Terms & Conditions
1. Places and hours of business
ALS Ltd Solicitors' offices are located at 115B Churchfield Road, Acton, London W3 6AH. The normal hours of opening are between 9.30 am and 5.30 pm on weekdays.
2. Conduct of your legal work
The person dealing with the matter on your behalf will carry out most of the work personally, but you could also contact that person's secretary or assistant who will be familiar with your file. If they are unable to help you then they will be pleased to take a message for you.
If your work is carried out on a day to day basis by an Assistant Solicitor or a Paralegal, a Partner of this firm will ultimately be responsible for your case.
We aim to offer all our clients an efficient and effective service and we are more than confident that we will do so in your case. Should there be any aspect of our service with which you are unhappy and which you feel cannot be resolved you may raise the matter with the Complaints handling Partner Mr M. Salah Adam.
Is the person dealing with your matter is unable to take your telephone calls as he/ she may have a heavy case load or may be out of the office at court or otherwise engaged with other clients. We will endeavour to respond to your letters and telephone enquiries as expeditiously as possible.
3.Fees
3.1. Unless an alternative fee arrangement has been agreed and confirmed in writing by us; ALS Ltd Solicitors charge shall be based on the following calculation:
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Partner: £250.00 per hour and Solicitor:
£175.00 per hour
Trainee Solicitor/ Paralegal £150 .00 per hour.
3.2. This includes attendances upon you and others; travelling and waiting time; considering, preparing and working on papers and correspondence ; making and receiving telephone calls; preparing for Court or Tribunal hearings; instructing and attending on Counsel; instructing agents or experts on your behalf; legal and factual research. There may be other factors which will increase our charges such as exceptional urgency, value, complexity, or the need to work unsocial hours.
3.3. These rates do not include Value Added Tax which will be added when an invoice is prepared.
3.4. In property transactions, the administration of estates and in transactions involving a substantial financial consideration or benefit to the client, fees may be calculated both by reference to the time spent and also by reference to a value element based for example on the price of the property, the size of the estate, or the value of the financial benefit. The value element reflects the importance of the transaction and consequent responsibility falling on the firm.
3.5. Disbursements include payments made by ALS Ltd Solicitors on behalf of the client for example, search fees, Land Registry Fee, Court fee and Council fees Court fees etc. ALS Ltd Solicitors have no obligation to effect such payments unless funds have been provided by the client for that purpose. VAT is payable on certain disbursements.
3.6. Fees are payable whether or not cases are successfully concluded or a transaction completed. If any case or transaction does not proceed to a completion for any reason during the period in which ALS Ltd Solicitors are instructed, then ALS Ltd Solicitors should be entitled to a charge for work done on the basis set out above but, in its absolute discretion the firm may waive part of all such entitlement to fees without obligation.
3.7. If an indication of charges is given in advance, please note that this is an estimate and is approximately only. Estimates are given on the assumption that the matter is not, or does not become, unusually urgent, complicated or time consuming.
3.8. If requested ALS Ltd Solicitors will give you an estimate of what our fees are likely to amount to, based on available information and will also seek to estimate your prospects for success in your case. It is not possible to know at the outset of how a case will develop or how much time will be spent and therefore exactly what our fees will be. If you subsequently ask us to undertake additional work or change your mind and alter earlier instructions this will increase our work and therefore our fees. As the matter progresses we will Jet you know upon request if it becomes apparent that an estimate will be greatly exceeded for any reason, or if our advice as to the basis of our charges will be affected by any review of our charged rate. If at any stage you are concerned about costs, please consult us.
3.9. If your case is allocated to the fast track the recovery of costs against your opponent may be fixed at a relatively small sum. In these circumstances you agree by signing these terms and conditions that if appropriate we may charge you a greater sum than you are able to recover against your opponent.
4. Payment of Accounts
ALS Ltd Solicitors invoices should be settled straightaway. If the invoice is not paid in full within 28 days of receipt, interest will be charged at the rate of 4% over the bank base rate then enforced until payment is made.
Under the Solicitors (Non-Contentious Business) Remuneration Order 1994, if you are not satisfied with the amount of our fees relating to work done on a non-contentious matter you are entitled to the following:-
a) to complain about your bill;
b) the right to object to the bill by making a complaint to the Legal Complaints Service (or the Office of Legal Complaints) and for by applying to the court for an assessment of the bill under Part Ill of the of the Solicitors Act 1974; and
c) If all or part of the bill remains unpaid, then the firm may be entitled to charge interest
5. Arrangements for payment of fees
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5.1. Property transactions: an account would normally be rendered following the exchange of contracts and payment is required prior to or upon completion. If sufficient funds are payable to the client upon completion, amounts due to ALS Ltd Solicitors will be deducted from such funds unless otherwise agreed.
