Terms & Conditions of Business

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Muve is a trading name of Connect2Law Ltd a company registered in England (number 05153796) and whose registered office is at Parkshot House, 5 Kew Road, Richmond TW9 2PR. Connect2Law Ltd is a law firm authorised and regulated by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC), number 2774.

The purpose of these Terms & Conditions of Business (“the Terms”) is to set out clearly and definitively the basis on which our firm will act for you. Our aim at all times is to provide you with a professional service, consistent with the reasonable standards of skill and care to be expected of a regulated provider of nationwide consumer legal services.

1. Acknowledgement of These Terms

We will not start work on your matter, except in the most urgent cases, until we receive acceptance of these Terms from you. We require your acceptance where indicated in the Client Care Letter. The Client Care Letter and these Terms together constitute our entire agreement with you.

Your acceptance of these Terms will be treated by us as your consent to start work. In addition, your continuing instructions will amount to your acceptance of these terms in a situation where you have not indicated your acceptance of the Terms in the place specified in the Client Care Letter or our client portal. Unless otherwise agreed these Terms will apply to any future instructions you give us.

Where we receive joint instructions to act for two or more people then you shall be regarded as giving those instructions jointly and severally in connection with your intentions to proceed with the transaction, any replies to enquiries, incurring additional disbursements or legal fees, where necessary and any dates for exchange and completion. This does not override our obligations where a conflict of interest may arise and there will be circumstances, for example the division of sale proceeds, where your individual instructions shall be required. We will not accept instructions from other family members or close contacts without express permission from you via a letter of authority.

2. Our Philosophy

Our philosophy at Muve is to spend the initial period of the transaction collecting all the documentation needed from the various parties in order to complete your property transaction. This includes things like requesting search results, management information from landlords, mortgage offers from lenders, or initial enquiries from the other law firm on a sale transaction. We have found that this approach to conveyancing is more efficient and effective than doing ‘bits and pieces’ of work at an early stage on the basis of incomplete information.

3. Clearly Excluded Areas of Advice

We do not give advice on:

Whether you should enter into any legal transaction from a commercial perspective.
Matters relating to the valuation, state of repair and structural condition of, and ground conditions affecting, any property that is the subject matter of any transaction you ask us to deal with. We recommend that you have the Property professionally valued and we also recommend that a structural survey of the property be undertaken to identify any physical defects or warn of potential defects. It is important to be aware of any defects in the property before you enter into any binding obligations in respect of the property. Once you have exchanged contracts or lease, you will not be entitled to any compensation from the seller or landlord if you have to put right any defects.
The status of the property (if leasehold) as a relevant building, your status (if selling) or your seller’s status (if you are buying) as a qualifying leaseholder (and whether the lease is a qualifying lease) and the Landlord’s status as a relevant Landlord pursuant to the Building Safety Act 2022 and related regulations, secondary legislation and statutory instruments (together ‘the Act’).

While we shall endeavour to provide guidance to enable you to provide informed instructions we are unable to advise on, and we accept no liability for, the validity and accuracy of any information provided as to the application of the Act including, but not limited to, the requirement for a Leaseholder and Landlord Certificate and the validity of the information contained therein.
For the avoidance of any doubt we do not give advice on whether a property is or is not subject to the service charge remediation provisions of the Building Safety Act 2022 and related Regulations on building safety. This is entirely a matter for the client to assess in relation to material supplied by the relevant landlord or leaseholder. We cannot accept any liability whatsoever for the veracity of information contained in any certification whatsoever of building safety nor for any losses caused to any party as a result of inaccurate information in the area of building safety certification under the Act.
In order to establish whether the property is subject to the Act, you should seek information from a Chartered Surveyor or other suitably qualified valuer

Any Planning implications of the transaction.
Any Tax implications of the transaction.
Matters that might be revealed by a physical inspection of the property including but not limited to the conformity of the physical boundaries shown on any title plan to the property. It is not this Firm’s responsibility to carry out a physical inspection of the property. You must check any plans of the property carefully and let us know if there are any discrepancies.
The suitability of any of your mortgage or any financial arrangements in respect of the relevant property.
The existence of any hazardous substances in, or forming part, of the property or the environmental responsibilities that you may be assuming in proceeding, even where a desk-top environmental search is undertaken in respect of the transaction.
Advising on any searches which we have not been specifically asked to undertake.
The rights of third parties which are in the course of being acquired.
The VAT rating of the property or the extent to which VAT is payable on the purchase price except to the extent of passing the documentation and information provided by the sellers/landlords to your accountants.
The credit worthiness of any of the parties to the proposed transaction.
Should there be an escalating ground rent clause in the Lease of the property on which you have instructed us, you are strongly advised to seek independent valuation advice on the effect of that clause from a suitably qualified valuer.
Any other matters that are not strictly part of the legal services of an ordinarily skilled national conveyancing law firm.

