We believe everybody should have access to legal guidance and information, especially those who feel unsure about where they legally stand in certain areas of the law. That’s why we’ve put together a library of resources for you to read.
How to buy a home https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-buy-a-home/how-to-buy
How to sell a home https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-sell-a-home/how-to-sell-a-home
How to lease guide https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-lease/how-to-lease
How to let guide https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-let/how-to-let
Stamp duty guide https://www.gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax
Mortgage and money guide https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/how-to-improve-your-credit-rating
Buying a house in later life http://www.eac.org.uk/
Moving your belongings https://bar.co.uk/
Preparations for moving https://www.royalmail.com/personal/receiving-mail/redirection/
Energy performance certificates https://www.epcregister.com/reportSearchAddressTerms.html?redirect=reportSearchAddressByPostcode
Gas checks https://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/
Electrical checks https://www.electricalcompetentperson.co.uk/
Proof of identity check lists https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/proof-of-identity-checklist/proof-of-identity-checklist
Find out how much a property was last sold for https://landregistry.data.gov.uk/app/ppd/
Tax implications of sale https://www.gov.uk/capital-gains-tax
Choosing an estate agent https://www.naea.co.uk/find-agent.aspx
Choosing and estate agent https://www.rics.org/uk/
Selling at auction https://www.which.co.uk/money/mortgages-and-property/first-time-buyers/buying-a-home/property-auctions-athvb3j7lmd4
Green Deal, energy saving for your home https://www.gov.uk/green-deal-energy-saving-measures
Property fraud alert service https://propertyalert.landregistry.gov.uk/
My first home https://www.myfirsthome.org.uk/
Negotiating fixtures and fittings https://www.ricsfirms.com/glossary/fixtures-and-fittings-chattels/
Compensation after and injury https://www.gov.uk/compensation-after-accident-or-injury/using-a-solicitor-or-a-claims-company
Compensation for victims of uninsured or hit and run drivers https://www.gov.uk/compensation-victim-uninsured-driver
Claiming compensation for a personal injury https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/personal-injuries/
Can I claim compensation https://www.apil.org.uk/can-i-claim-compensation
Your rights to compensation following injury https://www.apil.org.uk/your-rights-to-compensation-following-injury
How much will it cost https://www.apil.org.uk/how-much-will-it-cost
What is no win no fee https://www.apil.org.uk/how-much-will-it-cost
Can I keep all of my compensation https://www.apil.org.uk/can-i-keep-all-of-my-compensation
Financial investment, what should I do with my compensation https://www.apil.org.uk/financial-investment-what-should-i-do-with-my-compensation
Guide; contacting the right people https://www.apil.org.uk/contacting-the-right-people
Guide; your route to a quicker recovery https://www.apil.org.uk/your-route-to-a-quicker-recovery
Guide; Dealing with an injury at work https://www.apil.org.uk/dealing-with-an-injury-at-work
Dealing with sub-standard treatment in hospitals https://www.apil.org.uk/sub-standard-hospital-treatment
Guide; questions to ask your insurers https://www.apil.org.uk/questions-to-ask-your-insurer
Guide Dealing with Criminal injuries https://www.apil.org.uk/dealing-with-criminal-injuries
Guide; Dealing with serious injuries https://www.apil.org.uk/dealing-with-serious-injuries
Dictionary of Terms and Acronyms https://www.apil.org.uk/dictionary-of-terms-and-acronyms
Best practice guide on rehabilitation https://www.apil.org.uk/files/best-practice-guide-on-rehabilitation.pdf
Splitting up https://resolution.org.uk/looking-for-help/splitting-up/
Children and the law https://resolution.org.uk/looking-for-help/parents-children-the-law/
Your rights when living together https://resolution.org.uk/looking-for-help/living-together/
Domestic Abuse https://resolution.org.uk/looking-for-help/abuse-addiction/
Womens aid https://www.womensaid.org.uk/
Refuge https://www.refuge.org.uk/
Mens domestic abuse advice line https://mensadviceline.org.uk/
Nspcc https://www.nspcc.org.uk/
Get a divorce gov guide https://www.gov.uk/get-a-divorce
Domestic abuse how to get help https://www.gov.uk/guidance/domestic-abuse-how-to-get-help
COVID 19 support for victims of domestic abuse https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-and-domestic-abuse/coronavirus-covid-19-support-for-victims-of-domestic-abuse
apply for your marriage certificate https://www.gov.uk/order-copy-birth-death-marriage-certificate
Making a will – https://www.gov.uk/make-will
Depositing a will for safe storage https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-deposit-a-will-with-the-probate-service-a-guide-for-people-who-want-to-deposit-a-will-for-safekeeping-pa7
Power of attorney https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney
Applying for probate https://www.gov.uk/applying-for-probate
Local probate office https://www.gov.uk/find-court-tribunal
What to do if you are an executor https://www.gov.uk/applying-for-probate/if-youre-an-executor
Make changes to the inheritance https://www.gov.uk/alter-a-will-after-a-death
Work our who will inherit if no will https://www.gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-will
Find out if there is inheritance to pay https://www.gov.uk/valuing-estate-of-someone-who-died/estimate-estate-value
Alternative dispute resolution https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alternative-dispute-resolution-for-consumers/alternative-dispute-resolution-for-consumers
Boundary dispute advice https://www.gov.uk/your-property-boundaries
Stopping a probate application https://www.gov.uk/stop-probate-application
Being arrested: your rights https://www.gov.uk/arrested-your-rights
Police and criminal evidence act 1984 (PACE) codes of practice https://www.gov.uk/guidance/police-and-criminal-evidence-act-1984-pace-codes-of-practice
Being charged with a crime https://www.gov.uk/charged-crime
Young people under 18 or vulnerable https://www.appropriateadult.org.uk/
Getting a copy of your police records https://www.gov.uk/copy-of-police-records
