TERMS OF BUSINESS
General Terms and Conditions Relating to our Engagement
The purpose of this document is to confirm the arrangements between us. Your continuing instructions in this matter will amount to your acceptance of these Terms and Conditions (“TOB”).
All work carried out by My Car Loan Claims, a trading name of Alawco Limited for you as our client is subject to these Terms and Conditions, except to the extent that any changes or additions are expressly agreed with you in writing.
The Client Care Pack will (if applicable) confirm:
All work carried out by My Car Loan Claims, a trading name of Alawco Limited for you as our client is subject to these Terms and Conditions, except to the extent that any changes or additions are expressly agreed with you in writing.
The Client Care Pack will (if applicable) confirm:
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What we have been instructed to do (these instructions will form the scope of the retainer which we will have with you). Any other work which is required, which falls outside the scope of our retainer with you, will require a separate and distinct retainer to be entered into
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Who is responsible for your matter
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The scope of the work to be carried out
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The basis of our fees
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If any applicable insurance policy is in place and details of exclusions, limitations or restrictions which may have a bearing on your matter. In this regard, we will be relying on the information provided to us by your insurer and we do not accept liability if the information given to us is inaccurate.
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Your right to cancel your contract with us
1.
Business Hours
We are normally open between 9.00 am and 5.30 pm from Monday to Friday. We may be able to arrange appointments outside of these hours, in cases of emergency. We are closed on all bank holidays.
2.
Our Responsibilities
We will:
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act in your best interest;
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treat you fairly and with respect;
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communicate with you in plain language;
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review your matter regularly;
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advise you of any changes in the law that affect your matter;
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advise you of any reasonably foreseeable circumstances and risks that could affect the outcome of your matter; and
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advise you in relation to Court timetables relevant to your matter and explain to you why you are being asked to sign Court documentation (if appropriate)
3.
Your Responsibilities
You will:
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provide us with clear, timely and accurate instructions which allows us to do our work properly. My Car Loan Claims will not accept any liability arising from your failure to reply;
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not deliberately mislead us or ask us to work in an improper or unreasonable way;
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provide all documentation and information that we reasonably request in a timely manner;
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tell us if you are in are or have entered a formal insolvency arrangement;
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where applicable, you will not negotiate or settle with your opponent apart from through us;
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safeguard any documents that may be required for your matter, including documents that you may have to disclose to another party; and
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advise us if there are any changes to the facts of your matter circumstances.
4.
Communication and Service Levels Frequency
Telephone calls and emails may be monitored or recorded in order to:
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Improve our service
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Prevent and detect fraud
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Ensure legal and regulatory compliance
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Address complaints
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Assist with training (we confirm that all identifying information will be removed from any training material)
Secure Portal and Email – Our main form of communication will be by our secure client portal or by email.
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We will update you by the secure client portal email with progress on your matter.
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We will update you on the likely timescales for each stage of this matter and any important changes in those estimates.
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Whenever there is a material change in circumstances associated with your matter, we will update you on whether the probable outcome still justifies the likely costs and risks.
Our email is not encrypted. We each agree to accept the risks of using the secure client portal or electronic mail, including but not limited to the risks of viruses, interception, and unauthorised access.
We each agree to use commercially reasonable procedures to check for commonly known viruses in information sent and received electronically, but we recognise that such procedures cannot be a guarantee that transmissions will be virus free.
If you do not wish us to send confidential information by email, please notify us in writing.
We each agree to use commercially reasonable procedures to check for commonly known viruses in information sent and received electronically, but we recognise that such procedures cannot be a guarantee that transmissions will be virus free.
If you do not wish us to send confidential information by email, please notify us in writing.
5.
Personnel
Your retainer is with My Car Loan Claims and not the individual who undertakes the work on your matter.
In our view, a close relationship with our clients is essential to achieving our aims and we will therefore inform you of the name of the person who will have overall responsibility for your matter, at the commencement of our retainer with you. As different people specialise in different areas, it may be that we will nominate a person to be responsible for different sections of your matter. The person with responsibility may assign specific tasks or the handling of your matter to someone within their team but will maintain overall responsibility for your matter. You will be notified in the Client Care Pack of the identity of the person who will have ultimate responsibility for your matter.
In our view, a close relationship with our clients is essential to achieving our aims and we will therefore inform you of the name of the person who will have overall responsibility for your matter, at the commencement of our retainer with you. As different people specialise in different areas, it may be that we will nominate a person to be responsible for different sections of your matter. The person with responsibility may assign specific tasks or the handling of your matter to someone within their team but will maintain overall responsibility for your matter. You will be notified in the Client Care Pack of the identity of the person who will have ultimate responsibility for your matter.
6.
Authority to Give Instructions
You should tell us, at the outset of a matter, who is properly authorised to give us instructions. Unless advised otherwise, we will assume that we are authorised to accept instructions from any person whom we reasonably believe to have your authority to give instructions to us and that we may act on instructions given orally, or via electronic communication.
7.
Limit of Liability and Professional Indemnity Insurance
We have professional indemnity insurance giving cover for claims against the firm. Details of this insurance, including contact details of our insurer and the territorial coverage of the policy, can be inspected at our office or made available on request.
