complete work within this period, and then withdraw your instructions, you will still be liable to pay for work carried out.
B: Fees, Outlays and other payments
B1. Unless agreed otherwise in advance in writing, fees will be based on the Highland Law Practice Table of Fees, registered on the Court Books of Wick Sheriff Court on 25th August 2005 using a 'Unit' of £12.32 per unit for the current year (2006). The unit rate will increase in subsequent years. Fees are payable whether or not success is achieved. All fees will be subject to VAT, and outlays incurred on your behalf will be charged in addition.
B2. Any estimate given will be for a probable fee based on our experience of the general amount of work involved in a typical transaction of the type involved. If the work turns out to be more complex than normal then our estimate will require to be amended.
B3. Where we incur outlays on your behalf (such as payment of accounts of third parties, etc.) we require you to reimburse us, either in advance or immediately on request. We may also request a payment to account of fees & outlays in advance. Where your business goes on for some time we may send interim feenotes. If you fail to reimburse outlays, make payments to account or pay interim fees, we have the right not to carry out any further work for you until these are paid in full, regardless of the consequences to you.
B4. All fees are payable to our Wick office immediately upon our issuing of a fee invoice. Any discount or restriction made to your fee is subject to prompt payment of your account. We shall be entitled to deduct from any funds held by us on your behalf any fees or outlays which may be due to us. If we agree arrangements for payment by instalments, and you then fail to meet these instalments, we shall be entitled to demand instant payment of the whole sum due.
B5. If you are not happy about the fee charged, you are entitled to require our file to be "taxed". Alternatively, if you do not pay our fee when due, we may ourselves apply for the file to be "taxed". Where a file is to be "taxed" it will be passed to an Auditor of Court who will fix what he considers to be a fair and reasonable fee in all the circumstances, including those factors such as e.g. urgency, novelty, etc. The Auditor can fix a fee higher or lower than the fee previously charged by us. If it is lower then we will pay the cost of taxation. If, however, he prices a higher fee or confirms the fee as charged then you will be required to pay the Auditor's costs. In any case you will require to pay the fee as set by the Auditor, whether lower, higher or the same as previously charged. On occasion we may send our file to a law accountant or to the Auditor of Court to fix a fee for the work we have done for you. This is not a taxation and accordingly you will not be responsible for the Auditor's costs in those circumstances (unless we have agreed otherwise in writing in advance).
B6. We will not accept payments of cash exceeding £4000, with the exception of payment of invoices which we have rendered to you.
B7. If you require payments from us in cash, this must be agreed in advance. If you require a cash sum of over £4000, you must explain in writing at least a week in advance why this is required in cash rather than cheque or bank transfer; in terms of Money Laundering regulations we may require to notify the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) of your request, but may not tell you whether we have done so.
B8. Under Scots law, we are entitled to exercise a lien over any documents, papers or other items held by us, as security for any sums due by you to us. We reserve the option to exercise this right at any time that you owe us any sum if we consider it appropriate to do so. We also reserve the right to make use of any other legal remedy to obtain payment of unpaid sums due, together with interest and legal costs.
B9. If any account is unpaid for 28 days after we have requested payment, we reserve the right to charge: (a) Commercial clients, such penalties and interest as may from time to time be specified in the regulations issued under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act; (b) Non-commercial clients, interest from date payment is due to settlement, at the higher of 2% over Lloyds TSB Base Rate or 8%p.a.
C: Handling of your business
C1. We shall advise you of the Solicitor responsible for your business within the firm. Should the specified Solicitor be indisposed, on holiday or unavailable, another Solicitor will be nominated to act for you.
C2. Your business with this firm is confidential, and may also be subject to legal privilege. We will not disclose any information about your business without your permission, except when required to do so by law or the regulations of the Law Society of Scotland. However, we may confirm matters that are on the public record without asking you.