Make a subject access request https://www.acro.police.uk/Subject-Access-Online.aspx
Criminal Courts https://www.gov.uk/courts
How sentences are worked out https://www.gov.uk/how-sentences-are-worked-out
Types of prison sentences https://www.gov.uk/types-of-prison-sentence
Police Caustion, warning and penalty notices
Drugs and driving: the law https://www.gov.uk/drug-driving-law
Legal Aid guide https://www.gov.uk/legal-aid
Eligibility https://www.gov.uk/legal-aid
Family legal aid eligibility calculator https://civil-eligibility-calculator.justice.gov.uk/
CLIENT CARE and Terms of Business
Valued Client of Jagdev Legal
AND
JAGDEV LEGAL LIMITED
Date: 17 March 2023
Table of contents
- Firm details. 1
- The person responsible for your matter. 1
- Scope of work. 1
- Costs, disbursements and billing. 2
- Our service to you. 5
- Communications between us. 6
- Legal documents. 6
- Joint instructions. 6
- Conflicts of interest 6
- Money held for and due. 7
- Limitation of liability. 7
- Limited companies. 7
- Tax advice. 8
- Complaints. 8
- Anti-money laundering procedures. 8
- Pooled funds. 9
- Data protection and General Data Protection Regulation privacy notice 10
- Confidentiality and disclosure. 11
- Monitoring communications. 12
- Storage of documents. 12
- Professional indemnity insurance. 13
- Financial Conduct Authority. 13
- Property transactions. 13
- Acting for your lender in conveyancing transactions. 14
- Conveyancing Quality Scheme. 14
- Financial Services Compensation Scheme. 15
- Referral arrangements. 15
- Recovering legal costs and disbursements. 15
- Terminating the retainer. 16
- Distance selling – The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. 16
- Continuing instructions. 17
Thank you for your instructions to act in this matter.
Your matter reference details are: BSJ:170830 | |
Telephone: 0121 320 2053 | Fax: 0121 270 4267 |
Our email address is info@jagdevlegal.co.uk |
Jagdev Legal Limited is a trading name of Jagdev Legal and Jagdev Legal incorporating Vesey and Clarke Solicitors | |
Company registration number (CRN): | 06389377 |
Registered office: | 175 Cole Valley Road, Birmingham, West Midlands, B28 0DG |
Website: | www.jagdevlegal.co.uk |
Value Added Tax (VAT) number: | 797711382 |
Authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority with reference number: | 472717 |
Information Commissioner UK (ICO) registration: | ZA171805 |
Our normal office hours are between 9 am and 5 pm Monday to Friday.
You will be informed at the outset of the case which member of staff will be handling the day-to-day questions that arise in connection with your matter. Normally that person will be assisted by other members of our support team.
You will be informed at the outset of the identity of the supervising partner and or director of the matter.
The work that we will undertake for you will include:
You will be informed about the scope of work we have agreed to carry out for you. We will not carry out any work outside this scope unless agreed and properly funded.
Timescale
It is difficult to give generic timescales for the completion of a matter. The person handling your matter will let you have a more detailed breakdown.
This is an estimate based on our previous experience and may be subject to change as we may be reliant on other parties to respond quickly to our correspondence.
The person handling your case may agree to a fixed fee. This is more usual in straight forward transactional cases.
OR
- Our professional costs
Our costs are generally based on the time spent dealing with a matter. Time spent on your affairs will include meetings with you; considering, preparing and working on papers, including preparation of bills and statements of account; correspondence and making and receiving telephone calls.
We will charge you as set out below per hour for each hour of work from now until our firm’s annual review on 1 April each year. We will provide a written estimate of our costs as soon as we have sufficient information to enable us to do so. If, due to unforeseen circumstances or difficulties and changes in your instructions, it becomes necessary to revise our estimate, we will write to you with a fresh estimate as soon as possible before incurring any additional costs.
The current hourly rates of our staff are set out below:
Senior legal practitioner: £255.00 plus VAT and disbursements
Legal practitioner: £177.00 to 218.00 plus VAT and disbursements
Paralegals: £126.00 plus Vat and disbursements
We will add VAT to our charge at the rate that applies when the work is done. At present VAT is 20%.
On 1 April each year the hourly rates are reviewed and we will notify you in writing of any increased rate.
Letters and telephone calls made and received are usually charged on a time basis of six‑minute units.
If your instructions require us to work outside normal office hours we reserve the right to increase the hourly rate.
In property transactions, in the administration of estates and in transactions involving a large amount of money or benefit to the client, we may base our costs on the time spent by referring to a value element, such as the price of the property, the size of the estate or the value of the financial benefit. We may also take other factors into account such as the importance of the matter to the client, the urgent and exclusive allocation of time and resources both in and outside business hours and the complexity and any unusual or difficult aspects of the matter.
The value element reflects the importance of the transaction and responsibility placed on the firm. We will write to you separately if applying the value element is appropriate for your matter.
If for any reason the work required is reduced we will charge for the work done and disbursements incurred but these charges will not exceed the current estimate.
Estimate of costs
The estimated costs involved in this matter will be given to you at the outset of the case.
- Other costs and disbursements
There may be certain other disbursements, including payments we make on your behalf, such as search fees, Land Registry fees, stamp duty or probate fees, which you will have to pay. VAT is also payable on some of these disbursements.
If as part of our work we are required to pay out funds by electronic transfer, for example to you, a bank or building society or the other side’s legal practitioner, this will be charged at the rate of £30 plus VAT for each electronic transfer required.
