IJN Solicitors Limited (T/A IJN Law)

Terms and Conditions of Business

 

IJN Solicitors Limited (Registration No. 11376608).

1. Postal Address: Europa House, Barcroft Street, Bury BL9 6NL.
2. Telephone Number: 0330 179 8631
3. Website: www.ijnlaw.co.uk
4. Email Address: hello@ijnlaw.co.uk
5. Regulatory Body: Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA No.648989).

 

Where these Terms and Conditions of Business refer to ‘us’, ‘we’ and ‘our’ they refer to the director of IJN Solicitors Limited. IJN Solicitors is a Limited Company and any Agreement is with the director and not any of the employees. The director of the firm is Mr Jinnah Ghulam.

Client Care

1. We will always endeavour to provide a proper standard of service and aim to be understandable, available, approachable, efficient and polite.
2. We will keep you up to date at all times and communicate with you by telephone, email and correspondence promptly, fairly, openly and effectively.
3. In the event you have any issues whatsoever, you have the right to make a formal complaint to this firm. You may make your complaint to the Complaints Manager and director of the firm, Mr Jinnah Ghulam. We take all feedback from clients very seriously. We have in place a formal Complaints Handling Procedure. A copy may be requested from the Complaints Manager and can be found on this website under our complaints policy.

 

Equality and Diversity

1. We are committed to equality and diversity which applies to all clients, employees and third parties. Should you have any specific requirements please do contact us. If you would like a copy of our Equality and Diversity Policy one will be provided upon request.

 

Hours of Business

• The office is open between 9:00am and 5:00pm from Monday to Friday. The office is closed on bank holidays.

 

Terms of Business

2. These terms including the limits of our liability are applicable to all current and future work. Any variation to these terms can only be confirmed in writing by this firm.
3. These terms are to be read along with our engagement letter which set out the scope of your instruction’s to this firm.

 

Exclusions

4. We do not provide advice regarding laws beyond the jurisdiction of England and Wales.
5. We do not provide financial advice.

 

Copyright

1. All the copyright in our documentation is the property of this firm and may not be used for any purpose other than for that which was originally intended.
2. If you are to use our documents for any other purpose then we will not be responsible for any losses you may incur.
3. You may not present any part of our work to any third parties, unless you are required to by law. Third parties may not rely on any work we have done for you.

 

Document Safety

1. You must at all times keep safe any documents which may be required in the future as a result of formally contested proceedings of any instructions given by you to this firm. Your position in such proceedings may be adversely affected in the event you are unable to provide copies of documents, electronically or otherwise, you may have been in possession of.

Our Regulator

• Our regulatory body is the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). Our regulatory rules (the SRA Code of Conduct 2011) can be found on their website www.sra.org.uk. The SRA’s contact details are: Address: Solicitors Regulation Authority, The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street, Birmingham, B1 1RN Telephone: 0870 606 2555 (Monday to Friday)

 

• The director of the firm is Jinnah Ghulam. We are obliged to take out and maintain Profession Indemnity Insurance with a qualifying insurer under the Solicitors’ Indemnity Rules 2010. You may request details or a copy of our compulsory layer of our professional indemnity insurance together with the contact details of our insurer from our office.

 

Fixed Fees

• The sum of any fixed fee work to be carried out by the firm will be identified in your engagement letter. In addition to any fixed fee work there may be other expenses/disbursements associated with your matter such as visa application fees. You will be responsible for all other expenses and disbursements and it is your duty to keep up to date with any changes to Government fees. The firm will not pay for such costs associate with your visa application.

 

Hourly Rate

1. If a fixed fee has not been agreed then there will be an hourly rate of charge for work carried out. Any hourly rates charged by this firm may vary depending of the rate of the individual dealing with the matter. A list of hourly charge out rates will be provided to you in our engagement letter. The rate relevant to your matter will be identified and we will always notify you in writing if the hourly rate is to change.
2. Time spent on your matter may include meetings with you as well as third parties, waiting, travelling, research, dealing with correspondence, telephone calls, emails, drafting and producing file notes.
3. VAT may apply to all of our hourly rates and our hourly charge out rates will be reviewed annually.
4. Time will be recorded on your matter at a rate of one tenth of an hour. This will be the minimum unit of time we will spend on your matter.

