Legal & Regulatory Information
QLAW is a trading name of Qlaw Legal Services Ltd (Company number 7529688).
Our Directors are Neil Quantick and Chris Baker.
If you experience any problems with this site, please email info@Qlaw.co.uk.
VAT reg number 869 4069 75.
Our professional indemnity insurance is provided by Maven Underwriters.
Office address: Skinner House, 38-40 Bell Street, Reigate, Surrey, RH2 7BA
Unless otherwise agreed with you, QLAW will hold all client money in a general client account. It is an instant access account, and the interest rates applicable to it are reflected in this fact.
Interest will be paid on money held at 0.5% less than the rate of interest paid by our bank (currently Lloyds Bank). This will be subject to a de minimis of £20 (ie; no interest will be payable if the amount of interest due against any balance held is £20 or less). The current rate of interest payable can be found on our website in the legal & regulatory information tab. Interest will be paid ‘gross’ (ie before any deductions for tax).
Interest will be calculated on the basis of the amount & the length of time for which cleared funds were held. It will normally be paid at the conclusion of any work we’re doing for you.
If there is a need for us to hold client funds for a guaranteed fixed period of more than 1 month, it may be possible to put funds into a designated deposit account. This may attract a higher rate of interest. But, without instant access to the funds, this is rarely a practical option. Please talk to us if you feel this may be appropriate given your circumstances, for any money we are holding on your behalf.
Any variation from this policy will be agreed in writing with you on an individual basis.
We’re committed to providing a first class service to all our clients. If at any point you become unhappy or concerned about any aspect of the service we provide, please tell us immediately so we can then do our best to resolve the problem. Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case.
In the first instance please contact the person who is looking after you to discuss your concerns and we will do our best to resolve any issues. If you would like to make a formal complaint our complaints process is as follows:-
Our complaints process
If you have not been able to resolve your concerns with the person looking after you please contact Sarah Quantick (Practice Manager) at sq@qlaw.co.uk. You can also call her on 03300 020 365. We will then follow this procedure:-
1) We will send you a letter/email confirming that we’ve received your complaint within 3 working days of receiving it. We’ll also send you a copy of this policy.
2) We’ll then investigate your complaint. This will normally be undertaken by one of our directors. They will look into your complaint, review the work that we’ve done for you, and speak to the member of staff responsible.
3) Once we have investigated your complaint the director will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including their suggestions for resolving the matter, within 20 working days of your complaint being received. If you would prefer a meeting to discuss our findings please do ask. We would be happy to do this.
4) At this stage, if you’re still not satisfied, you should contact us again and we will arrange for a further review of your complaint. We aim for this review to be completed by someone unconnected with the matter. However, on occasion, this may not be possible due to the size of the firm and who has been looking after you.
5) We’ll write to you within 15 working days of receiving your request for a review, confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons.
What to do if we cannot resolve your complaint
The Legal Ombudsman can help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves. They will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your case.
Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you have, then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint.
A complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must be made
- Within six months of receiving our final response to your complaint; and
- No more than one year from the date of the act or omission being complained about; or
- No more than one year from the date when you should reasonably have known that there was cause for complaint.
The Legal Ombudsman’s details can be found on their website – www.legalombudsman.org.uk. Their correspondence address is PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH.
What to do if you’re unhappy with our behaviour
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) can help if you are concerned about our behaviour. This could be for things like dishonesty, taking or losing your money or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic.
The SRA’s details can be found on their website – www.sra.org.uk
We’re regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
Our SRA reference is 558217.
Office address: Skinner House, 38-40 Bell Street, Reigate, Surrey, RH2 7BA
A copy of the Code of Conduct 2007 (which sets out the conduct rules applying to solicitors) is available from the SRA (www.sra.org.uk/code-of-conduct).
They can be contacted at www.sra.org.uk, or by phone 0870 606 2555.
Welcome and thank you!
Thank you for choosing QLAW! We're both delighted and very grateful to be able to welcome you to the QLAW family, alongside many thousands of clients, over many years of service.
These terms of business (TOB) form (part of) the contract between us for work undertaken on your behalf. Your acceptance of the TOB forms the basis of a contractual relationship between us.
Us
We are QLAW, a trading division of QLAW Legal Services Ltd of Skinner House, 38-40 Bell Street, REIGATE, RH2 7BA.
We are regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) – 558217. Our company number is 7529688.
You
You undertake to provide us with correct ID to prove the capacity in which you 'instruct' and contract with us.
What we are doing for you
We will confirm with you the scope of the work we are undertaking on your behalf. This is often called a 'retainer' ie the extent to which we are contracted to provide you with legal services.
It is our responsibility to make sure that those services provided under our retainer are delivered with due care and skill, and these TOBs do not replace your consumer rights in law, simply sit alongside them.
What we are NOT doing for you
The retainer will not be unlimited.
Our responsibility to look after your best interests exists only in as much as those legal matters in which we expressly contract to advise you.
Fees
Our fees will be agreed with you in advance of any work done wherever possible. In some cases, it is impossible to provide an exact costing as it may be unclear at the outset what total work may be required. In these circumstances, we will endeavour to provide you with the best estimate that we can, and to keep you reasonably appraised of current costs position(s).
Some matters will be charged on a fixed fees basis, others on a 'time' basis. We sometimes charge 'value' related fees or a combination of the above. Whatever the basis of your fees, we will confirm this with you and agree it expressly.
Hourly rates of our various team members vary, and are revised from time to time.
Service
In the unlikely event that you are unhappy with the service you receive from Qlaw, our Regulator requires us to notify you at this stage that we have a formal complaints procedure, details of which can be found in the Complaints Policy on this page.
Client Money
If we hold money on your behalf, interest may become payable. You can find up to date details of any such interest rates in the 'Client Money' section on this page.