- Initial costs
As we expend funds on your behalf from commencement of the matter we may need to ask you for a payment on account of our costs, disbursements and VAT as disclosed above. If so, we will send you a statement requesting payment into our client account. From time to time we may ask for a top-up payment. When your matter is completed we will return any surplus to you. If we ask for costs on account we are not obliged to do any work until they are received.
These amounts will be shown as paid on your final invoice.
- Paying the invoice
Payment of invoices can be made by a number of methods, including cheque, bank transfer, credit or debit card and small amounts in cash.
Where payment is made by credit card we reserve the right to add a surcharge of 2% plus VAT where appropriate. Payment by credit card should, wherever possible, be made personally at our offices. If this is not possible we reserve the right to require information sufficient to satisfy us that payment is being made by the card holder.
In order to provide maximum protection against fraud we recommend that you always telephone our office to confirm bank account details before a transfer is made.
- Billing
For property and commercial transactions we will send you a statement of our costs and disbursements, payment of which is due at least one working day before completion unless otherwise arranged. If sufficient funds are available on completion and we have sent you a bill we will usually deduct our charges from the funds. If a matter does not proceed to completion we will send you an account of our charges incurred up to the point we cease acting on your behalf.
For the administration of estates we will usually send you a bill on account of our costs and disbursements after the grant of probate has been obtained and at intervals of one to three months thereafter during the administration of the estate. In appropriate circumstances and subject to your prior agreement we may send you bills more frequently. We will also send you a final bill for our costs and disbursements when the administration of the estate is completed. In all cases if we hold sufficient funds on your behalf and have sent you a final or interim bill we will usually deduct our charges from these funds.
For other matters we will send you a bill for our costs and disbursements when the work is completed. However, if the matter extends over a number of months we reserve the right to send bills at monthly intervals.
If you have any questions about a bill please contact our firm as soon as possible.
You are entitled to complain about a bill. There may also be a right to object to the bill by making a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman or by applying to the court for an assessment of the bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974.
If an interim account is not paid within seven days of sending the bill, or a final account is not paid within 14 days of sending the bill, we reserve the right to terminate your instructions and to retain your papers until such time as the account is paid.
Where we require payment from you or others for the completion of your matter we may postpone completion until we are in receipt of cleared funds. We accept no liability for any loss arising from delay in the clearance of funds which is not attributable to us. We reserve the right to charge interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate.
We aim to offer our clients quality legal services at a fair cost. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity in our dealings with clients, third parties and employees.
We will:
- Communicate in plain language;
- Explain the legal work required as the matter progresses;
- Provide regular updates on the cost and progress of the matter;
- Provide updates on whether the likely outcomes still justify the likely costs and risks associated with the matter whenever there is a material change in circumstances;
- Advise you of any circumstances and risks of which we are aware or consider to be reasonably foreseeable that could affect the outcome of the matter;
- Notify you of any changes in the law which may affect the progress or likely outcome of the matter;
- Continue to review whether the matter can be funded using alternative methods;
- Respond to your queries promptly;
- Deal with all information in accordance with our legal obligations under the Data Protection Act 2018.
We ask that you please:
- Provide us with clear, timely and accurate instructions;
- Keep us updated with information relevant to the matter;
- Provide the relevant documents we need in a timely manner;
- Attend all scheduled appointments on time;
- Let us know of any change in your contact details;
- Respond to our queries and requests promptly;
- Pay our costs promptly.
We will communicate with you by email, telephone and letter. If you have a preferred method of communication please let us know.
All emails received will undergo a virus check. Unless you withdraw consent, we will communicate with others when appropriate by email or fax, but we cannot be responsible for the security of correspondence and documents sent by email or fax.
We do not accept service of documents by email.
During the time we are working with you it is likely we shall send you legal documents and papers to read and perhaps sign. These may be complex and onerous and we strongly recommend you carefully read these documents and come back to us if there is anything in them which is unclear.
If you instruct us to act not only on your behalf but also on behalf of another person or persons in relation to the same matter, – for instance husband and wife, family members or business partners, –we are thereby authorised to act upon instructions received from any one on the assumption that they have authority to give instructions on behalf of all of them. However, prior to accepting initial instructions the identity of each client must be confirmed.
In the case of companies, the instructions may come from an individual director of the company unless otherwise instructed in writing.
Unless agreed otherwise any one or more of those instructing jointly is jointly and severally liable for costs and disbursements.
If we are acting for you on a disposal where there will be proceeds of sale, those net proceeds will be paid to you. Joint owners will be paid equally unless you tell us otherwise. Unless so notified we shall take it that only you are interested in those proceeds and there are no trusts or similar in favour of third parties.
We will not normally act for two or more clients in the same matter where an actual or potential conflict of interest exists between those clients. We may act for two or more clients in the same matter if a substantially common interest exists and we have explained the relevant issues and risks to each client, who have subsequently given informed consent to us acting for all of them and we are satisfied that it is reasonable for us to do so, it is in the best interests of all clients and we are satisfied that the benefit outweighs the risks.
In any such case no individual within the firm will act for or be responsible for the supervision of work done for more than one of the clients. Appropriate safeguards will be in place to ensure each clients’ confidential information is protected. If for any reason we subsequently cease acting for one of the clients they will be required to pay the costs and disbursements incurred on their behalf up to that point.
Money held on your behalf is paid into a client account at such bank as we reasonably employ in accordance with our regulator’s rules.
We will pay money due to you by bank transfer or cheque as agreed where reasonably possible, or as we think appropriate.
Interest will be paid on certain balances in accordance with our regulator’s rules.
Where after completion of our work, or for any other reason, we retain a balance of your money we will return it to you on termination of instructions and completion of the matter.
We will at all times take all reasonable steps to keep your money safe.