 

Disbursements

• Disbursements in addition to our fees will be payable by you. An example of this will be all costs associated with your visa application such as visa application fees, English language, TB tests, translations, trave, visa appointments etc. This is not an exhaustive list.
• We may request from you the balance in full or in part of any bills up front. We may also do this in respect of any expenses which may be incurred as a result of your matter. Such payments are often referred to as ‘payment on account’. Where the firm does ask you to make a payment on account and you fail to make such a payment or payments our obligation to undertake any further work will cease. We may also cease to act for you entirely if you fail to pay monies on account when necessary or to pay any bills whatsoever.
• Any credit provided by the firm to you in order to carry out urgent work will be billed and payable immediately.
• Where we are acting for more than one person or legal entity we will act for those individuals both jointly and severally. Joint and several liabilities will also apply to all parties in respect of any bills. Instructions from any one particular individual person or legal entity will be accepted from the outset of any instructions received unless you instruct us in writing differently.
• We may charge interest on all or part of any outstanding bills at the applicable statutory rate payable and or on any judgement debts. We may retain any papers and or documents which belong to you whilst bills remain unpaid.
• Where you make any payment of any bill in full or in part and that payment fails to clear, we may charge any fees incurred by this firm from our bank or any third parties. Such fees will be added to any current outstanding bill(s) or future bill(s).
• If you have any issues or queries with any particular part of any bill, you must pay in full the part you do accept whilst any outstanding issues are being resolved.
• If we hold any monies on account for you, whether as a payment on account or a payment received by a third party on behalf of you, we may use such monies to set off, in part or full, any outstanding bills or monies due to this firm by you. This does not waive the firm’s right whatsoever in retaining papers belonging to you.
• If you wish to complain about your bill in part or in full, you may use the firm’s Complaints Handling Procedure. A copy is available upon request. You also have the right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman and or apply to the Court for an assessment of your bill under part lll of the Solicitors Act 1974.

 

Storage of Documents and Administration Charges

• We will retain all of the documents relating to your matter for at least six years. Any documents returned to you will be your responsibility and we take no responsibility for such documents.
• If we retrieve any documents being stored for you there may be a charge of £50.00 plus VAT. Where any documents require retrieval in relation to a new or continuing instruction then we would normally waive such a charge.
• Should you request a copy of your Documents there will a £50.00 plus VAT administration charge.

 

 

Limitation of Liability

• You hereby accept the limitation of this firm’s liability. We may consider increasing our limitation of liability depending on the nature and characteristics of your instructions. We may have to increase and or revise our fees where an increase in our limitation of liability has been agreed.
• We will use reasonable skill and care in carrying out the work in your matter.
• There will be no limit of liability in respect of any fraud by this firm or any of its partner(s), employee(s) or consultant(s). We do not attempt to limit any liability where we are not permitted to do so by law or by our regulatory code.
• We will not be liable where you or any third parties make any false, incomplete or misleading representations or in respect of any acts or omissions made by you or any third party. Where this firm fails to reasonably identify any false, incomplete or misleading information to the extent which constitutes negligence, we will remain liable, but in accordance to these terms and conditions of business.
• We will not act for you in any circumstances where if to do so would breach any laws or any of our regulatory duties or obligations. We will not be liable for any losses resulting from our refusal to act in such circumstances to you or any third parties.
• Where your matter involves more than one individual or legal entity the limitation of our liability is in respect of all parties collectively.
• You agree not to bring any proceedings against any employees of this firm personally in respect of this agreement other than where you are permitted to do so by law.
• Our liability in respect of any other parties will be specific to our proportion of liability and will be fair and reasonable having had full regard to our level of fault whether in contract or in tort.
• No provision of these terms and conditions of business will restrict this firm’s liability in respect of death or personal injury caused by our negligence and fraud or fraudulent misrepresentations.

 

Client Money

• Where any third party holding funds is to experience insolvency then this firm will not be liable for any losses incurred by you.
• Nominal or small amounts of interest which may exist on account will not be payable to you unless such an amount is in excess of £20.00 (Twenty Pounds). Any such balances will not be used to set off against any expenses or bills due to this firm by you which do not exceed this amount.
• Any deposits received by this firm from you or on your behalf from any third parties may be deposited by this firm into any account or accounts.
• You agreed that where an insolvency event occurs we may disclose to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) any details and information necessary about you and or any monies we hold or have deposited on your behalf. If you do not agree to this you must notify us in writing. Any instruction in this respect must be addressed to the director (and Data Protection Compliance Officer) Masoud Kasim. Where you decide to instruct this firm not to disclose information to the FSCS you may waive your right to any compensation you may otherwise have been entitled to under the FSCS. Details of the FSCS can be located at www.fscs.org.uk and telephone number 0207 741 4100.

