Your most important read!
Well, almost.
The outcome for you is of course the most important. Next thing is how much you will spend on getting the outcome. So be aware that you understand our fee structure and our terms. Read all of the very reasonable terms and conditions below.
Who you are dealing with
No mystery here.
Habsburg & Kuijk Legal Services Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 16541279, registered office 71–75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ, United Kingdom. UK VAT registration number GB 496 476 921. With lawyers located all over the world.
Email us at hls@habsburg-legal-services.com. We read it on working days and it is the quickest way to reach us.
Which document wins
Because we would rather you never had to ask.
This page explains how we work, so that you know what you are getting into before you commit to anything. Once you become a client, your signed Retainer Agreement is the contract between us. Where anything on this page differs from your Retainer Agreement, the Retainer Agreement applies.
Competitive fees
… we are fair …
Let’s start with a bit of self promotion. It is our aim to help people. As we also need to eat and take care of our families we can’t beat free advice. However, if you compare us to our competitors we are very competitive. So we are the cheaper choice but provide the right and specific knowledge. By all means ask and shop around – we would do the same.
No need to buy services on this website
… don’t move along, these are the legal advisers you are looking for!
This website is for your convenience and to explain what services we offer. You cannot buy our services here, and we would rather you did not try. Because your situation is specific and personal, we prefer you to contact us and discuss it. We can then give you a rough indication of the time we expect to need, and so of your likely fees. Keep in mind these are estimates. Once we start it usually becomes clearer what is involved, and in this line of work there can always be surprises.
How you become a client
There is a door, and this is where it is.
- You get in touch and tell us what you need. If you are facing a deadline, tell us straight away.
- If we think we can help, we send you our Retainer Agreement and tell you the deposit we are asking for.
- You complete and submit the Retainer Agreement. That is a request to engage us, not yet an agreement.
- We read it and decide whether we can act for you. If we cannot, we tell you, and you owe us nothing.
- If we can, we email you to confirm that we accept you as a client and give you your case reference. That email is the moment the agreement starts and these terms take effect.
- You will then receive a deposit invoice, and your lawyer will be in touch.
Making a payment does not by itself make you our client. Until we have written to you accepting your instructions, you are a potential client.
Hourly fees
For a good outcome perhaps a necessary ev… GOOD!
There is a minimum charge of one hour for any engagement. Any time spent within that first hour is charged as one full hour.
After the first hour we charge for the time we actually spend, calculated to the minute and rounded down. If we spend two hours and eleven minutes on your case, you pay for two hours and eleven minutes.
We charge no admin fee, no membership fee and no other extra. The only additions are expenses we pay on your behalf with your approval, such as government filing fees, and a £/€ 5 admin fee if you ask us to change your payment method or currency after we have started.
You can set a budget in advance, and we will not exceed it without asking you first. You can call stop at any time, and you will not be charged for time after that.
Which fee applies, and when it can change
Because not all law costs the same.
Different services, and different areas of law, carry different fees. The rate that applies to you is the one set out in your Retainer Agreement.
Where you ask for more than one service and they relate to the same overall purpose, and the same person does the work, the higher rate applies. Where the work divides clearly between services we charge each at its own rate; where it does not divide clearly, we decide, and we will explain how.
If you later ask us for an additional or a different service, that service is charged at its own rate, and we will tell you the rate before we begin it.
We can agree a different fee with you at any time. Any such agreement must be in writing – an email is enough – and once made it binds both of us.
We may change our standard rates from time to time. If we do, we will give you at least two weeks’ notice before a new rate applies to your matter, and if you would rather not continue at the new rate you may end the agreement.
Fixed fees
Fixed within reason!
Where we offer a fixed fee, it covers a reasonable allowance of time as described in the listing. If your situation is unusual and needs more, we may have to ask you to pay for the additional time. We try to avoid that, and discussing your needs in advance is how we avoid it.
Fixed fees are not a way to buy hourly work at a discount. Where someone buys a fixed-fee service knowing that far more time will be needed, we treat that as abuse, and it may mean we end the relationship. We will be reasonable and we will decide objectively.
VAT
Who likes taxes!?
If you are a private individual living outside the United Kingdom, our services to you are outside the scope of UK VAT and no VAT is added to your invoice. This is because for services of this kind the place of supply is where you belong, not where we are. We rely on the address you give us as evidence of that, so please tell us if it changes.
If you live in the United Kingdom, we are required to charge UK VAT at the standard rate and it will be shown separately on your invoice. If you are planning to move soon, ask us whether we can invoice you after your move.
Companies registered outside the UK are not charged UK VAT. UK companies are charged VAT and can reclaim it from HMRC in the usual way.
How to pay
Please do, and don’t hesitate!