We do not accept liability for any loss or damage caused by negligence, non-performance or breach of duty to a value in excess of £3 million unless we have made a special arrangement with you at the outset of your matter.
No member or employee of our firm will be liable to you for breach of contract or negligence in their personal capacity.
Other than in respect of liability arising from fraud, personal injury or death, we do not accept liability for claims received more than 12 months from the conclusion of our work or, if not apparent within that time, more than 6 months after it becomes apparent.
Your statutory rights remain unaffected.
When accepting instructions to act on behalf of a limited company we may require a director or controlling shareholder to sign a form of personal guarantee in respect of the legal costs and disbursements of this firm.
Any work that we do for you may have tax implications or necessitate the consideration of tax planning strategies. We may not be qualified to advise you on any specific tax implications of a matter that you have instructed us to deal with, or the likelihood of them arising. If you have any concerns in this respect please raise them with us immediately. If we can undertake the research necessary to resolve the issue we will do so and advise you accordingly. If we cannot, we may be able to identify a source of assistance for you. If we instruct specialist tax counsel on your behalf or refer the issue to tax advisers, we reserve the right to charge you the fees incurred in doing so.
We are committed to high quality legal advice and client care. If you are unhappy about any aspect of the service or about the bill, please contact Balraj Jagdev so that we can do our best to resolve the problem. If you still have queries or concerns, please contact Balraj Singh Jagdev who is the client care partner to whom any final issues can be reported.
We are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and complaints and redress mechanisms are provided through them and the Legal Ombudsman.
All law firms are obliged to attempt to resolve problems that clients may have with the service provided. It is therefore important that you immediately raise your concerns with us.
If we are unable to resolve any such concerns to your satisfaction within eight weeks you are entitled to make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman: www.legalombudsman.org.uk or PO Box 6806 Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ.
The Legal Ombudsman investigates complaints about legal services. Normally complaints need to be made to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving our final written response to your complaint.
Complaints about a client’s rights under the General Data Protection Regulation must be submitted to the Information Commissioner’s Office: ico.org.uk.
Any disputes or legal issues arising from our Client Care and Terms of Business will be determined by the laws of England and Wales and considered exclusively by the English and Welsh courts.
Please read this section along side our external complaints policy on the website which takes precedence.
In accordance with the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 law firms are obliged to obtain certain information to establish the correct identity and address of clients. In certain circumstances we may be under an obligation to submit a report to the authorities if we have reason to suspect offences concerned with money laundering may have been committed or might be committed.
By accepting this Client Care and Terms of Business you accept that we are entitled to require you to produce appropriate evidence of your identity and address, that we may submit reports to the relevant authorities concerning your business and that we shall not be liable in any circumstance for any losses which you might incur as a consequence of any such steps which we might properly take in pursuance of our statutory obligations under anti-money laundering legislation.
In carrying out our statutory obligations we may incur certain expenses in order to verify the identity of a client to the satisfaction of the authorities, for example company search fees.
Acceptable identification documents
Acceptable evidence of personal identity includes:
- Current valid passport with a UK residence permit if appropriate;
- EU member state identity card;
- Current EU or UK photocard driving licence; or
- Armed Forces ID card.
Evidence of address can be determined by:
- Confirmation from the electoral register;
- Recent utility bill, bank statement or mortgage statement with the current address;
- Local authority rates or council tax bill;
- Current UK driving licence, but only if not used as evidence of personal identity; or
- Local council rent card or tenancy agreement.
The anti-money laundering guidance which UK banks and other finance services firms must adhere to is issued by the Joint Money Laundering Steering Group (JMLSG).
The JMLSG does not require banks to routinely identify the beneficial owners of law firm’s pooled accounts as they do with most other accounts on the proviso that this information is available upon request.
In the event of our bank requesting information about the beneficial owners of our pooled client account you agree to us disclosing your details to them. If further information including verification documentation is required from you in order to identify the owners of funds held by us, you agree to provide it.
We use the information that you provide to us primarily for the provision of legal services to you and for related purposes including:
- Updating and enhancing client records;
- Analysis to help us manage our practice;
- Statutory returns; and
- Legal and regulatory compliance.
Our use of that information is subject to your instructions, the Data Protection Act 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation and our duty of confidentiality.
The Data Protection Act 2018 requires us to advise you that your particulars are held on our database and from time to time we may use these details to send you information which we think might be of interest. If you do not wish to receive that information please notify our office in writing. We do not make such information available to any other provider of products or services.
If you are an individual you have the right under the Data Protection Act 2018 to obtain information from us, including a description of the data that we hold about you. Should you have any queries concerning this right please contact our data protection officer Balraj Singh Jagdev.
Handling your personal data
We confirm the following:
- The fee earner handling your matter, their secretary and any legal assistant within the firm may handle your data.
- Your personal data will remain confidential.
- Your personal data will be used to carry out an identification check as is usual in this type of transaction, to make contact with you for the duration of the matter and to ensure that funds are sent or received to facilitate the transaction.
- The processing of your personal data is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the firm or by a third party, except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of an individual which require protection of personal data, in particular where the individual about whom data is held is a child.
- It may be necessary to provide third parties with your data to effect the transaction, namely other law firms, search providers, government departments including HM Revenue & Customs, the Land Registry and IT service suppliers.
Fair and transparent processing
We confirm the following:
- Your personal data will not be retained for any longer than is necessary to fulfil the firm’s statutory obligations.
- Upon signing the client care documentation provided to you at the outset of the matter you will be confirming that the contract which exists between us gives us the right to process your data in relevant and applicable ways.
- You have the right to request from the firm access to and rectification or erasure of personal data or restriction of processing concerning your personal data.
- You have the right to object to processing.
