COSTS

Property

As no property transaction is the same, our fees will reflect your particular requirements.

Our fees for a typical conveyancing transaction range from £895 plus VAT to £3500 plus VAT for a higher value property. The following specific additional costs will be charged:-

On a purchase transaction – SDLT Fee – £75 plus VAT

On a sale and purchase transaction – Bank Transfer Fee – £39 plus VAT

The figures we must advise you may vary in cases with more complex issues or conditions.

We will always at the start of the transaction provide you with a breakdown of costs that is tailored to your specific transaction and needs. The quote is given to you based on information presently to hand. If there are any unforeseen difficulties (for example a defect in the title that we are required to rectify) that we were unable to determine at the start then it may be necessary to revise the quote provided to you. We will contact you immediately to discuss before additional charges are incurred.

DISBURSEMENTS

Disbursements are costs related-delete related to your transaction that are payable to third parties, such as search fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf. Approximate costs for standard disbursements are set out below;-

Search fees from £120 plus VAT

Notice of Charge/Transfer Fee for leasehold matters – Approximately £50 – £300 plus VAT

TIMING

It is very difficult in conveyancing transactions to give an accurate estimate of timescales as so much depends upon circumstances outside our control and the goodwill and co-operation of others. As a general rule of thumb, the average time for a conveyancing transaction to be completed is approximately four to eight weeks.

TRANSACTION OUTLINE

We set out below flow charts which detail the key stages of a sale and purchase transaction. Precise stages may vary according to the circumstances of each individual case.

We always advise our clients that litigation should be a last resort. However in the event proceedings become necessary to recover sums due and owing to you, we at GALIP ELDAR Chambers would be more than happy to assist.

PROBATE

The firm charges £300 plus vat for a standard Will. If what you require is in our view not standard we will inform you before we start work and obtain your agreement as to our charges in writing.

For probate work, the firm charges on the basis of the fee earner’s hourly charge-out rate, which is currently £340 plus vat. An additional charge based on the value of any property or other assets contained in the Estate may be made depending upon the complexity of the matter and this will be notified at the time of our engagement. The additional percentage charge is 0.5% of the value of property and 1% of the value of other assets.

LITIGATION AND DEBT RECOVERY

For the purposes of commencing legal proceedings for the recovery of an unpaid invoice, we would charge £1500 (exclusive of VAT). There would also be additional disbursements including a court fee which will range in value from £35.00 to £455.00 for an unpaid invoice of £10,000 or less, or for any unpaid invoice in excess of £10,000 the court fee will be calculated at 5% of the value of your claim. There will be no VAT payable on the court fee.

Please note the above costs are calculated on the assumption legal proceedings conclude by entering Judgment in Default against the Defendant for the unpaid amount. In the event your Invoice is disputed or further action is required to enforce your Judgment then further costs would be payable in accordance with our hourly rates as provided in our client care letter.

We always advise our clients that litigation should be a last resort. However in the event proceedings become necessary to recover sums due and owing to you, we at GALIP ELDAR Chambers would be more than happy to assist.

For the purposes of commencing legal proceedings for the recovery of an unpaid invoice, we would charge £1500 (exclusive of VAT). There would also be additional disbursements including a court fee which will range in value from £35.00 to £455.00 for an unpaid invoice of £10,000 or less, or for any unpaid invoice in excess of £10,000 the court fee will be calculated at 5% of the value of your claim. There will be no VAT payable on the court fee.

Please note the above costs are calculated on the assumption legal proceedings conclude by entering Judgment in Default against the Defendant for the unpaid amount. In the event your Invoice is disputed or further action is required to enforce your Judgment then further costs would be payable in accordance with our hourly rates as provided in our client care letter.

EMPLOYMENT

Costs of a standard claim before the Employment Tribunal are estimated at between £25,000 to £35,000 plus VAT.

We charge at our hourly rate varying between £250 per hour and £380 an hour depending upon the appropriate level of fee earner commensurate with the issues involved

COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

We want to give you the best possible service. However, if at any point you become unhappy or concerned about the service we have provided then you should inform us immediately, so that we can do our best to resolve the problem.

In the first instance it may be helpful to contact the person who is working on your case to discuss your concerns and we will do our best to resolve any issues at this stage. If you would like to make a formal complaint, then you can read our full complaints procedure as set out below:-  Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case.

Our complaints procedure

If you have a complaint, contact us with the details.

What will happen next?

1 We will send you a letter acknowledging your complaint; we may ask you to confirm or explain the details set out. We will also let you know the name of the person who will be dealing with your complaint. You can expect to receive our letter within 7 days of us receiving your complaint.

2 We will record your complaint in our central register.

3 We will then start to investigate your complaint.

4 This will normally involve the following steps.

  • Peter Johnson as the partner who handles complaints on behalf of this firm will open a complaints file.
  • He will ask the member or members of staff who acted for you to reply to Mr Johnson with his or her own response to your complaint.
  • Mr Johnson will then consider and examine the staff member’s reply and the information on your file.

5  Mr Johnson will then write to you with his initial views and set out his proposals for dealing with your complaint. He will do so no later than 8 weeks from the date on which your original complaint was received.  If you are still unhappy, then Mr Johnson will invite you to meet him and discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint or to enter into further discussion either on the telephone or by email/letter.

6 If you are willing to meet with Mr Johnson then he will arrange for a meeting to take place at a time and place convenient to you both. Within 7 days of any meeting Mr Johnson will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions he has agreed with you.

7 At this stage, or if you do not want to meet with Mr Johnson and if you are still not satisfied, you can write to us again. We will then arrange to review our decision. This will happen in one of the following ways, subject to your agreement.

  • Another partner of the firm will review Mr Johnson’s decision within 10 days; or
  • We will within 10 days ask another local firm of solicitors to review your complaint. We will let you know how long this process will take; or
  • We will invite you to agree to independent mediation within 10 days. We will let you know how long this process will take.

8 If we are unable to settle your complaint using our internal complaints process, you then have a right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman. You will have six months from the date of our final letter in which to complain to the Legal Ombudsman who can be contacted on 0300 555 0333 or via its website at : www.legalombudsman.org.uk

9 Alternative complaints bodies (such as Small Claims Mediation) exist which are competent to deal with complaints about legal services should you and we wish to use such a scheme. You can let us know as we reach the end of our internal complaints process whether you do or do not agree to use this scheme.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help you if you are concerned about our behaviour. This could be for things like dishonesty, taking or losing your money or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic.

You can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

 

What do to if we cannot resolve your complaint

The Legal Ombudsman can help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves. They will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your case.

Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you have, then you can take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:

  • Within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint

and

  • No more than six years from the date of act/omission; or
  • No more than three years from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.

If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman, please contact them.

Contact details

Visit: www.legalombudsman.org.uk

Call: 0300 555 0333 between 9am to 5pm.

Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ

What to do if you are unhappy with our behaviour

The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help if you are concerned about our behaviour.  This could be for things like dishonesty, taking or losing your money or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic.

Visit their website to see how you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority:

Source: www.sra.org.uk