We shall be pleased to act for you and will do our best to ensure that everything proceeds as smoothly as possible. 

Please read this document carefully, it contains important information which you will find useful both now and whilst we are carrying out work for you. We recommend that you refer to this document at regular intervals and at key points as your matter progresses. These Terms and Conditions of Business, unless varied in writing, indicate the basis on which this Firm will carry out professional services on your behalf. 

Following the public Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 we are obliged to give you the following information if you have given us initial instructions “from a distance” that is by telephone, internet/email or by letter or facsimile. “You have a right to cancel your instructions to us within seven days without obligation but if you instruct us to proceed immediately that cooling off period is cancelled and you will be obliged to pay us for any work done or monies disbursed on your behalf”. 

1. PLACE & HOURS OF BUSINESS

Public Advice Centre (PAC) address is: Springfield House, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL2 2DY . Normal hours of opening are 9.00am to 8:00pm Monday to Saturday. However it may be possible to arrange appointments outside these hours when it is both in the interest of the client and practical. Outside of these hours, a facsimile or email messages can be sent or telephone messages can be left on our answer phones.

2. SETTING STANDARDS

2.1 We operate systems throughout our Offices, insisting that all our staff meet certain standards with regard to Client care. These standards include:

(a) Sending you copies of important correspondence;
(b) Returning your telephone calls during the course of the same day, if at all possible;
(c) Dealing with correspondence of any sort promptly;
(d) Writing letters to you and others in plain and concise language;
(e) Giving appointments to you without any undue delay;
(f) Dealing with you and all persons with the same attention, courtesy and consideration regardless of race, colour, ethnic or national origins, sex, creed, disability or sexual orientation.

2.2 There are other standards, but these are the main ones that affect your dealings with us. Please let us know if you feel we are not keeping to those standards. 

2.3 To assist us in providing an efficient and effective service we ask that you:

(a) In all communications quote the file reference number of your matter which is set out and clearly address all written communications to your Representative;
(b) Leave clear telephone messages with your Representative, or reception;
(c) Notify us immediately of any change of your address, telephone number or other material information;
(d) Notify us immediately if you are delayed or cannot make the appointment;
(e) Respond to our requests promptly;
(f) Pay our bills and disbursements without delay;

2.4 If you have any queries, or are unclear about procedures, or simply want information, please do not hesitate to contact your Representative.

3. RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE WORK

3.1 We have a number of representatives within our office and the person to whom you speak to initially will not necessarily be the person to conduct the work. 

3.2 We do not provide legal advice at The Public Advice Centre and do not claim to do so.

3.3 If you require legal advice we will recommend a specialist Solicitor firm from within our panel.

3.4 We aim to only recommend firms that are efficient and effective within the area of law you wish to discuss. However, should there be any aspect of their service with which you are unhappy you should first raise the matter with the person responsible for your transaction or case. If your complaint remains unresolved then please write to their Complaints Department and inform us immediately. 

4. PROFESSIONAL INDEMNITY

We maintain Professional Indemnity Insurance in the interest of our clients. 

5. FEES

5.1 On the initial call, one of our representatives will discuss your requirements to see if we are able to help you. We will send you an invoice and on payment of the invoice we will email the relevant brochure. We charge a set fee of £25.00 for this brochure.

5.2 If you then feel that a solicitor is required, you can speak to your representative who will complete a fact find and then provide the necessary information to one of the specialist firms within our panel. We charge a fee of £100.00 for this service.

In the event you approached a solicitor directly without first speaking to your representative, you would normally be expected to complete a fact find in order for the solicitor to establish the nature of your situation. As this could take between two and three hours and with such firms often charging up to £300 per hour plus VAT, you could find yourself paying up to £1000 just to make the solicitor aware of your situation. In addition, in order to provide you with the necessary general information relating to your query, you could be facing further charges of up to £1000 before any work even starts;

5.3 If a solicitor was required thereafter, we will ensure that all the information which we have provided you with could be passed on to the solicitor, meaning that you should not need to complete another fact find, saving you further unnecessary expense and inconvenience.

