1. The Council for Licensed Conveyancers is the governing body of Licensed Conveyancers.  Professional Rules laid down require that our clients be informed of our Terms of Engagement.  This formal leaflet indicates the basis on which this firm carries out professional services on behalf of our clients.
  2. The offices of J Scollan & Co (the firm) are located at 139 Little Ealing Lane, London, W5 4EJ.  The normal hours of business are between 9am and 5.30pm Monday to Friday.  Appointments can be arranged outside these hours.  Telephone 020 8579 9933, facsimile 020 8932 4246.  General email address info@scollan.co.uk
  3. Once you have instructed the firm to act on your behalf you will be informed of the Partner primarily responsible for the conduct of your transaction although we work as a team and any person in the office will also try and help you with any matters arising during your transaction.
  4. In the event of any problem arising during the course of your transaction a new service has recently been introduced to deal with complaints made by consumers about all lawyers and legal practices.  Full details of the Legal Ombudsman scheme are attached.  These set out which complaints should be made to the Legal Ombudsman and which complaints will continue to be dealt with by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers.  Before making a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman you are required to make your complaint to this firm and give us an opportunity to resolve your complaint between ourselves.  In the event of your being unhappy with any aspect of our service, first tell the person within the firm dealing with your transaction.  Telephone, email or write and explain why you are unhappy with our service and we will try to put things right for you.  The earlier you are able to raise your complaint the more likely it is that we will be able to resolve matters so do not wait until your transaction is completed let us know as soon as any matter arises which gives you cause for concern.  If you are unable to resolve matters between yourself and the person at this office dealing with your matter then we request you to make your complaint in writing or email to one of the other Partners in the firm who will consider your complaint and contact you to try and resolve maters to your satisfaction.  If we are at this stage still unable to resolve matters to your satisfaction you are entitled to complain to the Legal Ombudsman up to 6 months after you have received our final written response to your complaint and we will provide to you full details of how to contact the Legal Ombudsman.  The Legal Ombudsman deals with service related complaints only, it will refer any conduct related complaints it receives to the Council for Licensed Conveyancers.
  5. You will be notified at the outset of any transaction the cost of carrying out the work for that transaction or the basis on which the charges will be calculated.  It is the firm's usual practice to charge for work carried out on any matter which becomes abortive on a pro rata basis.  The costs and disbursements due for any transaction must be paid prior to completion of the transaction.
  6. Disbursements expended by the firm on behalf of clients, for example, search fees, Land Registry fees and stamp duties must be paid by the client prior to the time when that expenditure is required to be made.  We will usually request a sum to be paid generally on account of disbursements at the commencement of a transaction.
  7. In the event that costs or disbursements are incurred on behalf of a client prior to the monies being received such monies are immediately due from the client and must be paid within seven days of being requested.
  8. In the event of an interim account or a request for payment on account not being paid, the firm reserves the right to decline to act further in this matter.  The full amount of any work carried out to that date will be the subject of a final account rendered and will be a debt due from the client.
  9. The firm reserves the right to charge interest at 4% above HSBC Bank plc base rate from time to time from the date of delivery of an account to the date when payment is actually received.
  10. The professional charges of the firm take into account, as an offset, the receipt and retention of interest on clients' monies held by us in the routine course of business.   Unless it is agreed to the contrary in writing, the firm shall not be required to open any special deposit account or account to you for any interest which accrues, or ought to accrue, on any money received by the firm.
  11. In the event of the firm accepting instructions for any business which is not regulated by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers we will notify the client that we will not be acting as Licensed Conveyancers and will not be regulated by the Council for Licenced Conveyancers.
  12. In the event that a conflict of interest arises between two clients of the firm in the course of the transaction, we will cease to act for both clients and in the event that the conflict was unforeseeable we will be entitled to charge a fee for the work undertaken to the date of ceasing to act.
  13. Where the firm receives commission in connection with any matter the client will be informed of the sum of commission received.
  14. The firm may pay a commission to a third party in connection with the introduction of a new client and the client will be informed of the sum of commission paid.
  15. In circumstances where this firm is also acting for your mortgage lender we have a duty to fully reveal to your lender all relevant facts about the purchase and the mortgage.  This includes any differences between your mortgage application and any information we receive during the transaction and any cash back or discount that the seller is giving to you.  If you do not consent to our revealing information to your lender or solicitors separately instructed by the mortgage lender then we will cease to act for both you and the lender.
  16. The firm provides a safe custody service to clients in respect of deeds and other securities and no charge will be made to the client for such storage unless prior notice in writing is given to the client that a charge is to be made from a future date which will be specified in the notice.
  17. The firm is required to comply with FSA requirements whenever we carry out certain insurance related activities.  If it proves necessary during the course of your conveyancing transaction for any defective title or other general insurance to be put in place we will inform you whom we are likely to be conducting business with.  It is our policy to conduct business at present with Legal & Contingency.  We are not contractually obliged to conduct business with this organisation and we do not receive any commission for doing so.  We do regularly monitor and review such providers to source the best policy for the lowest premium.   We do not however warrant that this firm will offer the lowest premium for all types of insurance policies and we use this preferred supplier for other reasons including ease of administration.
  18. The firm is not authorised by the Financial Services Authority to give investment advice and will not therefore be able to give to you any investment advice during the course of your transaction.
  19. Following the conclusion of a transaction the firm will retain the client's file of papers for such period as they shall deem appropriate in their absolute discretion.
  20. The firm reserves the right to charge a fee for the retrieval of a file from storage, at the request of a client, after a period of more than six months since the completion date of the transaction. (currently £35 plus VAT)
  21. Should you have any queries regarding our terms of engagement please do not hesitate to contact the person having conduct of your matter who will be pleased to explain, clarify or amplify any points.
  22. For further information about the firm and the services we offer please visit our web site www.scollan.co.uk 
  23. Your continuing instructions in this matter will amount to an acceptance of these Terms of Engagement.

 
020 8579 9933