Terms of Business
These Terms of Business define important aspects of the relationship between Sterling Shore Solicitors and you, our client. Unless agreed in writing by the Director of Sterling Shore Solicitors, all professional work carried out by us will be in accordance with these Terms.
Who We Are
Sterling Shore Solicitors specialises in all areas and aspects of immigration from business immigration law through to refugee law, nationality, and human rights. Any person acting on our behalf does so in their capacity as a partner or employee of ours, and not in any personal capacity. Any action by them, any communication from them or any advice from them, is taken, sent, or given on our behalf.
We have a wealth of knowledge and extensive experience in all areas of immigration. Some of these areas include visa applications, appeals, nationality applications, refugee law, human rights, and business immigration. Our team have acquired practical experience in pursuing and advancing cases at all levels such as at the High Court, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court, and the European Court of Human Rights.
The firm was founded by Shahista Saaid. Mrs Saaid is the Director and Supervising Solicitor of the firm. The work on the file will be either carried out or supervised by the Director. Should the case-handler not be available if you contact the office, you can contact a solicitor. If they cannot help, then please leave a message and we will return your call as soon as possible. Your matter will have an allocated reference number, which will be confirmed in a Client Care Letter. Please quote this reference when you telephone the office or in any correspondence to us.
The Director and employees of Sterling Shore Solicitors are regulated by the Solicitor Regulation Authority in the United Kingdom.
What We Will Do
We will handle your affairs on a confidential basis, with due skill, care, and diligence and in a timely manner.
Our Director and employees will only undertake work within their competence. We will work with you to obtain a favourable outcome in any matters that we handle for you, but success cannot be guaranteed.
Sterling Shore Solicitors aim to offer all our clients an efficient and effective service but should there be any aspect of our service with which you are unhappy with, then you may raise the matter with the Director.
Fixed Fee or Hourly Rate
Fixed Fee
In certain cases, we may be prepared to agree a fixed price quote for a matter. If we agree a fixed fee, we will confirm this to you in writing in an email and/ or a letter. Where such a fixed fee has been given we reserve the right to vary such quote in the event of a material change in circumstances such that the quote would have to be exceeded for the matter to be concluded, and we will seek your consent in advance before costs are incurred exceeding the quote. We may also request a payment on account which will be set out in an email and / or letter.
We take this opportunity to confirm the charges we have agreed for the work we will carry out on your behalf. Our fees are agreed and are confirmed separately in writing as stated above.
Any disbursement fees (e.g. UKBA fees, courier fees, Entry Clearance fees, translation fees, interpreting fees, counsel fees, Immigration Health Surcharge, appointment fees, scanning fees) are excluded from our fees. Any postage costs incurred to send the application abroad as well as a UK courier fee or exceptionally heavy items will also attract an additional fee.
Also please note if disbursements increase for any reason between the date of advice and the date of submission, you will be responsible for the increase of payment.
The agreed fixed fee is non-refundable. Only in exceptional circumstances and at the Director’s discretion, Sterling Shore Solicitors may consider refunding part of the agreed fixed fees once our costs have been deducted. In such a scenario we will charge you at an hourly rate of £250.00 per hour for the work incurred up to that date (25.00 per letter, email, telephone call, perusal, drafting, attendance, research etc). Any disbursements incurred will also be deducted from the payment on account. For the sake of clarification, termination of instructions for this purpose does not include a situation where the case is settled earlier than expected or a favourable result is achieved without having to continue with the full proceedings or anticipated procedure in full. In such a scenario, fees will be payable in full.
Hourly Rate
If the fees for our services have not been agreed, we will charge our work on an hourly basis. The hourly rates for a particular matter should be discussed with the person supervising the matter. This is confirmed in the email and / or a letter.
Please note that the fees do not include further work that may need to be carried out once a decision is received. If any further work or disbursements are to be incurred, these will have to be paid separately and are not included in the requested payment on account. We shall send a bill of costs once fees reach a limit of £1,000.00 (and thereafter every E1,000.00) or every month, whichever is the sooner.
We may request further monies on account as the case progresses, should further work be necessary. However, we will advise you of the same before any such work is undertaken
Where applicable, we will add VAT to our fees and disbursements. All fees and disbursements are payable in pounds sterling unless otherwise agreed and confirmed by us to you in writing.