5.2. Administration of estates: It is our usual practice to deliver interim accounts at intervals during the administration. An interim bill will normally be submitted when the grant has been obtained. If it then transpires that it will take some time to complete the administration, further interim accounts would be rendered periodically and the final account will be presented when the estate accounts are delivered for approval.
5.3. Other cases: it is normal practice to ask clients to pay sums of money from time to time on account of the fees and disbursements which are anticipated in the following weeks or months. It is helpful if clients meet such requests with prompt payment to avoid any delay in the progress of their case. In transactions or cases likely to continue for more than one month, interim accounts covering the work already carried out will normally be rendered quarterly. In some cases accounts may be rendered more frequently when a considerable amount of time is spent within a short period. This procedure enables clients to budget for costs as the matter progresses. In the event of any such account or request for payment on account not being paid, ALS Ltd Solicitors reserve the right to decline to act further in the case. The full amount of work done up to that date will be the subject of a final account rendered and will be a debt due from the client. Interest will be charged at 4 % over Barclays Bank's base rate from time to time from the date of delivery of an account in cases of payment not made within the 28 days of such delivery .
5.4. In the event of payment not being made in the terms set out in this paragraph (3) ALS Ltd Solicitors reserve the right to suspend work on your matter for which the account is unpaid and/or on any other matters being dealt with for you, and ultimately, to decline to represent you further . In these circumstances ALS Ltd Solicitors will bill you for any expenses that ALS Ltd Solicitors have to incur in the collection of any amount due from you.
5.5. In cases of transactions continuing for some period of time, we may ask you to make regular payments on account by way of bank standing orders. If this method of payment is required you will need to provide us with your bank details and complete a bank standing order mandate in the agreed amount.
5.6. ALS Ltd Solicitors usually ask clients to deposit an advance payment on account of fees and disbursements. ALS Ltd Solicitors will reserve their right to make the receipt of such payment a condition of accepting instructions.
5.7. Where interim bills are rendered ALS Ltd Solicitors confirm that such bills will not necessarily cover all work done but this will be made clear to you. When sending an interim account any payment made on account will be shown, ALS Ltd Solicitors may ask for further funds on account so that we can continue to work on the matter. In all cases the payment of an interim bill will constitute a payment on account of our total costs and disbursements incurred in that matter.
5.8. Some types of work, e.g. Property purchases or settlement of large claims, may involve us making substantial payments to third parties from the monies which ALS Ltd Solicitors hold in our client bank account. ALS Ltd Solicitors client account is operated in accordance with professional rules which govern payments against uncleared funds .
When monies are paid to a third party, at least four working days must be allowed for the clearance of any cheques deposited with us for the purpose of making such payments. If possible substantial funds should be sent to us by telegraphic transfer. Any bank charges which arise as a result of requesting special clearance of cheques and for the telegraphic transfer of funds will be billed to you.
5.9. We do not have a contract for Legal Services Funding (formerly Legal Aid).
6. Professional Agents
During the conduct of your matter we may be required to instruct other professionals (e.g. surveyors/ Architects) on your behalf. In all such cases those professionals will render their invoices direct to you and you will be responsible for payment of the same on the timescale referred to in 4 above.
7. Costs recovered
7.1. In some litigation cases a successful client may be entitled to the payment of costs by some other party to the proceedings. However, it is rare for the system of "assessment" of costs, as it is known, to result in the other party having to pay the full amount of the costs incurred by the client with their own Solicitor. Further if the other party is in receipt of Legal Aid no costs are likely to be recovered.
7.2. It is important to be aware that ALS Ltd Solicitors is employed by the client and that the client is personally responsible for the payment of ALS Ltd Solicitors' fees regardless of any order for costs made against opponents . In addition if your case is unsuccessful, you will probably have to pay your opponent's costs as well as your own. If you are successful in your case then the other party may be ordered to pay your costs. There are however circumstances in which you will still have to pay some or all of ALS Ltd Solicitors' fees including for example:-
I) Where the other parties do not pay promptly, or at all,
II) The Court orders for the other party to pay you less than our fees, leaving a balance which you will need to pay to settle our account,
III) Where the other person's contributions cannot be recovered, for instance when they are incapable of paying or are legally aided.