It should be noted however that the solicitor may require some further information from you, depending on the nature of your situation but any legal costs should be vastly reduced on the basis of your initial dealings with the Public Advice Group.

5.4 If work is done by somebody other than us, then that person’s charging rate will apply. The recommended Solicitor, Legal Executive, Conveyance Executive, and other personnel’s time who are on our panel will normally charge you at an hourly rate which reflects overhead and profit costs. They will notify you in advance of their own costs.

5.5 ESTIMATES - if you choose to use a recommended firm once we have sent you your book outlining your options: It is difficult to estimate at this stage how many hours of work will be necessary to complete your matter, partly because so much depends upon the way in which others react. An estimate of charges will be set out in a letter based on information presently known, and is given on the basis that your matter does not prove to be substantially more urgent, complex or time consuming than currently anticipated. The solicitors firm on our panel will provide this. You may, at any stage, wish to set a limit on the costs and disbursements that can be incurred by them. Any limit must be notified to them in writing and be sent by Recorded Delivery or Registered Post. Estimates may change as the matter proceeds and it becomes clearer how much time is likely to be needed. Wherever possible they will let you know as soon as they can, if it becomes apparent that your matter has become more urgent, complex or time consuming than estimated. They will try and give you an indication of the anticipated future costs. However, this is sometimes difficult and figures given are only estimates.

5.6 The charges that we will be making in your matter cover the work that we have been instructed to undertake. If we are instructed to undertake further work we would need to make additional charges and we will provide you with an estimate of what they would be.

5.7 Where you are accepted by the appointed solicitor, the solicitor pays The Public Advice Centre a referral fee. This fee is paid by the solicitor, and not yourself and is known as the referral fee. The appointed solicitor will make you aware of the amount that is payable.

6. Cancellations

You may terminate your instructions to us in writing at any time. For example, you may decide that you cannot give us clear or proper instructions on how to proceed, or you may lose confidence in our work. We may be entitled to keep all your papers and documents whilst monies are owing to us.

7. ARRANGEMENTS FOR PAYMENT OF FEES

7.1 It is usual practice to pay our fee at the initial stage if you require one of our representatives at the Public Advice Centre (PAC) to assist you further.

7.2 You can pay money to us in one or more of the following ways:

Debit Card

Credit Card

Paypal

We are able to accept payment by most major credit or debit cards by attendance at the office or over the telephone. A surcharge of 2.5% inc vat will be added to the sum payable to cover our costs in providing the credit card facility.

8. DATA PROTECTION

For the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1988 we can assure all clients and prospective clients that any information held within our Firm is for the personal use of this Firm in carrying out instructions on behalf of the client and will neither knowingly, nor intentionally, be transferred to or shared with any other person or corporation. In connection with probate matters, to comply with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1988 please note that unless we hear from you to the contrary we will assume that you have given your authority to provide a list of the assets of the deceased as may be required by the Social Security Administration act 1992 Section 126 together with such other information as may be required by the appropriate authority. 

9. AT THE END OF YOUR MATTER: STORAGE OF PAPER

9.1 Your file may consist of a large number of papers, some of which belong to you and some of which legally belong to us. The Rules require us to store papers for a minimum of six years and in some cases, require us to store papers indefinitely. 

9.2 At the end of your matter, we can send your papers in your file to you so that you can keep them yourself. If you wish us to do so, you should write to your Representative and we will forward to you or, if bulky, make available for you to collect any papers that are legally yours. If we do not hear from you within one month from the date of the end of your matter, we shall assume that you are happy for the original documents to be destroyed after the minimum requisite period laid down by the Rules.

10. FUTURE INSTRUCTIONS

Unless otherwise agreed and subject to the application of current rates, or revised Terms & Conditions, these terms and conditions of business shall apply to any future instructions given by you to us.

11. GOVERNING LAW

These Terms and Conditions are governed by and shall be construed in accordance with the Laws of England. Disputes arising hereunder shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the English Courts to which you submit.