- You have the right to data portability.
- You have the right to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office in relation to any concerns you may have with regard to the processing of your personal data.
By accepting this Client Care and Terms of Business you agree to provide personal data and consent to our use of it accordingly.
We must observe a general duty of confidentiality.
Subject to data protection legislation and our duty of confidentiality we may share your personal data with:
- Third parties and other persons who help us provide our products and services;
- Companies and other persons providing services to us;
- Our legal and other professional advisors, including our auditors in the conduct of audit or quality checks on our practice;
- Fraud prevention agencies, reference agencies and debt collection agencies during your service management;
- Government bodies and agencies in the UK and overseas;
- Courts to comply with legal requirements and for the administration of justice;
- To other parties connected with your matters; and
- Anyone else with your consent or as required by law.
Circumstances where it may be necessary for our firm to disclose information about you other than as a result of the normal conduct of your matter include:
- In an emergency or to otherwise protect your vital interests;
- To protect the security or integrity of our business operations.
External firms or organisations are required to maintain confidentiality in relation to your files.
We use cloud storage for client files. Our cloud software provider is LEAP. LEAP’s cloud infrastructure is provided and maintained by industry leading cloud platform provider Amazon Web Services. Amazon Web Services demonstrates a commitment to information security at every level of the organisation and complies with internationally recognised standards, the EU Data Protection Directive, the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.
We will monitor and maintain on file, be it paper, electronic or both, records of our calls, letters, emails, text messages, social media messages and other communications in relation to your dealings with us. We will do this for regulatory compliance, self-regulatory practices, crime prevention and detection, to protect the security of our communications systems and procedures, for quality control and staff training and in preparation for circumstances where a record of what has been said becomes necessary.
After completing the work we will be entitled to keep all of your papers and documents while there is still money owed to us for costs and disbursements.
The retention of files varies according to the type of matter completed. For example, in the case of conveyancing files we will generally retain a purchase file for 12 years and a sale file for 6 years. Of course, if we know that a property where we have acted on the purchase has been sold within 12 years of the date of when it was purchased then we will destroy the purchase file 6 years after the date of the sale of the property. If you require your files to be retained longer you must instruct us accordingly.
On the completion of the retention period the file is destroyed.
Time limits imposed by documents such as rent review dates, dates for service of a break notice under a lease et cetera. are your responsibility to diarise. The firm does not take responsibility for diarising dates which occur after a transaction is concluded for you. In certain circumstances, and only by express agreement with you, the firm will diarise dates.
We shall not be responsible for advising you of any future changes in the law which may impact upon you.
If we take papers out of storage in relation to continuing or new instructions to act for you, we will not normally charge for such retrieval. However, we may charge you for time spent producing stored papers and reading and related work to comply with your instructions.
We will not destroy documents deposited into safe custody.
We have professional indemnity insurance in accordance with statutory requirements. Our professional indemnity insurer details can be provided on request. Please contact the office and speak to Balraj Singh Jagdev and or Guvinder Kaur Virdee. Our professional indemnity insurance cover does not extend to damages or other monetary awards, judgments or negotiated settlements or claims made or suits brought before any arbitrator, tribunal or court in the following countries: A list is held at our offices and available upon request.
Where work involves investments, although we are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to give advice, we are able to refer you to an authorised advisor. We can provide limited services in relation to investments, provided they are closely linked with our legal services as regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
It is not our responsibility to carry out a physical inspection of the property, but if you wish us to do this for any reason please make a specific request. We will not advise on the valuation of the property nor the suitability of your mortgage nor any other financial arrangements.
The local authority search only relates to the land being bought or mortgaged and will not cover neighbouring properties or any wider area unless specifically requested.
We will not give any advice on the planning implications of a proposed purchase beyond reporting on any relevant information provided by the results of the ‘local search’ unless specifically requested to do so.
We will not advise generally on environmental liabilities. We will assume, unless you tell us otherwise, that you are making your own arrangements for any appropriate environmental investigation. On occasions it may be necessary for us to obtain an environmental search on your behalf or on behalf of your lender. In such circumstances we will not advise you about issues relating to the possible contamination of any land unless specifically requested by you to do so.
If you believe the property might be located within a Church of England parish of a medieval church please let us know and we can arrange to obtain a chancel repair liability search.
We are not qualified to advise on non-legal results of any search and will only provide the actual results of such a search.
We are required to be vigilant in order to protect our lender clients against mortgage fraud. Therefore we are obliged to ensure, in all conveyancing matters, that all purchase funds, including the deposit, are paid through our own bank account and are not directly transferred to the seller. We are also obliged to report to your lender any allowances or incentives offered by the seller.
By signing this Client Care and Terms of Business you authorise us to disclose to the other parties in a transaction, and if applicable to all other parties in a chain of transactions and their agents and advisers, all information which we have in relation to your part in the transaction including any related sale or mortgage and other financial arrangements and wishes as to dates for exchange of contracts and completion.
Where we also act for your lender in the transaction we have a duty to make full disclosure to the lender of all relevant facts relating to you, your purchase and the mortgage. This will include disclosure of any discrepancies between the mortgage application and information provided to us during the transaction and any cashback payments or discount schemes which a seller is providing to you. If a conflict of interest arises we must cease to act for your lender in this matter and in some instances we must cease to act for you as well.
Jagdev Legal Limited is an accredited member of the Law Society Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS). The CQS provides a recognised quality standard for residential conveyancing practices which we must comply with ensuring that we:
- Meet our duties to you and your lender where we act for them;
- Take action to prevent fraud in the conveyancing process;
- Deal with the other parties in a fair and honest manner, which includes not withholding relevant information; and
- Respond to the other parties in accordance with agreed timeframes.
