How we conduct our business with you
|
The following terms of engagement (“Terms”) apply to all work carried out by Almond Kirkley Associates Limited ("we", "us" and "our"), except as otherwise agreed in writing. The expression "you" and "your" refer to our client or your associates, which, for the purposes of these Terms, includes all companies which you control, or, if you are a company forming part of a group, all companies in that group.
These Terms and the accompanying letter of engagement form the agreement between you and us. Our intention is to provide you with the highest quality of service, handling your instructions with professional skill, care and attention. We will carry out our consultancy in an effective, ethical and compliant manner and at all times in line with all current legal and regulatory requirements. 1. Almond Kirkley Associates Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Our registered company number is 10683908 and our registered office is situated at 52 Station Road, Ellesmere Port, CH65 4BQ. 2. We feel it is important that you are kept fully informed of all progress whilst carrying out your instructions and we undertake to review your case on a regular basis, as required. 3. When you instruct us in connection with a matter, any advice that we provide will be specific to that matter and for your benefit only. Our advice may not be used or relied upon for any other purpose or by any other person without our prior agreement. We shall not be responsible for any failure to advise or comment on any matter which falls outside the scope of your instructions. Should legal proceedings be commenced, we will conduct the case on your behalf, unless you instruct us otherwise prior to the issue of legal proceedings. 4. Charges are calculated on the basis set out in our "costs and charges" or as otherwise agreed with you. Unless agreed otherwise, we will normally charge fixed fees for uncontested debt recovery. If a matter becomes contested or if we identify complications when considering the scope of your initial instructions then our Charges are normally calculated by reference to the hourly rates set out in our fee scale in operation at the time. If any debt has already been paid or credited, in whole or in part, following any work undertaken by us then the amount of the payment or credit is deemed to be recovered and we will charge for our service accordingly. 5. Any expenses, such as Court fees, will be payable by yourself but will be discussed with you prior to being incurred. We also reserve the right to charge for reasonable expenses such as travel and administration costs. 6. Value Added Tax are applied to our invoices and are charged at the standard rate. 7. We will provide invoices at regular intervals or at appropriate stages during a matter. We reserve the right to request payments in advance on account of fees, expenses and disbursements. 8. Payment must be made immediately upon receipt of our invoice, unless agreed otherwise. If we do not receive payment after 30 days, we will exercise our statutory right to claim interest and compensation for debt recovery costs. If our invoice remains unpaid, we also reserve the right to suspend work and to retain documents and papers belonging to you. 9. When a customer provides payment in relation to a debt owed to you, you will notify us accordingly and within 48 hours of receipt of payment. 10. You can ask us to stop work on any matter for you at any time by writing to us. If you choose to terminate this agreement any outstanding fees will be payable by you. We are entitled to stop acting for you at any time but we will give you advance notice where possible. We would only stop working for you, if we had good reasons to do so (including failure to settle invoices in full or on time). 11. You will have the full right to use copies of materials we create for you for the purpose that they were prepared. However, all copyright and other intellectual property rights in all documents, written advice or other materials provided by us to you remains with us. If you wish to use the materials for any other purpose than for which they were prepared, this will require our permission. 12. We carry professional indemnity insurance for the services we provide. Currently, insurance is in place which covers up to £1 million per claim. Contact details of our insurers are available on request. We exclude any and all liability for damages, claims, actions, proceedings, demands, awards, compensation, costs, expenses and all other losses and/or liabilities which exceed the amount covered by our professional indemnity insurance from time to time. This limit and level of insurance is reviewed annually. You agree to indemnify us and keep us indemnified against any damages, claims, actions, proceedings, awards, compensation, costs and expenses and other losses and/or liabilities which arise from a third party obtaining from you any aspect of the advice provided by us, unless we have agreed in writing to accept liability to such third party or the third party was a client of ours in relation to that advice. All third party rights are excluded and no third party may enforce the contract between you and us unless we expressly agree in writing to the contrary. 13. We are required by United Kingdom legislation and the law of the European Union to report to the relevant government agencies and authorities any evidence or suspicion of money laundering, the use of the proceeds of crime or terrorist financing. We are prohibited from notifying you of the fact that a report has been made. This legislation also requires us to carry out client due diligence by obtaining certain information which verifies your identity and any beneficial owners. 14. During any legal proceedings you will be required by the court or arbitrator to disclose to the other parties all documents, correspondence, notes, memoranda or other items which are or have been in your possession, custody or power and which relate in any way to the issue in the dispute. This duty to disclose includes information which is stored electronically, for example, emails, text messages, voicemail, word processed documents, databases and documents stored on portable devices such as memory sticks and mobile phones. This duty covers documentation which may be prejudicial to your case but which you are nevertheless obliged to reveal. All relevant documents should be passed to us from the outset. You should not destroy or tamper with such documents. You must ensure that steps are put in place to preserve all documents including electronic documents which may otherwise be deleted in the ordinary course of business or in accordance with your document retention policy. The obligation of disclosure is on-going until the action is concluded and all relevant documents must be handed to us. This obligation is onerous and you may be liable to severe penalties including fines and/or imprisonment in cases of deliberate non-disclosure. If you are in any doubt as to whether to preserve and disclose documents, you should always err on the side of preservation and seek our advice on disclosure 15. All information regarding your business and affairs will be regarded as and kept confidential at all times unless you instruct us to disclose the information, we are compelled to disclose it by law or the information is already in the public domain. 16. Files and other papers relating to your matters will be stored for such time as we judge reasonable or for such time as we are required by law to do so, after which time we will securely dispose of them. 17. If you have any comments or concerns about the services that we provide then please contact our Director who will endeavour to assist you. 18. We may correspond with you via email at times, unless you specifically request that we must not do so. If certain communications should not be sent over the Internet please let us know. Viruses or other harmful devices may be spread via internet services. We take reasonable precautions to prevent these problems occurring but we recognise that such precautions cannot guarantee that emails will be virus free. We do not accept any liability for any virus or external compromise of security and/or confidentiality in relation to communications sent to you by email. 19. We reserve the right to assign our rights and/or obligations under our agreement with you to any business which is a successor to our current business but not without prior consent from you. 20. The agreement made between us and you is governed by English law. |
We love new projects!
|
We look forward to working with you.
|