These terms contain important provisions that limit our liability. Any increase in our limitation of liability must be agreed in writing and signed by a Director.
Likewise the terms may not be varied in any other way unless agreed in writing and signed by a Director.
Our maximum aggregate liability to you in this matter will be £3 million including interest and costs unless we expressly state a different figure in our Client Care Pack confirming your instructions. If you wish to discuss a variation of this limit, please contact the person dealing with your matter. Agreeing a higher limit on our liability may result in us seeking an increase in our charges for handling your matter.
We will not be liable for:
These terms contain important provisions that limit our liability. Any increase in our limitation of liability must be agreed in writing and signed by a Director.
Likewise the terms may not be varied in any other way unless agreed in writing and signed by a Director.
Our maximum aggregate liability to you in this matter will be £3 million including interest and costs unless we expressly state a different figure in our Client Care Pack confirming your instructions. If you wish to discuss a variation of this limit, please contact the person dealing with your matter. Agreeing a higher limit on our liability may result in us seeking an increase in our charges for handling your matter.
We will not be liable for:
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losses that were not foreseeable to you and us when this contract was formed
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losses not caused by any breach on the part of the firm, and
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business losses, including losses sustained by any individual not acting for purposes of their trade, business, craft or profession
Alawco Limited is a limited company. This means that the firm's members and directors are not personally liable for any acts or omissions by the firm, unless the law requires otherwise. This does not limit or exclude liability of the firm for the acts or omissions of its members and directors. Even if that individual signs in his or her own name any letter or other document in the course of carrying out that work, it does not mean he or she is assuming any personal legal liability for that letter or document.
We can only limit our liability to the extent the law allows. In particular, we cannot and do not limit our liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence.
Please ask if you would like us to explain any of the terms above.
We can only limit our liability to the extent the law allows. In particular, we cannot and do not limit our liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence.
Please ask if you would like us to explain any of the terms above.
8.
Banking
We will use a Third Party Managed Account (“TPMA”) provider such as Shield Pay or may hold your client money in our bank client account. We hold client money in Barclays, which is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). We are not liable for any losses you suffer as a result of any such banking institution being unable to repay depositors in full. You may, however, be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
The FSCS is the UK's statutory fund of last resort for customers of banking institutions. The FSCS can pay compensation up to £85,000 if a banking institution is unable, or likely to be unable, to pay claims against it.
The limit is £85,000 per banking institution. If you hold other personal money in the same banking institution as our client account, the limit remains £85,000 in total.
Some banking institutions have several brands. The compensation limit is £85,000 per institution, not per brand. You should check with your banking institution, the FCA or a financial advisor for more information.
The FSCS also provides up to £1m of short-term protection for certain high balances, eg relating to property transactions, inheritance, divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership, unfair dismissal, redundancy, and personal injury compensation (there is no financial limit on protection for personal injury compensation). This is called the temporary high balance scheme and, if it applies, protection lasts for a maximum of six months.
The FSCS (including the temporary high balance scheme) will apply to qualifying balances held in our client account. In the unlikely event of a deposit-taking institution failure, we will presume (unless we hear from you in writing to the contrary) we have your consent to disclose necessary client details to the FSCS.
The regulatory protections that apply to third party payment providers such as Shieldpay are different to those that apply to client money which is traditionally held in a firm of solicitor's client account.
We will pay the TPMA provider’s charges out of our fees.
Complaints about TMPA providers should be made to that company in accordance with its complaint’s procedure.
TPMA providers, as an authorised payment institution, is required to either hold money in a separate ‘safeguarded account’ with a designated banking partner or take out an insurance policy that can guarantee to cover the amounts held. This means that if the company were to go bankrupt, its banking partners or insurers would return the monies held to their customers. The banks or insurers cannot set off any amounts owed by TPMA providers against the monies held by them on behalf of their customers.
The FSCS is the UK's statutory fund of last resort for customers of banking institutions. The FSCS can pay compensation up to £85,000 if a banking institution is unable, or likely to be unable, to pay claims against it.
The limit is £85,000 per banking institution. If you hold other personal money in the same banking institution as our client account, the limit remains £85,000 in total.
Some banking institutions have several brands. The compensation limit is £85,000 per institution, not per brand. You should check with your banking institution, the FCA or a financial advisor for more information.
The FSCS also provides up to £1m of short-term protection for certain high balances, eg relating to property transactions, inheritance, divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership, unfair dismissal, redundancy, and personal injury compensation (there is no financial limit on protection for personal injury compensation). This is called the temporary high balance scheme and, if it applies, protection lasts for a maximum of six months.
The FSCS (including the temporary high balance scheme) will apply to qualifying balances held in our client account. In the unlikely event of a deposit-taking institution failure, we will presume (unless we hear from you in writing to the contrary) we have your consent to disclose necessary client details to the FSCS.
The regulatory protections that apply to third party payment providers such as Shieldpay are different to those that apply to client money which is traditionally held in a firm of solicitor's client account.
We will pay the TPMA provider’s charges out of our fees.
Complaints about TMPA providers should be made to that company in accordance with its complaint’s procedure.