All obligations under the Law Society Conveyancing Protocol are subject to overriding client confidentiality obligations and our obligation to act in your best interest.
The CQS audit procedure requires examination of client files from time to time. Your file may be selected for auditing. If that happens the examination is conducted under strictly controlled circumstances and only with duly appointed and qualified individuals.
By accepting our terms and conditions you agree that we will act in accordance with the terms of the Law Society Conveyancing Protocol. This includes consent to disclosure of your confidential file if necessary. Such consent may be withdrawn by you in writing at any time.
We have no expertise in relation to the fitness for purpose or solvency of any bank. We assume that any bank licensed to operate by the appropriate statutory authority in the jurisdiction in which it operates will be able to honour its obligations. Accordingly we will have no liability to you in the event of the bank at which the firms client account is held becoming insolvent or being unable to meet its obligations.
In such an event you may be eligible for limited compensation from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). In the event of our client account holder’s collapse you consent to us disclosing your details to the FSCS for the purposes of making a claim on your behalf.
We currently hold our client account funds in Lloyds Bank PLC. The £85,000 FSCS limit will apply to each individual client. If you hold personal money in an account with the same bank as our client account the limit remains £85,000 in total.
We may pay a referral fee for work to be referred to us. In such a situation we will inform you in writing and will tell you what fee we have paid. The advice which we give to you will be independent and we will treat you the same as any other client. You are free to raise questions on all aspects of the transaction and any information which you disclose to us will be treated as confidential and not disclosed to the referrer or to any other third party without your consent. We will not act for the referrer in connection with the same transaction in any way and you are under no obligation to instruct us in connection with the transaction.
If a court orders another party to pay some or all of your legal costs and disbursements it is important to appreciate that you have to pay the legal costs and disbursements in the first place and any amounts then recovered will be repaid to you.
The other person will not be liable to pay the VAT element of costs if you are able to recover the VAT yourself.
If the other party is in receipt of legal aid no costs are likely to be recovered.
It is possible to claim from the other party interest on these amounts from the date of the court order and we will account to you for such interest to the extent that you have paid our costs and disbursements.
You will be responsible for paying our costs and disbursements of seeking to recover any costs that the court orders the other party to pay to you.
A client who is unsuccessful in a court case may be ordered to pay the other party’s legal costs and disbursements which would be in addition to our legal costs and disbursements. Arrangements can be made to take out insurance to cover liability for these circumstances. Please discuss this with us if you are interested in this possibility.
You may end your instructions to us in writing at any time but we can keep all your papers and documents while there is still money owed to us for costs and disbursements.
We will only cease acting for you on good reason and after giving you reasonable notice. Possible reasons for our firm to terminate our retainer with you may include:
- Failure to respond twice to requests for instructions;
- Failure to respond to a request for information required by the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002;
- Failure to comply with a request for payment on account of costs and disbursements;
- Failure to pay an interim account;
- If a conflict of interest arises whereby we are no longer able to continue acting for you.
We also reserve the right to stop acting at any time in the event of rude or abusive conduct being directed against any member of staff.
If we stop acting for you, you must pay our charges up until that point. These are calculated by proportion of the agreed fee.
- Distance selling – The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013
If we have not met you in person, because for example instructions and signing of the contract documentation is taking place by telephone, mail, email or on-line – by way of a ‘distance’ contract – or we have taken instructions and a contract has been concluded away from our business premises, because for example we have met with you at home – by way of an ‘off-premises’ contract and the contract was entered into on or after 14 June 2014, you have the right to cancel this contract within 14 calendar days of entering into the contract without giving any reason. The cancellation period will expire after 14 calendar days from the day of the conclusion of the contract.
To exercise your right to cancel you must inform us of your decision to cancel this contract by a clear statement, for example a letter sent by post, fax or email. You may use the model cancellation form on our website but this is not obligatory. We will acknowledge receipt of such a cancellation on a durable medium, for example by email, without delay. To meet the cancellation deadline you must send your communication concerning your exercise of the right to cancel before the cancellation period has expired.
Should you require the work to be commenced within the 14 calendar day cancellation period you must provide your agreement to that in writing, by email, post or fax to enable us to do so. By signing and returning one copy of this document, you are confirming that we can begin work immediately. Where you have provided your consent for work to commence within the 14 calendar day cancellation period and you later exercise your right to cancel, you will be liable for any costs, VAT and disbursements incurred up to the point of cancellation. Unless you make an express request for us to commence work within the 14 day period we will not be able to undertake any work during that period.
Unless otherwise agreed, and subject to the application of then current hourly rates, this Client Care and Terms of Business shall apply to any future instructions given by you to this firm.
Although your continuing instructions in this matter will amount to an acceptance of this Client Care and Terms of Business, it may not be possible for us to start work on your behalf until a copy has been returned to us.
If you require clarification on any of these points please do not hesitate to let us know.
Introduction
We value all our clients and take complaints very seriously.
Speed is our top priority when handling complaints. We recognize that the longer the complaint is unresolved, the more irritated you may become – and understandably so.
All our staff are made aware of our procedures for handling complaints and should be open-minded, positive and understand if you need to make a complaint.
Our complaints procedure applies to all complaints, including complaints in relation to the work we are doing for you and complaints about bills. It is divided into three levels.
Level One
Initially we hope that you will raise any difficulties with the member of our staff undertaking your work, either verbally or in writing. We hope that most problems or misunderstandings will be resolved at this level.
Staff receiving a complaint are required to complete a file note explaining the details of the complaint, what was said by both parties and the action taken. One copy of the file note will be retained on your file and a second copy will be forwarded to the Complaints Handling partner.