 

Referrals and Third Parties

• Any referrals or recommendations we may make to any third parties will be made in good faith. Any commissions we may receive we will notify you in writing.
• Any advice given by any third party agency, firm or business will not be our responsibility and we will not accept any liability in respect of any such advice you may receive. Where a third party is providing you with advice or a service and they are not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority you will not benefit from any protection contained in the Solicitor’s Code of Conduct 2011, the Solicitor’s Indemnity Insurance Fund, the Solicitor’s Compensation Fund or making a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman.

 

Anti-Money Laundering

1. We will advise you at the outset whether or not your matter is subject to Anti-Money Laundering legislation.
2. We are obliged by law to carry out Client Due Diligence (CDD) in line with UK anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing laws. This means we must obtain identification of clients and maintain records. We need to be familiar with the source and nature of any financing you may provide during the course of your matter.
3. We may carry out online checks in order to verify your identification. Where such online checks fail in establishing your identification we may ask you for original identification.
4. Identification must be obtained for all individuals including partners, directors and members of any partnership, limited company or limited liability partnership. In the event we are unable to verify your identification online we may require from you original identification. Photo identification acceptable may include a passport, photo driving license or national identity card. This will prove your identity. We will also require a recent utility bill (or similar document in your own name, for example, a bank statement) not more than three months old as evidence of your address. Originals will be required or you may have you identification certified by another regulated professional.
5. All companies will be subject to a Companies House or similar search.
6. For all other legal entities we will inform you of what we are able to accept and whom we may accept identification from.

 

Legal Obligations and Disclosures

1. Under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 (MLR), Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) as amended by the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (SOCPA) we are required to make any report to the National Crime Agency (NCA) where we are suspicious that a transaction involved any proceeds of crime. In the event we make a report to NCA we may not be able to inform you and we may need to cease acting for you in your matter.
2. We will not be responsible for any loss you may incur as a result of any report we may need to make to NCA or for refusing to act further in your matter as a result of our legal duties and obligations.

 

Cash and Payments From You

1. Any payments in cash received from you by this firm must not exceed £1,000.00, even where an amount greater than this is due to this firm for the payment of a bill.
2. We will not be responsible for any losses you may incur in our refusal to accept cash payments greater than £1,000.00.

 

Rights of Third Parties

1. Third parties who are not party to this contract will not be able to enforce or rely on any of the terms in this Agreement.

 

Jurisdiction and Applicable Law

2. These terms and conditions of business together with our engagement letter will be governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes will be dealt with by the courts of England and Wales.
3. If part or this Agreement is deemed to be invalid those provisions which remain valid will still remain enforceable.

 

Other Products and Services

1. We may from time to time contact you in the future regarding our products and services which may be of interest to you. In order for you to benefit from future products and services we will need to maintain your details confidentially on our database.
2. In agreeing to these terms and conditions of business you are providing this firm with your authority to maintain a record of your data for these purposes.
3. If you do not wish to receive details of our products and services in the future, you must notify us in writing.

 

Termination

1. If you would like to terminate this Agreement you may do so in writing. Where any outstanding monies for any bills or expenses these will remain payable and we may retain any documents including any deeds whilst any monies due remain outstanding. This is our right to exercise a ‘Lien’.
2. We may end this agreement at any time providing you with reasonable notice in writing. Our reasons for terminating this Agreement must be reasonable and may include your failure to provide us with proper instructions, provide identification, pay any expenses or outstanding bills or where we feel the relationship between you and this firm has broken down.
3. If this agreement is terminated by either you or this firm any outstanding monies due must be paid, even where those monies due have not yet been billed at the time this Agreement has been terminated. The computation of any outstanding monies will be done on either a time spent basis or where a fixed fee was originally agreed our fees will not exceed that fixed fee.
4. Where our Agreement has been terminated we may inform relevant courts, tribunals and or third parties. We will be entitled to charge for any time incurred for communicating to these third parties.

 

Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013

 

1. You have the right to cancel this contract within 14 days without giving any reason. The cancellation period will expire after 14 days from the day you received our Client Care Letter. To exercise the right to cancel, you must inform us of your decision to cancel this contract by a clear statement (e.g. a letter sent by post, fax or e-mail). You may use the attached model cancellation form, but it is not obligatory. To meet the cancellation deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right to cancel before the cancellation period has expired.
2. If you cancel this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us). We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you. We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than:
3. 14 days after the day we receive back from you any goods supplied, or
4. (if earlier) 14 days after the day you provide evidence that you have returned the goods, or
5. if there were no goods supplied, 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to cancel this contract.
6. We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of the reimbursement.
7. If you requested to begin the performance of services during the cancellation period, you shall pay us an amount which is in proportion to what has been performed until you have communicated us your cancellation from this contract, in comparison with the full coverage of the contract.