Your invoice will have our bank details for payments. If you want to pay by bank in another currency (AUD, CAD, NZD, USD, or ???) that is sometimes possible but you need to discuss that with us first. Our preference is EUR and this will speed things up for you. If you would like to suggest something else, ask and we will consider it. Old-fashioned cash is appreciated but cumbersome and not usual. If you want to trade your own service, skills, a few chickens, a painting or other artwork – get in touch. Who knows.
When you need to pay
Not now! Hurray!
We normally do not start work until a deposit has cleared. After that, we invoice in the first week of each month for the work done in the previous month up to the invoicing date. Invoices are due within seven days.
Do not worry if you are a little late. Where you have financial difficulty, tell us – we would far rather agree something with you than chase you.
If an invoice stays unpaid and we hear nothing after repeated requests, interest of 10% a year may be added, and the debt may be referred to a collection agent or to the courts, whose fees and interest may be added to what is owed.
Where an invoice is still unpaid 14 days after its due date we may pause work on your matter. We will tell you in writing before we do, and we start again as soon as payment reaches us. Any deadline that falls while work is paused is yours to watch. Where the deposit is exhausted we may also ask you to restore it before we carry on.
Your right to cancel, and refunds
Who likes to refund? Actually, we don’t mind.
If you engage us as a private individual, you have 14 days from the day we accept you as a client to cancel, without giving a reason. Your Retainer Agreement explains exactly how, and comes with a cancellation form.
Most clients ask us to start straight away, which we are happy to do. If you do, and you then cancel before the work is finished, you pay a proportionate amount for the work already done, and we return the rest of your deposit. If you cancel before we have started anything, you get everything back.
Your deposit is payment on account of our fees. We draw it down as we work and account to you for it. Whatever we have not earned, you can have back.
We do not refund expenses we have already paid on your behalf, such as bank transfer charges or government filing fees.
Refunds go back the way they came. If you ask us to refund differently, or to someone else, that can create delays and we may need further approvals or documents – this is to protect you, and others, from money laundering and fraud.
Coupons, gift vouchers and promotions
Great marketing tools, but less food on the table for the kids.
Where we are so very generous as to offer coupons, gift vouchers or promotional fees, each may carry specific conditions in addition to, or replacing, the terms on this page, and may include expiry dates.
Hardship
We really like to help if we can.
Those who are struggling financially, or in other ways, should not hesitate to contact us and ask. Hardship may need to be evidenced. Please do not buy anything, from us or anyone else, that you cannot afford. Where we cannot help ourselves, we will try to point you towards someone who can.
If something goes wrong
Tell us. Really.
We would much rather hear about a problem than not. Write to hls@habsburg-legal-services.com. We will acknowledge your complaint within five working days and give you a considered reply within 28 days.
If your complaint is about how we have handled your personal information, you can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk.
Working with other lawyers
We know what we do not know.
Some matters need a lawyer in another country, or with other knowledge or skills. Where we refer you to another lawyer or firm, you become their client for that work, their own terms apply, and we are not responsible for their advice or their fees. Where we bring someone in to work under us, the work stays ours and so does the responsibility. We will always explain which it is, and who is doing what.
Confidentiality
What you tell us stays with us.
Everything you give us is confidential. We do not pass it to anyone without your consent, unless the law or a court requires it. That duty does not end when your matter does. Our privacy notice forms part of these terms.
About this website
Where possible we are not responsible for ourselves.
The content of this website is general information based on the law of several countries. It is not legal advice, and you should not act or refrain from acting on it without taking advice on your own situation. We try hard to keep it accurate and current, but Habsburg & Kuijk Legal Services Ltd accepts no responsibility for it and excludes liability for anything done on the strength of it.
You may download the content of this website for your own personal use. You may not reproduce, copy, distribute or publish it, electronically or on paper, without our written consent.
Your envisioned outcome
… versus reality …
We are very sorry if our actions or advice did not produce the outcome you, and we, hoped for. We will always be clear with you about what we think is reasonable to expect. Law can be complex, and so can people and their circumstances. Where a case is finely balanced we depend on a decision by an official, a case worker or a judge. You accept that we have not promised a definite outcome, but have advised on likely outcomes and committed to work in your best interest to the best of our abilities. Luckily we have a good success rate and you are likely to forget you ever read this.
Accepting these terms
The bit that makes it count.
These terms apply to our services and to your use of this website. They take effect between us at the moment we email you to confirm that we accept you as a client. From that point your Retainer Agreement and these terms govern our work together, and where they differ the Retainer Agreement applies.
Governing law
Here… no here, not there!
These terms and any agreement with us are governed by the law of England, United Kingdom, and the courts of England have jurisdiction. If you live in another country, this does not take away any protection given to you by the consumer law of the country where you live that cannot be excluded by agreement. For consumers resident in the European Union this follows from Article 6 of the Rome I Regulation, which remains part of United Kingdom law after Brexit.
end of the not so small print….
Not to worry, we can get you more of that – just ask.