Level Two
If you would rather not speak to the person handing your matter about your complaint, or you remain unhappy after speaking to them about it, please contact the Complaints Handling partner, who is Balraj Singh Jagdev. If he is unavailable, or the complaint is about him, another senior person will take the role of complaints handler. To complain, please write to us, email info@jagdevlegal.co.uk or telephone 0121 320 2053.
Within two working days of him receiving the complaint, the Complaints Handling Partner, Balraj Singh Jagdev, (or a delegate) will write to you acknowledging your complaint and ask you to confirm or explain the details if you have not already done so.
The Complaints Handling Partner or delegate will then investigate your complaint. This will normally involve reviewing your matter file and speaking to the member of staff acting on your behalf.
The Complaints Handling Partner or delegate will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including suggestions for resolving the matter, within 21 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter. The letter will confirm our position on the complaint and explain our reasons.
If we have to change any of the timescales above, we will let you know and explain why.
Level Three – Complaints to the Legal Ombudsman
If we are unable to resolve a complaint about our service or your bill to your satisfaction, or if we do not give you our final response to your complaint within 8 weeks of you formally lodging it, you can ask the Legal Ombudsman to consider the complaint. The Legal Ombudsman is the statutory complaints handling body for complaints about solicitors and can be contacted at PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ or enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk or by telephone on 0300 555 0333.
In the case of a complaint about your bill, you may be entitled to have your bill assessed by the court under Sections 70 – 72 of the Solicitors Act 1974. If any bill, or part of a bill remains unpaid whilst a complaint is under investigation, we may be entitled to charge interest if the bill is upheld. Please note that, if you exercise your right to have a bill assessed by the court, the Legal Ombudsman may not be able to consider your complaint.
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 (One year from April 2023) of the act or omission about which you are complaining occurring (or if outside of this period, within three years (One year from April 2023) of when you should reasonably have been aware of it).
Alternative Dispute Resolution Body
We are required to inform you that alternative dispute resolution bodies (such Pro mediate, Brow Farm, Top Road, Frodsham, Cheshire WA6 6SP, 01928 732455, www.promediate.co.uk) exist which are able to deal with complaints about legal services should both you and we wish to use such a scheme. Whilst it is free to use the Legal Ombudsman service, there is a fee for using an alternative complaints handling body. Given the cost and the fact that mediation is not binding on you or us we see no benefit in this and it will be unusual for us to agree to a reference to such a body.
Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA)
In the event that your complaint relates to anything other than poor service, then you may choose to report a solicitor or the firm to the SRA. The SRA works with lawyers, non-lawyers and firms to ensure that they comply with the SRA principles. You may use the SRA website https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor/, email report@sra.org.uk or you can post a report to Solicitors Regulatory Authority, The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street, Birmingham, B1 1RN.
Guideline hourly rates: Solicitors’ guideline hourly rates – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
- About our terms
- These terms and conditions of use (Terms) explain how you may use this website and any of its content (Site). These Terms apply between Jagdev Legal Limited (we, us or our) and you, the person accessing or using the Site (you or your).
- You should read these Terms carefully before using the Site. By using the Site or otherwise indicating your consent, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree with any of these Terms, you should stop using the Site
- The Site is provided by us to you free of charge unless stated otherwise and is for information purposes only.
- If you order any goods, services or digital content from the Site or if you buy a subscription or membership to access restricted parts of the Site, separate terms and conditions will apply.
- About us
- We are Jagdev Legal Limited (trading as Jagdev Legal/ Jagdev Legal incorporating Vesey and Clarke), a company registered in England and Wales under company registration number 06389377. Our registered office is at 175 Cole Valley Road, Hall Green, Birmingham, B28 0DG. Our VAT registration number is 797711382.
- We are registered in the following trade register: Solicitors Regulation Authority under registration number: 472717
- If you have any questions about the Site, please contact us by:
- sending an email to info@jagdevlegal.co.uk,
- filling out and submitting the online form available here Contact Us – Jagdev Legal, or
- calling us on 01213202053 (our telephone lines are open.
- Using the site
- The Site is for your personal use only.
- You agree that you are solely responsible for all costs and expenses you may incur in relation to your use of the Site.
- We make no promise that the Site is appropriate or available for use in locations outside of the UK. If you choose to access the Site from locations outside the UK, you acknowledge you do so at your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws where they apply.
- We try to make the Site as accessible as possible. If you have any difficulties using the Site, please contact us using the contact details at the top of this page.
- As a condition of your use of the Site, you agree to comply with our Acceptable Use Policy and agree not to:
- misuse or attack our Site by knowingly introducing viruses, trojans, worms, logic bombs or any other material which is malicious or technologically harmful (such as by way of a denial-of-service attack), or
- attempt to gain unauthorised access to our Site, the server on which our Site is stored or any server, computer or database connected to our Site.
- We may prevent or suspend your access to the Site if you do not comply with these Terms or any applicable law.
- Registration and password security
- Use of the Site may require registration, particularly in order to access restricted areas of the Site.
- We are not obliged to permit anyone to register with the Site and we may refuse, terminate or suspend registration to anyone at any time.
- You are responsible for making sure that your password and any other account details are kept secure and confidential.
- If we have reason to believe there is likely to be a breach of security or misuse of the Site through your account or the use of your password, we may notify you and require you to change your password, or we may suspend or terminate your
- Any personal information you provide to us as part of the registration process will be processed in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
- Infringing content
- We will use reasonable efforts to:
- delete accounts which are being used in an inappropriate manner or in breach of these Terms; and
- identify and remove any content that is inappropriate, defamatory, infringes intellectual property rights or is otherwise in breach of our Acceptable Use Policy
- We will use reasonable efforts to:
when we are notified, but we cannot be responsible if you have failed to provide us with the relevant information.
