Important:
Please be aware that there has been a recent spate of fraudsters hacking solicitor/client emails,
which may include notifying clients by email of a change in the solicitor’s bank account details.
Rogers & Norton will not notify you of a change to the bank details supplied to you by email.
Any changes of bank details will be discussed with you via telephone call in the first instance and
a letter and/or an encrypted email (with the password sent separately).
We take our responsibilities as to your money very seriously and hope that you will understand
the need for this warning. Should you fail to heed this warning and your money is redirected by
fraudsters this is at your risk.
1. Costs
(a) Our professional fees are either based on a fixed quotation or are a fair and reasonable fee
reflecting the time spent working on the matter combined with certain other factors (see (c)
below). Expenses we incur and payments which we make on your behalf (referred to as
disbursements) are in addition to our fees. All estimates, quotations, fees and disbursements
are subject to the addition of Value Added Tax (except any VAT-exempt disbursements).
(b) Hourly rates are set at a figure required to cover the overhead expenses of running the firm
and include the firm’s profit. Our letter of engagement will set out the present rates
appropriate to the particular matter and the staff involved. Our hourly rates are subject to
periodic review, and we will notify you in advance of any increase coming into effect.
(c) Other factors taken into account in addition to the time factor in assessing fair and reasonable
fees under the Solicitors (Non Contentious Business) Remuneration Order 2009 are, for
instance:-
• Urgency
• Working outside normal business hours
• The importance of the matter to you
• The value of any money or property involved
• The number and complexity of documents involved.
(d) Where fees are to be based on time and the other factors set out in 1(c) above, we will not
be able to work to a fixed quotation, but will endeavour to give you an estimate for guidance
purposes only. Estimates are intended as a guide to assist in budgeting and should not be
treated as a fixed quotation. If the work proves to be more complex and time consuming than
anticipated then the estimate is likely to be exceeded. We will keep you informed as matters
progress if this is likely to happen.
(e) Unless we agree otherwise we will notify you at least every 6 months of what fees and
disbursements have been incurred, whether or not we submit a bill for payment.
(f) If you wish to object to our bill you have the right to do so under our complaints procedure
referred to in our engagement letter and/ or by making a complaint to the Legal Complaints
Service and/or in the case of contentious work applying to the Court for an assessment of
the bill under Sections 70, 71 and 72 of the Solicitors Act 1974 as amended, re-enacted or
modified.
2. Disbursements
Unless you expressly instruct us otherwise, we will incur such expenses and make other
payments on your behalf as we consider necessary, which we will recharge to you at cost as
disbursements. This could for example include search and registration fees, stamp duty,
special bank charges, court fees and Counsels fees. We also reserve the right to charge
travel expenses, and for accommodation and meals when travelling away from the office on
your behalf. We will however consult you before incurring any significant items.
3. Payments on account and other monies held by us
In common with other solicitors we reserve the right to ask for a payment on account in
advance of acting for a client, to go towards payment for professional time involved and fees
and other disbursements to be paid out. The letter of engagement will specify the amount
of the initial payment required. We further reserve the right to ask for further payments on
account as a matter progresses, as a condition of proceeding further.
In the event of a requested payment on account not being made, we must reserve the right
to decline to act any further and a bill for the work and any disbursements to date will be sent
to you. If we were acting for you in Court proceedings we will if necessary notify the Court
and the solicitors for the other parties that we are no longer acting for you.
Money held by us on your behalf, whether paid on account of fees or otherwise, may be used
in payment or part payment of our bills, whether or not overdue.
4. Interest policy
(a) Client monies are currently held in our Lloyds Bank plc client account. This is necessarily
an immediate access account and the interest rates we achieve are negligible.
(b) We will account to you for 50% of the interest we actually receive on monies held by you in
our client account subject to a de minimis figure of £30.00.
When depositing or leaving monies in our client account you should have regard to the
interest rates that you might obtain had you held and invested the money elsewhere. Details
of currently available rates are readily available online or from bank branches.
(c) We reserve the right to change our client account from time to time without reference to you.
5. Incomplete work
We provide a service rather than necessarily, an end product. If a matter does not proceed
to completion we will be entitled to be paid for all disbursements incurred and all work actually
carried out calculated by reference to hourly rates and to other factors referred to in 1(c).
6. Interim billing
In addition to billing at the conclusion of our work we reserve the right, particularly in Court
proceedings or where we spend a great deal of professional time over a short period, to
submit bills in the following manner:
(a) Bill for a sum of money on account generally of work done which will in due course be
taken into account when a final bill is prepared.
(b) Bill relating to a specific period of time (which may not be to the conclusion of the
matter) and for all work carried out during that period;
7. Terms of payment
We require settlement on delivery of the bill particularly as the work is normally spread over
weeks or months. After one month interest will be added to outstanding accounts at the rate
appropriate to judgement debts (currently 8%) on a daily basis until settlement.
If payment of a bill is overdue, we reserve the right to stop further work on the file, and to
retain any of your documents or other materials held on that or any other of your files, until
full payment has been made.