TPMA providers, as an authorised payment institution, is required to either hold money in a separate ‘safeguarded account’ with a designated banking partner or take out an insurance policy that can guarantee to cover the amounts held. This means that if the company were to go bankrupt, its banking partners or insurers would return the monies held to their customers. The banks or insurers cannot set off any amounts owed by TPMA providers against the monies held by them on behalf of their customers.
9.
Regulated Services
My Car Loan Claims a trading name of Alawco Limited, a company incorporated in England & Wales. Reg No: 10725076, registered office: Salisbury House, Station Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB1 2LA is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street, Birmingham, B1 1RN (the SRA). (SRA No 818725).
This means that we are governed by a Code of Conduct and other professional rules, which you can access on the SRA’s website (www.sra.org.uk) or by calling 0370 606 2555.
This means that we are governed by a Code of Conduct and other professional rules, which you can access on the SRA’s website (www.sra.org.uk) or by calling 0370 606 2555.
10.
Storage and Retrieval of Files
After completing the work, we will be entitled to keep your file while there is still money owed to us for fees and expenses. Thereafter, we will keep your file for up to 15 years. We are mainly a paperless office which means we will store your file electronically only, apart from original documents which we will, on conclusion of the matter, return to you
We store files on the understanding that we can destroy them 15 years after the date of the final bill.
If we retrieve your file from storage (including electronic storage) in relation to continuing or new instructions to act for you, we will not normally charge for the retrieval.
If we retrieve your file from storage for another reason, we may charge you for:
We store files on the understanding that we can destroy them 15 years after the date of the final bill.
If we retrieve your file from storage (including electronic storage) in relation to continuing or new instructions to act for you, we will not normally charge for the retrieval.
If we retrieve your file from storage for another reason, we may charge you for:
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time spent retrieving the paper and electronic file and producing it to you
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reading, correspondence, or other work necessary to comply with your instructions in relation to the retrieved file
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providing additional copies of any documents
We will provide you with an electronic copy of the file unless it is inappropriate to do so.
For information on how long we will hold your personal data, see the privacy policy on our website.
For information on how long we will hold your personal data, see the privacy policy on our website.
11.
External Auditing and Due Diligence
Your files may also be reviewed in a due diligence exercise relating to the sale or transfer of all or part of our business, the acquisition of another business by us or the acquisition of new business. If you do not wish your file to be used in this way, please let us know as soon as possible.
For information on external auditing and due diligence in relation to your personal data, see the privacy policy on our website.
For information on external auditing and due diligence in relation to your personal data, see the privacy policy on our website.
12.
Terminating Your Instructions
You may end your instructions at any time by giving us notice in writing. We can keep all your papers and documents while our charges or disbursements are outstanding.
We can also stop acting for you, if we have reasonable grounds to do so, for example because you have broken our agreement by not giving us timely instructions or paying our invoices on time. We can also stop acting for you if the solicitor-client relationship of trust and confidence has broken down, if we discover a conflict of interest, if to proceed would otherwise be contrary to legal or regulatory duties, if the risk profile for your case has significantly changed or if you experience an insolvency event. We will write to you explaining our decision, giving you as much notice as possible.
If you or we decide that we should stop acting for you, you are liable to pay our charges up until that point. These are calculated on the basis set out in our Client Care Pack confirming your instructions.
We can also stop acting for you, if we have reasonable grounds to do so, for example because you have broken our agreement by not giving us timely instructions or paying our invoices on time. We can also stop acting for you if the solicitor-client relationship of trust and confidence has broken down, if we discover a conflict of interest, if to proceed would otherwise be contrary to legal or regulatory duties, if the risk profile for your case has significantly changed or if you experience an insolvency event. We will write to you explaining our decision, giving you as much notice as possible.
If you or we decide that we should stop acting for you, you are liable to pay our charges up until that point. These are calculated on the basis set out in our Client Care Pack confirming your instructions.
13.
Duty of Care
For the purposes of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999, it is confirmed that our services are provided solely for the benefit of you as our client and our Terms and Conditions of Business are enforceable only by you and us and not by any third party. My Car Loan Claims shall not be under any duty to, nor have any responsibility towards any other person in connection with any matter (unless that person is also a client of My Car Loan Claims in relation to the matter), even if the objective of the client’s instructions is to confer a benefit upon such a person.
14.
Instructions to Other Professionals and Lawyers Overseas
Should we need to instruct other lawyers or professionals (expert witnesses, accountants, counsel and so on) we do so, unless otherwise agreed, on your behalf and as your agent. They will be responsible to you for the quality and accuracy of the advice they provide and you may be directly responsible for payment of their fees and expenses. Before making any such appointment on your behalf, if you are responsible for the payment of their fees and expenses, we will consult with you and seek your agreement to the appointment.
We will always act in your best interests and will, always, maintain our independence.
We will always act in your best interests and will, always, maintain our independence.
17.