Estimates
There may be circumstances where it is difficult to know exactly how much professional time will be required to complete that matter, we will provide you with an estimate of the likely cost of the matter and we will advise you as the matter progresses if the original estimate is likely to be materially exceeded. We will base our estimate on our appraisal of the matter and our experience of other matters of a similar type, but we cannot guarantee that the work will be completed within any estimate given
Any estimate is not an agreed fixed fee, is given only as a guide, and should not be regarded as a firm quote.
Any expenses incurred by us on your behalf will be charged in addition to our fees. If we have provided an estimate or fixed this will exclude any expected disbursements but these may vary for reasons beyond our control.
Unless stated to the contrary any estimate or fixed price quote is in pounds sterling and is exclusive of VAT.
Money Laundering
In some cases, we may need to carry out checks on the identity of individuals, companies, or the owners of companies even if we have acted for the client before or the client is known to us personally. If funds are to be transferred, we may need to investigate the source or destination of those funds. Where it is appropriate to return funds that we have previously received, either from you or another source on your behalf , we may refuse to return these to a destination that is different from the source from which they were received. Any costs incurred by us in making such investigations may be charged to you.
If we need to make a report to a relevant authority to comply with our statutory obligations, we may be required to do this without notifying you. We will not be liable for any loss or damage you may suffer as a result of our compliance in accordance with our statutory obligation.
Payment of Our Invoice
Unless otherwise agreed in writing, our invoices are payable in pound sterling within thirty days of date of invoice. Failure by you to pay one or more invoices by the due date in cleared funds may result in us suspending further work on any matters that we are handling on your behalf. That may lead to additional costs being incurred or rights being lost.
Please ensure that all payments made to us are accompanied by an identification of the invoice and matter concerned. You should ensure that we are notified if funds are being transferred to our bank account and that the purpose of the payment is clearly identified. If we have asked a payment prior to taking action, we require confirmation from our bank that the payment has been credited to our account as cleared funds. If funds are transferred to our bank account in such circumstances but we do not receive advice of payment from our bank, there is a risk that additional charges will be incurred, or rights lost.
We reserve the right to refuse payment in cash of sums exceeding £1000.00
If available at the time of writing, we may accept payment by credit card or debit card. If we accept payment by credit card a surcharge will be added to the sum payable to cover our costs in providing the credit card facility. You will be notified in advance of this surcharge and typically it would be 1.7% of the total invoice value or amount paid inclusive of VAT.
We reserve the time to charge interest on any amount that is overdue for payment as well as any costs or expenses incurred in recovering the amount. Such interest will accrue on a daily basis from the due date until the date of the actual payment of the overdue amount, whether or not we start proceedings for recovery of the amount due and before or after judgement in the event of such proceedings.
Notwithstanding the above clause, we may in the alternative claim interest at our discretion under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (interest) Act 1998 (as amended). We are entitled to use the statutory rate of interest that applies for the time being. As of 1 January 2010, the statutory rate of interest payable is 8% above the statutory reference rate, which is set twice a year as the Bank of England Base Rate on 31 December and 30 June. In the event that these provisions do not apply by statute to our dealings with you, they shall be deemed to apply and to be incorporated into these Terms of Business.
Funds Held on Your Behalf
We do not normally hold money provided by clients, other than by way of payment of fees or money paid in advance on account for fees to be incurred. All fees paid to the firm will belong to us.
Scope of Our Advice
Please note that out advice and the action agreed is limited to the matters on which you have specifically instructed us as recorded in an email and/or letter. Any other issues, whether or not directly related to the subject matter of your instructions are not covered. If there is anything else on which you would like our advice you must let us know.
What the Work Includes
All standard steps as set out in the email and/or letter.
What the Work Does Not Include
Any non-standard steps including unexpected problems or complexities, further representations, further applications, appeal or challenge of the application if refused for any reason.
Changes in your instructions.
Delays resulting from unforeseen work.
If anything like this happens, we will speak to you and agree how we move forward.
Identification Documents
We also require proof of your identification. This should be in the form of a certified copy of your current passport and/or a recent utility bill with proof of address.
Your Obligations
As our client, you are responsible for payments of all the costs in respect of work carried out on your instructions, including our fees and disbursements incurred by us. Your responsibility extends to ensuring that we are paid on time in cleared funds. If there is any error, theft or fraud that results in the means of payment not coming into our possession you remain liable, even if as a result you suffer loss.