In such situations you may like to consider employing ALS Ltd Solicitors to recover the debt owed to you and we shall be pleased to discuss this when appropriate.
7.3. In the event that a client is successful and costs are payable by the other party, interest may be claimed on those costs against the other party as from the date on which the order for costs was made. To the extent that any of the fees and disbursements of ALS Ltd Solicitors have been paid on account by the client, ALS Ltd Solicitors will account to the client for such interest but will otherwise be entitled to retain it.
8. Keeping fees under control
If you have not used a Solicitor before it may be useful to know that you can help to limit the time ALS Ltd Solicitors need to spend on your case and, therefore, the charges by:-
i) Bringing to the first interview any relevant papers, letters, documents and in most cases a brief statement of facts.
ii) Telling us if you have any important time limits or dates of which we should be aware, for example, holidays,
iii) Dealing properly with our queries, telephone messages and letters,
iv) Making an appointment if you want to see someone. If you call in to see somebody urgently without an appointment, we will ensure that you are seen as soon as possible, but you may not be able to see the person whom you would like or at that time.
v) Arriving promptly for appointments and letting us know in advance if you are unable to keep an appointment,
vi) Telephoning us with urgent queries or information. If your Solicitor is unavailable, please talk to his or her Secretary, who will be able to help or to ensure that your call is dealt with as soon as possible.
9. Interest payment
The Solicitors Accounts (Deposit Interest) Rules govern the conditions under which ALS Ltd Solicitors pay interest on money which we are holding for you. When required by these rules, we shall account to you for interest less any administration charge. We also maintain records in respect of interest earned as required by the Inland Revenue and our professional rules. Interest will be paid or credited to you gross of tax and you will be responsible for declaring this interest to the Inland Revenue and paying any tax due.
10. Storage of papers Wills and deeds:
10.1. Following the conclusion of a transaction or case, ALS Ltd Solicitors will retain the file of papers for such period as they shall deem appropriate in their absolute discretion. If you require such papers, including pre-registration deeds and documents (where the title to property has been registered with HM Land Registry) to be kept for any specific period you must give notice in writing to ALS Ltd Solicitors to that effect but ALS Ltd Solicitors then reserve the right to require you to take personal custody of the papers. This provision does not apply to current deeds, Wills and securities.
10.2. ALS Ltd Solicitors provide a safe custody service to clients in respect of Wills, deeds and other securities and no charge will be made to you for such storage unless prior notice in writing is given to you of a charge to be made. ALS Ltd Solicitors do not accept any liability in the event of loss and you should ensure that you have adequate insurance cover of your own and that it will extend to storage at our premises of the items concerned .
10.3. Where stored papers, Wills, deeds or securities are retrieved from storage by ALS Ltd Solicitors in connection with continuing or new instructions to ALS Ltd Solicitors to act in connection with the client's affairs, normally no charge will be made for such retrieval. However, ALS Ltd Solicitors reserve the right to make an administration charge based on time spent on retrieval, perusal, correspondence or other work necessary to comply with your instructions.
11. Future Instructions
Unless otherwise agreed, and subject to the application of then current hourly rates, these terms and conditions of business shall apply to any future instructions given by you to ALS Ltd Solicitors .
12. Complaints Handling Procedure
We aim to provide an excellent service . The Partners and Staff of ALS Ltd Solicitors are always keen to ensure that you are happy and satisfied with the service which we have provided. However, we also appreciate that from time to time clients may feel grievance or wish to lodge a complaint. Accordingly we have set up an in-house complaints handling procedure which is to operate in such situations, and which can be forwarded to you upon request.
13. Professional Indemnity
In the interest of clients, ALS Ltd Solicitors maintain professional indemnity insurance and any liability of the firm to you or those claiming through you shall be limited to the amount of cover we hold from time to time (currently £3million). We currently hold cover with Allianz Global Corporate, our Policy Number: AGCSPISOLS210319. It's a condition of the policy that notification of claims and circumstances is required to be made to Allianz Global Corporate.
14. Conclusion
The purpose of this guide is to tell you more about us and the way we operate. Your instructions in this matter will amount to an acceptance of these terms and conditions of business and we do hope that we will be able to help you achieve a successful conclusion to your transaction or case.