Data Protection
We use your personal data primarily to provide legal services to you, but also for related purposes as described in the Privacy Policy on our website or including:
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conducting checks to identify you, verify your identity and screen for financial or other sanctions
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gathering and providing information required by or relating to audits, enquiries and investigations by regulatory bodies
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complying with professional, legal and regulatory obligations that apply to our business
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sourcing and updating litigation funders
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ensuring business policies are adhered to, e.g., policies covering security and internet use
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operational reasons, such as improving efficiency, training and quality control
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ensuring the confidentiality of commercially sensitive information
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statistical analysis to help us manage our practice, e.g., in relation to our financial performance, client base, work type or other efficiency measures
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updating and enhancing client records
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preventing unauthorised access and modifications to systems
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preparing and filing statutory returns
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ensuring safe working practices, and monitoring and managing staff absences and staff access to systems and facilities
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staff administration and assessments, monitoring staff conduct, and disciplinary matters
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marketing our services
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credit reference checks via external credit reference agencies
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outsource businesses for the purpose the Agreement
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external audits and quality checks, e.g., for Lexcel, ISO or Investors in People accreditation,
Our use of your personal data is subject to your instructions, the Data Protection Act 2018, other relevant UK and EU legislation and our professional duty of confidentiality.
My Car Loan Claims are a data controller for the purpose of the Data Protection Act 2018 and other relevant data protection legislation. We have nominated Hayley Betteridge as the firm’s representative for the purpose of the Data Protection Act 2018.
We take your privacy very seriously. Please read the Privacy Policy on our website carefully as it contains important information on:
My Car Loan Claims are a data controller for the purpose of the Data Protection Act 2018 and other relevant data protection legislation. We have nominated Hayley Betteridge as the firm’s representative for the purpose of the Data Protection Act 2018.
We take your privacy very seriously. Please read the Privacy Policy on our website carefully as it contains important information on:
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what personal data we collect about you and how that data is collected
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how, why and on what grounds we use your personal data
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who we share your personal data with
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where your personal data is held and how long it will be kept
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whether your personal data may be transferred out of the European Economic Area and, if so, the measures taken to protect that data
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your rights in relation to the personal data we hold or use
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the steps we take to secure your personal data
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how to make a complaint in relation to our use of your personal data
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how to contact us with any queries or concerns in relation to your personal data
Promotional communications
If you have opted in, we may use your personal data to send you updates (by email, text, telephone or post) about legal developments, promotional material, insights, information or offers that might be of interest to you, including exclusive offers, promotions or new services or products from ourselves and other businesses. If you do not wish to receive marketing information about us, our services and others, or wish to receive only certain kinds of information or by a particular method, please email us to unsubscribe at info@mycarloanclaims.co.uk at any time.
If you have opted in, we may use your personal data to send you updates (by email, text, telephone or post) about legal developments, promotional material, insights, information or offers that might be of interest to you, including exclusive offers, promotions or new services or products from ourselves and other businesses. If you do not wish to receive marketing information about us, our services and others, or wish to receive only certain kinds of information or by a particular method, please email us to unsubscribe at info@mycarloanclaims.co.uk at any time.
18.
Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing
We are required by law to confirm satisfactory evidence of the identity of our clients and, sometimes, people related to them. This is because solicitors who deal with money and property on behalf of their clients can be used by criminals wanting to launder money.
To comply with the law, we need evidence of your identity as soon as possible. We will attempt to verify your identity via electronic means as early as possible and whether any further evidence is required will be explained in our Client Care Pack confirming your instructions. Any personal data we receive from you for the purpose of preventing money laundering or terrorist financing will be used only for that purpose or:
To comply with the law, we need evidence of your identity as soon as possible. We will attempt to verify your identity via electronic means as early as possible and whether any further evidence is required will be explained in our Client Care Pack confirming your instructions. Any personal data we receive from you for the purpose of preventing money laundering or terrorist financing will be used only for that purpose or:
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with your consent, or
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as permitted by or under another enactment
We are professionally and legally obliged to keep your affairs confidential. However, solicitors may be required by statute to make a disclosure to the National Crime Agency where they know or suspect that a transaction may involve money laundering or terrorist financing. If we make a disclosure in relation to your matter, we may not be able to tell you that a disclosure has been made. We may have to stop working on your matter for a period of time and may not be able to tell you why.
Subject to section ‘Limit of Liability’ above, we shall not be liable for any loss arising from or connected with our compliance with any statutory obligation which we may have, or reasonable belief we may have, to report matters to the relevant authorities under the provisions of the money laundering and/or terrorist financing legislation.
Subject to section ‘Limit of Liability’ above, we shall not be liable for any loss arising from or connected with our compliance with any statutory obligation which we may have, or reasonable belief we may have, to report matters to the relevant authorities under the provisions of the money laundering and/or terrorist financing legislation.
19.
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is a piece of US legislation which has effect in the UK as a result of an agreement between the UK and US governments. The intention behind the legislation is to ensure US citizens disclose their worldwide income to the US tax authority (the Internal Revenue Service).
The FATCA regime requires certain financial institutions to identify and report (to HMRC) payments made to a:
The FATCA regime requires certain financial institutions to identify and report (to HMRC) payments made to a:
1.
specified US person, or
2.
non-US entity with one or more controlling person who is a specified US person
To comply with the law, we may have to share some of your information, including your FATCA status and, if applicable, your Global Intermediary Identification Number (GIIN) with financial institutions.
We also have to establish whether you are a specified US person or an entity controlled by a specified US person. If so, it may be necessary for us to report payments to HMRC. If relevant, this is explained further in our Client Care Pack confirming your instructions.
