Introduction It is both a requirement of the law relating to the provision of services and also good professional practice to set out clearly in writing the terms and conditions upon which we provide you with professional services. These terms and conditions comply with this requirement. We would request that you carefully read through this document to ensure there is no misunderstanding between us. For the purposes of this document ‘we’ means Peter Brown & Co,and ‘you’ means the legal person signing the e-mail sending us instructions. Part 1 - Services to be provided by us. We agree to :- Receive instructions from you by e-mail to answer a question or request for advice (the question) on any matter of business law or practice including taxation and related matters. We may at any time after receiving the instructions, in our absolute discretion, decline to accept your instructions, without having to give a reason to you for our decision. If we decline the instructions we will notify you by e –mail. When sending your question to us, it is of the essence that you provide your e-mail address. When we receive your instructions we may request further information from you. If we have not, at any stage, declined to accept your instructions we will subsequently send a reply to your question by e-mail. We undertake that we will send you an acknowledgement to your instructions within 48 hours ( we would hope such acknowledgement would in most circumstances be immediately upon receipt). The acknowledgement will contain an indication of when a definitive reply will be sent. We will not be contractually required to enter into any further correspondence or communication with you except to clarify manifest areas of misunderstanding in our reply, and our professional engagement will be terminated upon sending the e-mail to you. Part 2 – Information to be supplied by you and agreements by you For your part ,you agree :- To supply us with all information in relation to the matter under enquiry that we may reasonably require. To provide us with such information relating to your identity as we may reasonably require in the context of the question being raised by you so as to prove your identity. In the cases of certain questions it may be necessary for you to furnish us with documentary evidence as to your identity before replying to your question. If this is the case, you agree to provide such evidence. To provide us with the name , address and telephone number of any existing accountant acting for you, with an indication of whether they act for you in relation to the subject matter of the question. You agree that we are authorised to make contact with your existing accountant in the manner provided by professional rules, and if necessary to defer sending our reply to your question until we have received a reply from your existing accountant. You agree to authorise your existing accountant to reply to us. (Explanatory note – The reasons for these professional rules are explained in our on line brochure . If your question is of a general nature then it may not be necessary to contact your existing accountant) You agree that the reply to the question is to be used for your personal use only, and that any liability arising to third parties under the Contracts(Rights of Third Parties)Act 1999 is excluded. You also agree that you recognise that the degree of research appropriate to preparing the answer to the question and the necessary limitation of our knowledge of your affairs is such that more detailed work might be necessary to give a more precise answer, and that there will therefore be a paragraph in our answer describing the limitation on the scope of the work undertaken, and if necessary recommending such further work. As a consequence of this , it is agreed between us that it is reasonable under the terms of Section 2 of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 to limit our liability for any matter arising out of the answer to your question to the sum of £100. You acknowledge that you are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the information supplied to us . You agree that all communications between us, except for the posting of the cheque, will be by e-mail and that the fixed fee does not cover telephone discussions, and that you reserve the right to charge extra if these occur. Part 3 - Other work Any work of whatsoever description not included in the question shall be the subject of a separate agreement ,and this agreement shall be taken to be a full and inclusive statement of the matters referred to. We will be pleased at any time to advise you on any business or taxation matters which you care to refer to us. Part 4 - Personnel The work will normally be undertaken by Peter Brown Part 5 - Fees The fee for this service is agreed as a fixed fee of £20, by cheque payable to P Brown & Co, such cheque to be sent by first class post to Acomb Grange, Grange Lane, York , YO23 3QZ on the same day the question is e-mailed to us
If you have any queries in relation to specific matters you should refer to Peter Brown. Part 7 Retention and destruction of books and papers All files and records which are the property of ourselves but relating to yourself will be retained in accordance with our formal file destruction policy which is available for inspection upon request. |