Except in the case of consumer clients (that is individual persons contracting with us outside
their trade, business or profession) our bills are payable without any deduction by way of setoff
or counterclaim or otherwise.
In conveyancing transactions we require costs and disbursements by the day fixed for
completion, unless there will be a surplus of funds from a sale or mortgage sufficient to cover
these.
8. Joint instructions
When we receive instructions on a matter from more than one person or company, each
person or company is separately responsible for payment of the full amount of our bills.
9. Payment methods
We will not accept payments in cash for any amount in excess of £500.00. If clients
circumvent this policy by depositing cash with our bank we reserve the right to charge for
any additional checks we deem necessary regarding the source of the funds.
We of course accept payments by cheque (subject to clearance in the usual way) or direct
transfer into our bank account.
We also accept payment by most main debit or credit cards, excluding American Express,
for monies on account of costs and/or disbursements and payment of our bills. (This does
not include payment of funds for Stamp Duty Land Tax or monies to be paid out to others on
completion of a property or other transaction).
Where we have to pay money to you, it will be by cheque or bank transfer. It will not be paid
in cash or to a third party.
10. Financial services and insurance mediation
We are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. We are however on the register
maintained by the Financial Conduct Authority so that we may carry on insurance mediation
activity which is the selling of and administering of insurance contracts. The register can be
accessed via the Financial Conduct Authority website at www.fca.org.uk/firms/systemsreporting/
register. This part of our business and the arrangements for complaints is regulated by the Solicitors
Regulation Authority.
If during your matter you need advice on investments we would need to refer you to a
provider who is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, as we are not. As a
consequence of our regulation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, we may be able to
provide certain limited advice on investment products provided these are closely linked to
the legal work we are undertaking for you.
If you are unhappy with any investment advice you receive from us, you should raise this
with ourselves by our complaints procedure and if the matter remains unresolved you may
raise this with the Solicitors Regulation Authority or the Legal Ombudsman.
11. Litigation costs and court cost orders
The Courts generally have a wide discretion to make orders in respect of costs at any stage
of the proceedings, although that discretion is very limited in certain types of case, in
particular including those involving less than £25,000.
Except in Family Law matters the Courts typically order an unsuccessful party to contribute
towards the costs of the successful party, but it is very rare for all of the costs to be covered.
There is no guarantee that a costs award can be promptly or successfully enforced. If your
opponent is legally aided, it is unlikely that you would be able to recover any of your costs.
You are responsible for payment of our bills in accordance with these terms and conditions
even if the Court orders another party to contribute towards them.
You should therefore assume that even if you are successful in litigation, you will have a
liability to us for at least some costs which you will not recover from others.
If you are unsuccessful at any point in litigation, or you withdraw an action, the Court may
order you to contribute towards your opponents’ costs. This would be in addition to your
liability in respect of our bills.
If you have the benefit of legal fees insurance, insurers will usually delay payment until the
conclusion of the case. Subject to express written agreement with us to the contrary, you will
nevertheless remain liable for payment of our bills in accordance with these Terms and
Conditions, even if you have not yet received payment from your insurers.
12. Confidentiality
All information received from you or on your behalf concerning your business or affairs will
be kept confidential at all times unless you instruct us to disclose it or we are obliged by law
to disclose it, for example where money laundering is suspected or other fraud or crime is
involved, or we are required to comply with our FATCA obligations.
In some cases we ask outside companies to carry out photocopying work for us, especially
large or urgent jobs. Although this work is always done on a confidential basis there is
inevitably a greater risk in relation to confidentiality when material goes outside our office. If
you do not want us to ever use outside photocopying services in connection with our work
for you, please tell us as soon as possible.
Please see our Privacy Policy (https://rogers-norton.co.uk/privacy-policy/) for more
information.
13. Data protection
Rogers and Norton are committed to ensuring that the use of personal data we hold is in
accordance with the legal requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA)
All individuals have rights in relation to the handling of their personal data. Rogers and
Norton will collect, process and store personal data and recognises the importance of
appropriate and professional actions regarding confidentiality and data handling.
This Privacy Policy (https://rogers-norton.co.uk/privacy-policy/) details how we use the
information we collect about you and how you can instruct us if you prefer to limit the use of
that information. It also details the internal policies and procedures that we have in place to
safeguard your privacy.
The Privacy Policy details information on your rights and our commitment to our clients. You
can contact Rogers and Norton’s Data Protection Officer (DPO) here: dpo@rogersnorton.
co.uk.
Any personal data we receive from you for the purposes of our money laundering checks will
be processed only for the purposes of preventing money laundering and terrorist financing
or as otherwise permitted by law or with your consent. You are deemed to consent to us
retaining such data for longer than the five year statutory period unless you tell us otherwise.
14. Legal aid
We do not undertake Legal Aid (Community Legal Service or Criminal Defence Service) work
and as a consequence, we do not attempt to carry out assessments of income/means for
Legal Aid purposes. If you wish to consult a Legal Aid practitioner, you are of course entirely
free to do so.