It is vital that we keep your information current at all times. You are responsible for communicating to us any changes in circumstances that may alter your FATCA status.
We also have to establish whether you are a specified US person or an entity controlled by a specified US person. If so, it may be necessary for us to report payments to HMRC. If relevant, this is explained further in our Client Care Pack confirming your instructions.
It is vital that we keep your information current at all times. You are responsible for communicating to us any changes in circumstances that may alter your FATCA status.
20.
Confidentiality
The information and documentation you provide us is confidential and subject to legal professional privilege unless:
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We have your authority to disclose it.
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We are required to disclose it by law e.g., in relation to prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing.
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The information is in or comes into the public domain without any breach of confidentiality on the part of My Car Loan Claims, or we are required to disclose it by the regulatory or fiscal authorities, in which case, to the extent that we are permitted to do so, we will endeavour to give you as much advance notice as possible of any such required disclosures.
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We advise you otherwise during the course of your matter.
We cannot absolutely guarantee the security of information communicated by email, secure portal, phone or letter. Unless we hear from you to the contrary, we will assume that you consent for us to use these methods of communication.
We owe the same duty of confidentiality to all of our clients. Therefore, we will not disclose to you any information given to us in confidence in relation to any other matter, even if it is material to yours, without that client’s prior consent.
You agree that, subject always to applicable rules and with appropriate safeguards in place to ensure that access to the relevant confidential information within My Car Loan Claims is restricted; we may act for you even though we hold confidential information relating to another party, which may be material to your matter.
We may in the past have advised or may now or in the future advise other clients whose interests differ from yours. In advising such other clients we may come into possession of confidential information, which would be material to your matter. In addition, confidential information we hold about you may be material to such other clients’ matters. Where such measures are in place, you agree that you will not seek to prevent us from acting for other clients by reason of our holding your confidential information.
Where the matter may require advice from a foreign law firm or a firm from another jurisdiction, you agree that in the absence of any conflict, we may discuss those potential requirements with an appropriate law firm or firms.
If in the course of our acting on your behalf, on the instruction of your concerned insurer, we become aware of circumstances suggesting that you may not be entitled to indemnity under the relevant policy of insurance, or such policy might be invalid, then we may be conflicted and may not be able to continue acting unless such conflict is resolved by agreement between you and your insurer. We will contact you to discuss the position, should it arise and explain your options to you.
From time to time we engage external organisations to audit client files. By continuing your matter with us you agree that your files may be audited. We will require the organisation to comply with our confidentiality procedures in respect of information of which it becomes aware. Also, insurer clients may audit our files from time to time to ensure that the work is being handled in accordance with their service levels. We will keep confidential any documents or information relating to a counterclaim.
We owe the same duty of confidentiality to all of our clients. Therefore, we will not disclose to you any information given to us in confidence in relation to any other matter, even if it is material to yours, without that client’s prior consent.
You agree that, subject always to applicable rules and with appropriate safeguards in place to ensure that access to the relevant confidential information within My Car Loan Claims is restricted; we may act for you even though we hold confidential information relating to another party, which may be material to your matter.
We may in the past have advised or may now or in the future advise other clients whose interests differ from yours. In advising such other clients we may come into possession of confidential information, which would be material to your matter. In addition, confidential information we hold about you may be material to such other clients’ matters. Where such measures are in place, you agree that you will not seek to prevent us from acting for other clients by reason of our holding your confidential information.
Where the matter may require advice from a foreign law firm or a firm from another jurisdiction, you agree that in the absence of any conflict, we may discuss those potential requirements with an appropriate law firm or firms.
If in the course of our acting on your behalf, on the instruction of your concerned insurer, we become aware of circumstances suggesting that you may not be entitled to indemnity under the relevant policy of insurance, or such policy might be invalid, then we may be conflicted and may not be able to continue acting unless such conflict is resolved by agreement between you and your insurer. We will contact you to discuss the position, should it arise and explain your options to you.
From time to time we engage external organisations to audit client files. By continuing your matter with us you agree that your files may be audited. We will require the organisation to comply with our confidentiality procedures in respect of information of which it becomes aware. Also, insurer clients may audit our files from time to time to ensure that the work is being handled in accordance with their service levels. We will keep confidential any documents or information relating to a counterclaim.
21.
Complaints
We are committed to providing high-quality legal advice and client care. If you are unhappy about any aspect of the service you receive or about the bill, please contact Hayley Betteridge at info@mycarloanclaims.co.ukor by post to My Car Loan Claims, Provincial House, 37 New Walk, Leicester, LE1 6TE. You can find out more in the complaints policy on our website. We have a written procedure that sets out how we handle complaints. It is available from Hayley Betteridge on request.
We have eight weeks to consider your complaint. If we have not resolved it within this time, you may complain to the Legal Ombudsman. If you are not satisfied with our handling of your complaint, you can ask the Legal Ombudsman to consider the complaint. The Legal Ombudsman's contact details are:
We have eight weeks to consider your complaint. If we have not resolved it within this time, you may complain to the Legal Ombudsman. If you are not satisfied with our handling of your complaint, you can ask the Legal Ombudsman to consider the complaint. The Legal Ombudsman's contact details are:
Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167 SLOUGH, SL1 0EH
0300 555 0333—from 8.30am to 5.30pm
info@mycarloanclaims.co.uk
www.legalombudsman.org.uk
0300 555 0333—from 8.30am to 5.30pm
info@mycarloanclaims.co.uk
www.legalombudsman.org.uk
The Legal Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them within one year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned or within one year of you realising there was a concern. You must also refer your concerns to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final response to you.