Your responsibility for payments of all costs applies even if you in turn have a client or third party who does not provide you with the funds to pay these costs. If we agree to invoice a third party in respect of work done on your instructions, you will remain liable for costs in the event of default by the third party.
You are responsible for any instructions that are sent to us by an employee, partner of officer of yours or by any consultant, agent or other person from whom we have previously been authorised by you to accept instructions, unless we have received prior written notice not to accept such instructions. If costs are incurred as a result of us acting in good faith on unauthorised instructions, you will remain liable for such costs. We shall not be liable for any loss you may suffer as a result.
If you wish to abandon a case or to transfer responsibility from us to yourself or to another representative you must inform us in writing as soon as possible. This is particularly important if we have been requested to keep a case open and we carry out continued or repeat work such as the payment of renewal fees in the absence of instructions from you. You will remain liable for all costs and disbursements until we have received instructions in writing that you wish to abandon or transfer the matter and we have had a reasonable period to implement them.
You cannot transfer responsibility for payment of our charges to another party and you will remain liable for our charges regardless of what you may decide to do with any rights we have acquired for you.
We do not operate conditional fees arrangements. Your responsibility for payment for all costs applies even if the outcome of a particular manner is unfavorable to you.
Precautions You Should Take
It is your responsibility to check that instructions or other material sent to us by any means, including fax, email, courier and post have been received and are being acted upon, particularly where deadlines are imminent to you. You should bear in mind that public holidays may result in disruption to delivery of items by post or courier or us being able to act on your behalf. We endeavour to divert incoming business emails where the person dealing with your matter is absent, but you should request acknowledgment and monitor the receipt of any communication sent to check that your instructions are being carried out. You should confirm all oral instructions in writing to avoid any misunderstandings. If we communicate by email you accept that email is not a secure form of communication and the contents of an email could be intercepted and read by a third party.
For so long as we continue to be instructed by you, we will advise you of any due dates for action to be taken. We will endeavour to remind you of these dates, but you should keep a record of them yourself. If we have asked you for instructions, information, documents, or other material required for action to be taken by a due date we rely upon you to provide this in a timely manner. If you do not provide the correct and full material in reasonable time for us to comply with a due date, you will be liable for any additional costs incurred by us for urgent handling of the matter or for obtaining an extension of time if that is possible. We accept no responsibility for the consequences if material is not received or is received so later or is incorrect or insufficient so that we are unable to take appropriate action before a due date, which may lead to a loss of rights or to surcharges or other fees being levied for late compliance.
Please notify us promptly if there is a change or name, address, telephone number fax number email address or similar, or if there is a change in the person from whom we should seek instructions. If communications from us do not reach you rights may be lost, and we cannot accept responsibility for any such loss. Please also advise us promptly of any changes of ownership rights. It may be important to record a change of ownership by a due date to ensure that rights can be enforced properly.
Our Files
Our files in respect of cases that we handle on your behalf are our property. However we are willing at your expense and on your written instructions to provide you or somebody acting on your behalf with access to the files and/or copies of papers from the files subject to removal of any information that may be confidential, covered by professional privilege, or contains personal data that cannot be disclosed. If it is necessary for original documents to be taken from our files, we reserve the right to take copies at your expense for retention in our files.
Access to the contents of our files in the above way is conditional on your account with us being up to date. We are entitled to keep all your papers and documents whilst there is money owed to us on any account. We shall have a lien over all papers as a matter of law, documents, money, or other property held on your behalf until all sums due to us are paid in cleared funds.
We have a file destruction policy which is available to you on request. Unless specific terms are agreed with you regarding the retention of files when your cases are no longer current your file in our possession may be destroyed in accordance with our policy without reference to you.
Transfer of Representation
You are at liberty at any time to transfer responsibility of a matter to yourself or to another professional representative. Additionally, circumstances may arise in which we find ourselves unable or unwilling to act for you, and we will than ask you to take on responsibility for the matter yourself or to nominate another representative. In either case we shall cooperate with you and any replacement representative in order to preserve your interests.
We reserve the right to charge you for any work carried out in connection with transferring responsibility, such as providing schedules and status information and bringing attention to due dates. We also reserve the right to charge you for any work we need to do after the transfer of responsibility such as forwarding correspondence received by us after the transfer.