C3. We are governed by the Law Society of Scotland regulations on conflict of interest. If there appears to be a conflict of interest, or potential conflict, either between you and this firm, or you and another client from whom we have accepted instructions, we may be unable to act for you. If this circumstance should arise, we shall advise you as soon as possible and how the regulations apply in your case.
C4. We have a legal duty to safeguard the health and safety of our staff. If you act in an abusive or violent manner to any member of staff, we will immediately and permanently cease acting for you, regardless of the effect that this may have on your transaction.
C5. If you wish to transfer a matter on which we are acting for you to another firm of solicitors, we will require a written mandate to this effect. Any files or papers handed over will be subject to appropriate arrangements for the setting and payment of our fee and outlays for work already carried out.
C6. Although we will make every effort to keep in regular contact with you throughout the progress of any business, it is your responsibility to maintain contact. If you change address or contact arrangements, please let us know as soon as possible. If you do not appear to have heard from us for longer than you have expected, please contact us, in order that we may advise you of the current position and check that no correspondence has gone astray. If you repeatedly fail to contact us with instructions when requested, we reserve the right to cease acting for you, and charge a fee for all work carried out by us.
C7. We will retain your file for the period of time recommended by Law Society of Scotland, following which we may retain or destroy it. For ease of storage we may choose to convert and retain your file in electronic format. If your file is retained by us in electronic format, and you require to obtain a copy, we will charge the cost of the media used (paper, CD, etc) and a copying fee based on the time involved.
C8. Unless you request otherwise in writing, we will retain details about you on computer, and may use these in future to advise you of changes in the law or services being offered by us which may be of interest to you. All such details remain confidential and will not be passed on to third parties except when we are required to do so by law or the regulations of the Law Society of Scotland.
D: Investment Business
D1. We are licensed by the Law Society of Scotland to carry on Incidental Financial Business activities. These activities are limited in scope. We are not authorised by the Financial Services Authority under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Therefore we will only carry out financial business (as defined by the Act) where this is related to legal advice or business which we are carrying out for you. Where we do carry out such business, we will confirm in writing the nature and extent of the work we are carrying out.
D2. In respect of any Incidental Financial Business carried out by us, we are covered by Professional Indemnity Insurance under the Law Society of Scotland's Master Policy and also the Scottish Solicitors Guarantee Fund. The current limit of indemnity on the Master Policy is £1.25 million. The Guarantee Fund has unlimited liability.
D3. We will not give specific investment advice, although we may discuss matters generally, and advise you to obtain specific investment advice. If you instruct us to carry out investment business we are not required to make any comment on the suitability of such a course of action, whether you are acting on the advice of any advisor or without specific advice.
D4. If you wish to obtain investment advice, we may recommend or arrange the services of an Independent Financial Advisor ("IFA"). We will not comment on any advice you receive from the IFA. We may receive a fee or other payment from such an IFA in lieu of charging you a fee for making such recommendation or arrangements.
E: Complaints
E1. Most complaints arise from a breakdown of communication or misunderstanding of instructions. If you do not understand a point which has been raised, or if it appears that any communication by us does not match either your understanding of facts or your instructions to us, please contact us immediately, in order that we may either explain the position or take your corrective instructions.
E2. A copy of our Formal Complaints Procedure is available on request.
E3. In the unlikely event that we are not able to resolve your complaint, you are entitled to take this matter to the Law Society of Scotland, 26 Drumsheugh Gardens, Edinburgh, EH3 7YR, who will advise you on their complaints and adjudication procedures. If you make a complaint to the Law Society of Scotland without first making use of our Formal Complaints Procedure, and the Law Society does not uphold your complaint, we reserve the right to make a claim against you for the cost of dealing with the unjustified complaint at the same rate stated above for fees.
E4. We are committed to constantly improving the quality of service to our clients. If you have any suggestions how we can do so, or if you have found some part of our service particularly useful, we would be pleased to hear from you.
Revision 1/06