- If you believe that any content which is distributed or published by the Site is inappropriate, defamatory or infringing on intellectual property rights, you should contact us immediately using the contact details at the top of this page.
- Your privacy and personal information
Your privacy and personal information are important to us. Any personal information that you provide to us will be dealt with in line with our Privacy Policy available at [insert link], which explains what personal information we collect from you, how and why we collect, store, use and share such information, your rights in relation to your personal information and how to contact us and supervisory authorities in the event you have a query or complaint about the use of your personal information.
- Ownership, use and intellectual property rights
- The intellectual property rights in the Site and in any text, images, video, audio or other multimedia content, software or other information or material submitted to or accessible from the Site (Content) are owned by us and our
- We and our licensors reserve all our intellectual property rights (including, but not limited to, all copyright, trade marks, domain names, design rights, database rights, patents and all other intellectual property rights of any kind) whether registered or unregistered anywhere in the world. This means, for example, that we remain owners of them and are free to use them as we see fit.
- Nothing in these Terms grants you any legal rights in the Site or the Content other than as necessary for you to access it. You agree not to adjust, try to circumvent or delete any notices contained on the Site or the Content (including any intellectual property notices) and in particular, in any digital rights or other security technology embedded or contained within the Site or the Content.
- Trade marks: Jagdev Legal/ Jagdev Legal incorporating Vesey and Clarke are our trademarks which are further detailed in the schedule to this document and the Law Society and any other third party logos are third party trade marks. Other trade marks and trade names may also be used on the Site or in the Content. Use by you of any trade marks on the Site or in the Content is strictly prohibited unless you have our prior written permission.
- Software
- Software may be made available for you to download in order for the Site to work better. You will be granted a limited, non-exclusive licence to use any such software, subject to you agreeing to the terms and conditions that apply to such software (sometimes known as an ‘end user licence agreement’ or ‘EULA’).
- You will be made aware of any terms and conditions that apply to the software when you try to download it. If you do not accept such terms and conditions, you will not be able to download the software.
- You should read any terms and conditions carefully. They may contain provisions that set out your legal rights (for example, under the Consumer Rights Act 2015), your legal responsibilities when using the software, the software provider’s legal responsibilities and any limitations on the software provider’s legal responsibilities to you.
- Any software made available on the Site is solely for your personal, non-commercial use.
- Using the software in an unlawful way (such as reproducing or redistributing it in a way that breaches these Terms and any other terms and conditions that apply to it) is expressly prohibited and may result in civil and criminal penalties.
- Submitting information to the site
- While we try to make sure that the Site is secure, we do not actively monitor or check whether information supplied to us through the Site is confidential, commercially sensitive or valuable.
- Other than any personal information which will be dealt with in accordance with our Privacy Policy, we do not guarantee that information supplied to us through the Site will be kept confidential and we may use it on an unrestricted and free-of-charge basis as we reasonably see fit.
- Accuracy of information and availability of the site
- We try to make sure that the Site is accurate, up-to-date and free from bugs, but we cannot promise that it will be. Furthermore, we cannot promise that the Site will be fit or suitable for any purpose. Any reliance that you may place on the information on the Site is at your own risk.
- We may suspend or terminate access or operation of the Site at any time as we see fit.
- Any Content is provided for your general information purposes only and to inform you about us and our products and news, features, services and other websites that may be of interest, but has not been tailored to your specific requirements or circumstances. It does not constitute technical, financial or legal advice or any other type of advice and should not be relied on for any purposes. You should always use your own independent judgment when using our Site and its Content.
- While we try to make sure that the Site is available for your use, we do not promise that the Site will be available at all times or that your use of the Site will be uninterrupted.
- Hyperlinks and third party sites
The Site may contain hyperlinks or references to third party advertising and websites other than the Site. Any such hyperlinks or references are provided for your convenience only. We have no control over third party advertising or websites and accept no legal responsibility for any content, material or information contained in them. The display of any hyperlink and reference to any third party advertising or website does not mean that we endorse that third party’s website, products or services. Your use of a third party site may be governed by the terms and conditions of that third-party site and is at your own risk.
- Our responsibility to you
- If we breach these Terms or are negligent, we are liable to you for foreseeable loss or damage that you suffer as a result. By ‘foreseeable’ we mean that, at the time these Terms were formed, it was either clear that such loss or damage would occur or you and we both knew that it might reasonably occur, as a result of something we did (or failed to do).
- We are not liable to you for any loss or damage that was not foreseeable, any loss or damage not caused by our breach or negligence, or any business loss or damage.
- Nothing in these terms excludes or limits our liability for any death or personal injury caused by our negligence, liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that the law does not allow us to exclude or limit.
- Events beyond our control
We are not liable to you if we fail to comply with these Terms because of circumstances beyond our reasonable control.
- No third party rights
No one other than us or you has any right to enforce any of these Terms.
- Variation
- No changes to these Terms are valid or have any effect unless agreed by us in writing or made in accordance with this clause 15.
- We reserve the right to vary these Terms from time to time. Our updated Terms will be displayed on the Site and by continuing to use and access the Site following such changes, you agree to be bound by any variation made by us. It is your responsibility to check these Terms from time to time to verify such variations.
- Complaints
- We will try to resolve any disputes with you quickly and efficiently. If you are unhappy with us, please contact us as soon as possible using the contact details set out at the top of this page.
- We refer you to the standalone complaints procedure dealt with separately on this website.
- The laws of England and Wales apply to these Terms, although if you are resident elsewhere you will retain the benefit of any mandatory protections given to you by the laws of that country.
- Any disputes will be subject to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales. This means that you can choose whether to bring a claim in the courts of England and Wales or in the courts of another part of the UK in which you
Schedule of trademarks