The Legal Ombudsman deals with complaints by consumers and very small businesses. This means some clients may not have the right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman, e.g., charities or clubs with an annual income of more than £1m, trustees of trusts with asset value of more than £1m and most businesses (unless they are defined as micro-enterprises). This does not prevent you from making a complaint directly to us about the service you have received or about the bill.
The Legal Ombudsman deals with complaints by consumers and very small businesses. This means some clients may not have the right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman, e.g., charities or clubs with an annual income of more than £1m, trustees of trusts with asset value of more than £1m and most businesses (unless they are defined as micro-enterprises). This does not prevent you from making a complaint directly to us about the service you have received or about the bill.
22.
Conflicts
We have procedures designed to prevent our acting for one client in a matter where there is or could be a conflict with the interests of another client for whom we are acting or may have previously been acting. If you are aware or become aware of a possible conflict of this type please raise it immediately with us. If a conflict of this nature arises, then it will be up to us, taking account of legal constraints, professional rules and your and the other client’s interests and wishes, to decide whether we should continue to act for both parties, for one only or for neither and whether written permission is required to enable us to continue to act. If permission is required, you will be contacted.
23.
Fees and Other Charges
Our fees and charges will be calculated on the basis set out in our Client Care Pack or as otherwise agreed with you. The Client Care Pack will take precedence in particular where your matter is covered by an insurance agreement or No-Win-No-Fee agreement.
If you are responsible for the payment of our fees (i.e., they are not covered by an insurance policy) we will maintain a record of the time spent on a matter by each professional in the Firm. Our charges are calculated primarily by reference to time spent on a matter. Time is charged in units of 6 minutes. Our hourly rates are subject to periodic review, normally on an annual basis. If, as a result of a review, our hourly rates are varied, we will notify you of the changes and the revised rates will take effect from the date of the notification or as otherwise agreed with you. Our hourly rates may also be adjusted periodically to reflect the increase in seniority of the File Handler working on your matter.
We use a blended hourly rate, so a single hourly rate is applied to all work on a matter, regardless of the seniority of the solicitor or fee earner working on the matter. Our hourly rates are as follows:
If you are responsible for the payment of our fees (i.e., they are not covered by an insurance policy) we will maintain a record of the time spent on a matter by each professional in the Firm. Our charges are calculated primarily by reference to time spent on a matter. Time is charged in units of 6 minutes. Our hourly rates are subject to periodic review, normally on an annual basis. If, as a result of a review, our hourly rates are varied, we will notify you of the changes and the revised rates will take effect from the date of the notification or as otherwise agreed with you. Our hourly rates may also be adjusted periodically to reflect the increase in seniority of the File Handler working on your matter.
We use a blended hourly rate, so a single hourly rate is applied to all work on a matter, regardless of the seniority of the solicitor or fee earner working on the matter. Our hourly rates are as follows:
Solicitors and legal executives with more than 8 years’ experience
£350.00
Solicitors and legal executives with more than 4 years’ experience
£325.00
Other solicitors or legal executives and fee earners of equivalent experience
£275.00
Trainee Solicitors, paralegals and other fee earners
£250.00
The blended hourly rate used is £300.00.
When we incur expenses and disbursements on your behalf you agree to reimburse us. These may include, for example, court fees, witness expenses, counsel’s fees, expert’s fees, document preparation and photocopying expenses, external conference call charges, courier and guaranteed delivery expenses, travel, meals at meetings, subsistence and accommodation expenses. When incurring these charges we will aim for the lowest reasonably available cost. Additional costs that we incur on your behalf will be clearly identified in our invoices. All expenses and disbursements will be discussed and agreed with you in advance.
If your case falls under the Claims Management Regulations, then your charges will be in line with the fees set out. A table will be provided in the client care pack.
Any Value Added Tax (VAT) chargeable upon amounts invoiced by us is payable in addition to our fees and charges. We will deliver an appropriate VAT invoice to you. If you have arranged with a third party for the payment of our fees, the third party will not normally be entitled to recover any VAT element. However, if we are dealing with a civil action relating to your business, services supplied to you as a policyholder can be deemed to be for the purposes of the business, therefore if you are registered for VAT we will send you a separate VAT invoice so that you can look to recover the VAT incurred.
When we incur expenses and disbursements on your behalf you agree to reimburse us. These may include, for example, court fees, witness expenses, counsel’s fees, expert’s fees, document preparation and photocopying expenses, external conference call charges, courier and guaranteed delivery expenses, travel, meals at meetings, subsistence and accommodation expenses. When incurring these charges we will aim for the lowest reasonably available cost. Additional costs that we incur on your behalf will be clearly identified in our invoices. All expenses and disbursements will be discussed and agreed with you in advance.
If your case falls under the Claims Management Regulations, then your charges will be in line with the fees set out. A table will be provided in the client care pack.