12. THE PROCEEDS OF CRIME ACT 2002 & MONEY LAUNDERING REGULATIONS 2003

12.1 As you may be aware, there has recently been extensive new law designed to stop money laundering and we as advisers are caught ‘in the middle’ of all of this. We are seen as ‘Gatekeepers’. In other words we are told that people are likely to use our services in a way that may expose both this firm and our clients to criminal prosecution.

12.2 Please find following these Terms of Business a Summary of the New Law that we have prepared for our clients. This is designed to draw your attention to the possibility that, in the event of a client committing a money laundering offence, we may also be drawn into the matter.

12.3 As part of our initial dealings under some circumstances, with you it will be necessary for us to ask you for evidence of your identity (including evidence of your place of residence). This is an obligation under the Money Laundering Regulations 2003.

12.4 Additionally, at the initial stage, concerning the proposed source and flow of funds. We will also have to ask other relevant questions to satisfy ourselves that there is no suspicion of money laundering and/or that you as the client, and we as your advisers, are not becoming involved in any offences. This is an obligation that we have to comply with under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

12.5 We are sorry that we have to undertake this new level of enquiry, and assure you that we are following only those procedures that are essential (for both of us) to comply with this new law.

13. FINANCIAL SERVICES

We are not authorised by the Financial Services Authority. We can therefore not give you any specific advice in relation to anything that falls within the FSA guidelines. 

17. ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS & CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS

By entering this website, it will be deemed that you have read, understood and accept our terms and conditions of business and wish to proceed

MONEY LAUNDERING REGULATIONS 2003 & PROCEEDS OF CRIME ACT 2002 

SUMMARY

The UK is a major international financial and legal centre, with a high reputation for honesty and integrity. Unfortunately, that is why financial and professional businesses, like banks and solicitors firms, are attractive to money launderers – criminals who sometimes try and hide stolen money by turning it into legitimate income. 

The Government has introduced measures to: a) make it more difficult for criminals to make and keep money from their crimes, and; b) to confiscate proceeds of crime. For this reason there are compulsory checks, which the solicitors on our panel or us will need to apply to all clients.

As part of our dealings with you it will be necessary for us to ask you to provide evidence of your identity, which includes evidence of your place of residence. Additionally, as matters develop and you wish to choose a solicitor on our panel, they will have to ask other questions about your instructions to them, concerning the proposed source and flow of funds. They will also have to ask other such questions to satisfy themselves that there is no suspicion of money laundering and/or that you as the client, and we/they as your advisers, are not becoming involved in any criminal offence. 

The new law creates positive duties to report and not to “tip-off” anyone thought to be concerned in money laundering or the proceeds of crime. The definitions of reportable circumstances are far reaching and include the knowledge or suspicion of conduct of any nature that may cause or arise from a criminal act. Before the Act practitioners had no positive duty to report such circumstances and their clients could, by and large, claim legal professional privilege. Such privilege, nominally retained by the Act, has, for all practical purposes, disappeared.

You should be aware that as a result all legal practitioners must now inform clients at the start of their instructions that any knowledge gained in the course of acting may invoke the provisions of the Act if it reveals criminal conduct or the suspicion of such. Because there is then a duty to report such circumstances to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) the conduct of the matter may be suspended without warning or explanation for a period of up to 38 days whilst SOCA investigates or otherwise authorises the practitioner to continue to act. If a referral is made to SOCA resulting in your case being adjourned, you may be liable to pay the Court’s adjournment fee. 

The Act extends to all criminal conduct no matter how petty. It makes no distinction between criminal conduct involving £10.00 or ten million pounds. Penalties for breach by a practitioner, i.e. failing to report or “tipping-off” anyone thought to be involved in crime, are extreme and include the possibility of a prison sentence of up to 15 years. 

Any client who is at risk of suspicion of any financial criminal conduct may expect that suspicion to be reported to SOCA in such a way that no explanation can be given until SOCA have been given the chance to investigate.