In the event of a transfer of responsibility the provision of files or copies of papers shall be un accordance with section 11, “our files”. In the event that your account is outstanding at the time of the transfer if we are asked to carry out work in accordance with Clause.
We shall nevertheless endeavour to advise you or your chosen representative about any critical due dates or other critical information that is not available readily from other sources. However, we cannot accept responsibility if you do not meet any critical due date.
Complaints
If you have any concerns regarding our charges this can be raised directly with me (Mrs Shahista Saaid). In the event that we cannot resolve the matter you may have the right to have out charges reviewed by a court which is called taxation. The procedure is set out in Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. You may choose to raise this matter with the Legal Complaints Service (LCS) either in addition to or instead of taxation. We are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). We are committed to high quality legal advice and client care and aim to offer all our clients an effective and efficient service, and I am confident that we will do so in this case. However if you would like to discuss how the service to you could be improved, the level of your bill or should there be any aspect of our service with which you are not satisfied please contact Mrs Shahista Saaid on info@sterlingshore.co.uk or by post to Pure Offices, Office 58, Broadwell Road, Oldbury, B69 4BY. We have a procedure in place which details how we handle complaints, and this will be sent to you immediately.
If you would like to see copy of our complaints procedure at any other time, please let me know and I will arrange for a copy of our complaints procedure to be sent to you. We have eight weeks to consider your complaints. If for any reason we are unable to resolve the problem between us within that timeframe then you may ask the Legal Ombudsman may be contacted at PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ.
Please be aware that any complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must usually be made within six months of your having received a final written response from us about your complaint. Complaints to the Legal Ombudsman must usually be made within six years of the act or omission about which you are complaining occurring; or within three years from when you should have known about or became aware that there were grounds for a complaint. However, the Legal Ombudsman will not accept complaints where the act or date of awareness was before 6th October 2010. For further information you should contact the Legal Ombudsman on 0300 555 0333 or visit www.legalombudsman.org.uk.
Finally, we draw your attention to the fact that if all or part of the bill remains unpaid, we may be entitled to charge interest. We do not provide a legal aid service which you may or may not be eligible for.
Data Protection
We are registered under the Data protection Act 2018.
In order to deal with your affairs, we may store and process information comprising personal data. This personal data will concern you as our client if you are an individual. The personal data will be entered into our database and or written records. By accepting these Terms of Business you are giving consent for us to obtain, store and process information about you as our client and are agreeing that we use the information we hold about you to contact you from time to time bring to your attention services which may benefit you or to advise you of information such as developments of law or other news. You have the right to object to direct mailing and you may withhold (or at any future time withdraw) any consent given to you for this purpose by contacting us in writing. We will inform you and seek your prior consent if it becomes necessary for us to supply such personal data to any third parties in connection with our services.
Liability
Advice that we provide to you is for your use only and should not be disclosed to or relied upon by any third party without our prior written approval. We accept no liability to third parties who rely upon advice that we have given to you.
No employee, associate or consultant of Sterling Shore Solicitors will have any personal liability for work undertaken for you.
Conflicts of Interest
At present there is no evidence that there is any conflict in us acting for you
Except with the approval of the parties concerned we shall not act for a client on a particular matter if having acted for another client on a conflicting matter our professional duty to either client may be compromised.
We do not undertake to work for another client whose general interests may conflict with yours
If in the course of acting for you or in the course of discussions in the context of prospectively acting for you on a matter we acquire knowledge of you, your affairs or your technology which is confidential or at least has not been widely disseminated to the public, we shall not disclose that knowledge to any other client and we shall not rely upon that knowledge in acting for any other client.
Acceptance of Terms
Your continuing instructions amount to your acceptance of these Terms of Business.
These terms, any other documents referred to herein and any correspondence we sent to you confirming the services we will provide contain the entire agreement between the parties with respect to its subject matter, supersede all previous agreements and understandings between the parties exclude any other terms and conditions inconsistent therewith which you might seek to impose even though such other terms and conditions may be submitted in a later document and/or purport to exclude or supersede any terms or conditions inconsistent with them or may be contained in any offer acceptance or counter offer made by you and may not be modified except by an instrument in writing signed by the duly authorised representatives of the parties.
We do not accept service of documents via email, all correspondence must be sent to our registered address (Sterling Shore Solicitors, Pure Offices, Office 58, Oldbury, Birmingham, B69 4BY).