Any Value Added Tax (VAT) chargeable upon amounts invoiced by us is payable in addition to our fees and charges. We will deliver an appropriate VAT invoice to you. If you have arranged with a third party for the payment of our fees, the third party will not normally be entitled to recover any VAT element. However, if we are dealing with a civil action relating to your business, services supplied to you as a policyholder can be deemed to be for the purposes of the business, therefore if you are registered for VAT we will send you a separate VAT invoice so that you can look to recover the VAT incurred.
24.
Our Bill
You are liable to pay legal costs as set out in our Client Care Pack confirming your instructions. We will send our Bill to you via email or by our secure client portal.
Bills should be paid within 30 days unless we have acted for you on a basis where fees are payable from funds we have recovered for you in which case they are payable by deduction from your funds. You agree that where our fees are calculated by way of a formula set out in our agreement with you, payment of our fees according to this formula will constitute a settling of your account. We may charge interest on overdue bills at interest at the rate set out in Section 6 of the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998:
Bills should be paid within 30 days unless we have acted for you on a basis where fees are payable from funds we have recovered for you in which case they are payable by deduction from your funds. You agree that where our fees are calculated by way of a formula set out in our agreement with you, payment of our fees according to this formula will constitute a settling of your account. We may charge interest on overdue bills at interest at the rate set out in Section 6 of the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998:
•
calculated (on a daily basis) from the date of our invoice until payment;
•
compounded on the first day of each calendar month; and
•
before and after any judgement (unless a court orders otherwise).
We may cease acting for you if an interim bill remains unpaid after 30 days or if our reasonable request of a payment on account of costs is not met.
You have the right to challenge or complain about our bill. Please see the ‘Complaints’ section above for details of how to complain about our bill.
You have the right to challenge our bill by applying to the court to assess the bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. The usual time limit for making such an application is one month from the date of delivery of the bill. If the application is made after one month but before twelve months from delivery of the bill, the court's permission is required for the bill to be assessed.
Unless there are special circumstances, the court will not usually order a bill to be assessed after:
You have the right to challenge or complain about our bill. Please see the ‘Complaints’ section above for details of how to complain about our bill.
You have the right to challenge our bill by applying to the court to assess the bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. The usual time limit for making such an application is one month from the date of delivery of the bill. If the application is made after one month but before twelve months from delivery of the bill, the court's permission is required for the bill to be assessed.
Unless there are special circumstances, the court will not usually order a bill to be assessed after:
•
12 months from delivery of the bill
•
a judgment has been obtained for the recovery of the costs covered by the bill
•
the bill has been paid, even if this is within 12 months
We can keep all your papers and documents while there is still money owed to us for fees and expenses.
25.
Payment of Interest
It is the policy of My Car Loan Claims to pay a fair sum of interest based on what is received from its bank on client money held in its client account.
We do not pay interest in certain situations, including those set out below:
We do not pay interest in certain situations, including those set out below:
i.
calculated (on a daily basis) from the date of our invoice until payment;
ii.
compounded on the first day of each calendar month; and
If you wish to contract out of this Policy, please advise us in writing.
26.
Receiving and Paying Funds
Our policy is not to accept cash from clients. If you try to avoid this policy by depositing cash directly with our bank, we may decide to charge you for any additional checks we decide are necessary to prove the source of the funds. Where we pay money to you, it will be paid by bank transfer to your nominated bank account. It will not be paid in cash or to a third party.
We will require you to Nominate a Bank Account or to utilise the services of a TPMA provider. You may be asked to evidence that the Nominated Account is in your name. We or a third party may run checks on this account to verify that it belongs to you and that it meets our criteria. It is your responsibility to inform us of any changes to your Nominated Bank Account.
If you receive unexpected emails, especially those requesting personal information, funds, or new bank details, verify their authenticity by contacting us directly using established and reliable methods.
We will require you to Nominate a Bank Account or to utilise the services of a TPMA provider. You may be asked to evidence that the Nominated Account is in your name. We or a third party may run checks on this account to verify that it belongs to you and that it meets our criteria. It is your responsibility to inform us of any changes to your Nominated Bank Account.
If you receive unexpected emails, especially those requesting personal information, funds, or new bank details, verify their authenticity by contacting us directly using established and reliable methods.
27.
Investment Advice Services
We are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. If, while we are acting for you, you need advice on investments, we may refer you to someone who is authorised to provide the necessary advice.
However, we may provide certain limited investment advice services where these are closely linked to the legal work we are doing for you. This is because we are members of the Law Society of England and Wales, which is a designated professional body for the purposes of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The Solicitors Regulation Authority is the independent regulatory arm of the Law Society. The Legal Ombudsman deals with complaints against lawyers. If you are unhappy with any investment advice you receive from us, you should raise your concerns with the SRA or Legal Ombudsman.
However, we may provide certain limited investment advice services where these are closely linked to the legal work we are doing for you. This is because we are members of the Law Society of England and Wales, which is a designated professional body for the purposes of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The Solicitors Regulation Authority is the independent regulatory arm of the Law Society. The Legal Ombudsman deals with complaints against lawyers. If you are unhappy with any investment advice you receive from us, you should raise your concerns with the SRA or Legal Ombudsman.
28.