15. Applicability of terms
Unless notified to the contrary these terms and conditions will apply to current and future
matters which we handle on your behalf.
16. Termination of retainer and our right to retain papers
We reserve the right to terminate our retainer with you should you cease to comply with any
of these terms and conditions or for other good reason such as a serious breakdown in
confidence between us, or if a conflict of interest arises. You may withdraw your instructions
to us at any time by written notice to us. If you or we decide that we should stop acting for
you, you will pay our charges up to that point, and we can keep all your papers and
documents while there is still money owed to us for fees and expenses.
17. File storage and destruction
On the conclusion of a matter we will store your file for a period of 6.5 years, unless the
subject matter of the file is Wills, continuing trusts, Powers of Attorney or Change of Name
deeds, where the file will be held indefinitely. In relation to all files held for 6.5 years, these
will be destroyed once this period has elapsed without reference to you. We make no charge
for file storage, retrieval or destruction, but will make a reasonable charge for photocopying
files or papers for you.
Full details on Data Retention can be found in our Privacy Policy (https://rogersnorton.
co.uk/privacypolicy/).
18. Deeds and Wills
Originals of Title Deeds, Wills, Change of Name Deeds and Powers of Attorney and other
documents which we agree to hold in safe custody will be separately and indefinitely held in
secure conditions.
19. Jurisdiction and governing law
Our agreement shall be construed in accordance with English law and the English courts
shall have exclusive jurisdiction for all purposes in connection with it.
20. Equality and diversity
We are committed to promoting equality and diversity in all our dealings with clients, third
parties and employees. Please contact us if you would like a copy of our equal opportunities
policy.
21. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”)
FATCA (which is the implementation in the UK of US Government efforts to prevent its
citizens from evading tax) applies to certain trusts. We will advise you if we believe the trust
rules under the requirements of FATCA, and if it does, the implications for all concerned.
In determining whether FATCA applies, we are likely to have to ask you various questions.
It is important that prompt and accurate answers are provided, together with any
documentation that we may seek. If FATCA applies, we may have certification, registration
and reporting duties. Such duties would be mandatory. These duties override our duties of
confidentiality to you. We shall not be liable for any losses of whatsoever description
because we have had a duty to certify, register and/or report, or in good faith believe so as
to comply with FATCA we should do so.
Notice in relation to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
Please note that pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (the Act), anyone knowing or
suspecting that they are processing or assisting in the processing of proceeds of crime, are now
subject to strict requirements.
If you are a client not previously known to us, we will be obliged to obtain proof of your identity.
VERY IMPORTANTLY, the terms of the Act also mean that we are required by law to report to the
National Crime Agency (NCA) any situation where we are unsure of the source of
monies coming into our hands, or where we have reason to believe that in some way those monies
may be the proceeds of crime. The evasion of taxes is considered to be and could give rise to
proceeds of crime.
We are specifically required by law not to advise or discuss the situation with you the client.
It is also a legal requirement that you advise us (if required) as to the source of any funds which
pass through our hands on your behalf. In the event that we have cause to question that source or
the information given, we must inform NCA. However, we are prevented by law from advising
you if we do so. This is of crucial importance as NCA have 7 days to approve or place the
transaction on hold. If nothing is heard after that period, the transaction can proceed but if NCA
refuses consent, then there is a 31 days moratorium period commencing on the date when consent
was refused. During that time it will not be possible for your monies to be used in any way and we
will not be in a position to advise you why this is the case because of the “tipping off” provisions
referred to above.
THIS COULD MEAN THAT WE WILL BE UNABLE TO COMPLETE YOUR TRANSACTION ON
TIME FOR REASONS WHICH WE WILL BE PREVENTED FROM DISCUSSING WITH YOU.
THIS IS THE LAW AND IS COMMON TO ALL FIRMS OF SOLICITORS AND IS A SITUATION
BEYOND OUR CONTROL.
For these reasons it will be preferable when possible for you to place monies in our hands in good
time before they will be required and be prepared to prove if requested that the source of the funds
is legitimate.
THIS WILL APPLY TO ALL FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS FROM WHATEVER SOURCE.
ROGERS & NORTON SOLICITORS
Bank Details
Cybercrime Alert: Bank Details
Please be aware there is a significant risk posed by cyber fraud, specifically affecting email accounts
and bank account details. Rogers & Norton will NEVER change our bank account details via email.
If you are in any doubt, please do not send funds to us electronically without speaking to a member
of our team first to verify our account details. Rogers & Norton will not accept liability for any
payments into an incorrect account.
ROGERS AND NORTON CLIENT BANK ACCOUNT
Bank: Lloyds Bank plc
Account Name: Rogers & Norton Ltd. Client Account
Sort Code: 30 – 96 – 17
Account No: 01692114
Swift Code: LOYDGB21076
IBAN: GB38 LOYD 3096 1701 6921 14
UPDATED
07.03.2025