Consumer Credit Services
We are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority in relation to consumer credit services. We may, however, provide certain limited consumer credit services where these are incidental to the professional services we provide. This is because we are members of the Law Society of England and Wales, which is a designated professional body for the purposes of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The Solicitors Regulation Authority is the independent regulatory arm of the Law Society. The Legal Ombudsman deals with complaints against lawyers. If you are unhappy with any consumer credit services you receive from us, you should raise your concerns with the SRA or Legal Ombudsman.
29.
Insurance Distribution Activity
We are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. However, we are included on the register maintained by the Financial Conduct Authority so that we may carry on insurance distribution activity, which is broadly the advising on, selling and administration of insurance contracts. This part of our business, including arrangements for complaints or redress if something goes wrong, is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The register can be accessed via the Financial Conduct Authority website at: https://register.fca.org.uk/.
The Law Society of England and Wales is a designated professional body for the purposes of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The Solicitors Regulation Authority is the independent regulatory arm of the Law Society. The Legal Ombudsman deals with complaints against lawyers. If you are unhappy with any insurance advice you receive from us, you should raise your concerns with the SRA or Legal Ombudsman.
The Law Society of England and Wales is a designated professional body for the purposes of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The Solicitors Regulation Authority is the independent regulatory arm of the Law Society. The Legal Ombudsman deals with complaints against lawyers. If you are unhappy with any insurance advice you receive from us, you should raise your concerns with the SRA or Legal Ombudsman.
30.
Intellectual Property Rights
You will have the full right and licence to use copies of materials we create for you for the particular purpose for which they were prepared. However, all copyright and other intellectual property rights in all documents, reports, written or electronic advice or other materials provided by us to you remains with us. If you wish to use copies of these materials for purposes other than those for which they were prepared, this will require our permission.
31.
Third Parties
We may instruct third parties (such as barristers, expert witnesses, enquiry agents) to provide services to you. Where appropriate we may instruct these third parties as your agent, so that you contract with them directly. However the third parties are instructed, you are responsible for the sums charged by third parties and their services are provided to you on their terms. We use reasonable skill and care in selecting and appointing third parties and provided that we do so, we are not responsible for the services the third parties provide.
32.
Assignment
We may transfer our rights and obligations under the Client Care Pack (“the Agreement”) to another organisation. We will always tell you in writing if this happens. We will ensure that the transfer will not affect your rights under the Agreement. You may only transfer your rights or your obligations under the Agreement to another person if we agree to this in writing.
33.
Your Right to Cancel
If you have engaged us in a personal capacity and are not acting on behalf of your trade, business, craft or profession, then you may be entitled to a 14-day cooling off period during which you may cancel the contract if any of the following circumstances apply:
•
We met with you somewhere other than at our offices, and at that meeting we agreed to act in this matter.
•
We met with you somewhere other than at our offices and at that meeting you asked us whether we could act in this matter. At some point after that meeting we agreed to act.
•
We personally and individually addressed you somewhere other than at our offices and immediately afterwards effected the contract either in our offices or by telephone or email.
•
We agreed to act for you in this matter during an excursion that we organised.
•
We engaged with you in a distance selling contract as part of an organised scheme.
Should you wish to cancel the contract, please do so in writing. A cancellation form will be enclosed with our Client Care Pack for your convenience and use.
34.
Severance
If any provision of our agreement with you is invalid or unenforceable for any reason, it will not affect the remainder of our agreement with you.
35.
Compliance
We try at all times to conduct our business in accordance with the highest professional and ethical standards. We have a zero tolerance to any illegal activity such as bribery and corruption and we provide our services in accordance with all laws in force from time-to-time. We expect all those whom we do business with to do likewise.
36.
Application and Prevailing Terms
These Terms and Conditions of Business supersede any earlier Terms and Conditions of Business we may have previously agreed with you.
If there is a conflict between these Terms and Conditions of Business and any specific terms agreed with you in relation to an individual matter (for example, any terms set out in the Client Care Pack or subsequent terms agreed with you in writing) then the specific terms within the Client Care Pack and those agreed with you in writing will prevail.
It may be necessary to amend these Terms and Conditions of Business from time to time. We will notify you of any such proposed changes and, unless we hear from you to the contrary within 14 days following such notification, the amendments and/or new terms will come into effect from the end of that period.
If there is a conflict between these Terms and Conditions of Business and any specific terms agreed with you in relation to an individual matter (for example, any terms set out in the Client Care Pack or subsequent terms agreed with you in writing) then the specific terms within the Client Care Pack and those agreed with you in writing will prevail.
It may be necessary to amend these Terms and Conditions of Business from time to time. We will notify you of any such proposed changes and, unless we hear from you to the contrary within 14 days following such notification, the amendments and/or new terms will come into effect from the end of that period.
37.
Equality and Diversity
We are committed to promoting equality and diversity in all our dealings with clients, third parties and employees. Please contact us if you would like a copy of our equality and diversity policy.
38.
Applicable Law
Any dispute or legal issue arising from our Terms of Business will be determined by the law of England and Wales and considered exclusively by the English and Welsh courts.
39.
Future Instructions
Unless otherwise agreed, these Terms of Business will apply to all future instructions you give us on this or any other matter.