4. People Responsible for your Work

The Head of Legal Practice (“the HOLP”) is named in our Client Care Letter. The HOLP has complete discretion to deploy such of our lawyers, trainee lawyers, paralegals or other staff as he deems necessary or desirable to ensure appropriate delivery of our services to you.

We realise that it is important not to change the people who are handling your work but sometimes this cannot be avoided. If a change is necessary, we will inform you promptly of the reason and who will take responsibility for your work.

Sometimes we ask other consultants or companies to do work for us on our files, such as photocopying or legal support, to ensure that work is always done promptly. We will always seek a confidentiality agreement with any such providers.

Note that we have operations in the UK and Sri Lanka and both are part of or 100% owned subsidiaries of Connect2Law Ltd t/a Muve. Our specialist team in Sri Lanka provides legal, account management, and administrative capability to Muve’s customers in the UK. By accepting these Terms of Business you accept that your transaction may be worked on by staff based in Sri Lanka as well as in the UK (please also refer to section 20 ‘Data Protection’ below).

5. Service Standards and Responsibilities

We have produced a Customer Charter https://muve.me.uk/customer-charter which sets out our aspiration to provide you with a high standard of customer service. Achieving this is of paramount importance to Muve. Please do note however that if there is any conflict between statements in the Customer Charter and these Terms of Business, these Terms of Business will take precedence.

We aim to provide an appropriate level of service to you as follows:

We will give you the best information possible about the likely cost of your matter at the outset and wherever possible throughout your matter.
We will update you by telephone or in writing with progress on your matter regularly.
We will communicate with you in plain language.
We will explain to you in writing (or by telephone where appropriate) the legal work required as your matter progresses.

Our specific responsibilities will include:

Reviewing your matter regularly.
Advising you of any relevant changes in the law.
Advising you of any circumstances and risks of which we are aware or consider to be reasonably foreseeable that could affect the outcome of your matter.

Your responsibilities will include:

Providing us with clear, timely and accurate instructions.
Providing us with all the documents required to deal with your matter in a timely manner.
Safeguarding any documents that are relevant to your matter.
Advising us in advance if there are periods during which you will not be available.
Advising us immediately of any change in your address or circumstances.
Advising us immediately if any of the information you have provided, at any stage, is or becomes false, inaccurate or misleading.

6. Timescales

We will do all we can to progress matters quickly and bring them to completion as soon as possible, and within any realistic timescales that you or any third party require. However, it is very important indeed to note that by its nature conveyancing and other consumer legal services can be very protracted processes where speed is dependent on the efficiency of third parties such as other lawyers, mortgage lenders, landlords and search providers. Also, the process can be affected by the volume of transactions going through the firm.

We do not give a guarantee of an Exchange or Completion date, nor can we give you an exact date when your property will be registered at the Land Registry (since we have no control over the processes at the Land Registry). We will keep you informed of progress throughout, explain the reasons for any delays and advise you if any unforeseen work becomes necessary. If you become aware of anything that may affect the timescale of your transaction we would appreciate it if you could let us know immediately.

In the case of our muveFast guarantee, this is a guarantee that our fee will reduce if the timeline is not met, but is still not an absolute guarantee that a certain timeline can be achieved. Further details are provided on the working of the muveFast guarantee in section 8 of these Terms.

It is vital to remember that until contracts are exchanged, neither you nor your Seller is legally committed to proceed. Up to that point either party may withdraw. For this reason you should not make any firm commitments (e.g. booking removals or giving notice to your Landlord if you are presently in rented accommodation) until we have confirmed to you that contracts have been exchanged.

7. Searches and search indemnity

As explained in the Client Care Letter, we will sometimes discharge our obligation to conduct the traditional searches in relation to the property you are intending to purchase (e.g Local Authority, Drainage and Water, Environmental, Local Land Charges etc) by the use of a property data report and search indemnity policy.

The objective of this insurance policy is to provide you with cover in the rare situation where the traditional searches may have revealed some matter which impacts the value of the property. The insurance cover operates to provide compensation to you should the open market value of the property you have purchased be reduced by a matter that was discoverable by the traditional property searches and was not otherwise known at the time of purchase.

The insurance is currently provided by Aviva Insurance Ltd and provides cover up to £1.5m. Full details of the policy are available here – https://muve.me.uk/search-indemnity/

By signing these Terms of Business you agree that the data report and insurance policy as herein described constitute a satisfactory discharge of the firm’s obligations to conduct on your behalf precontract traditional searches.

Note that the decision whether or not to use a search indemnity product in place of traditional searches is entirely a matter for you and the firm will accept no liability for any loss that may result from the decision to use a search indemnity policy.

8. The muveFast Guarantee

The muveFast guarantee only applies to those clients who have purchased our muveFast upgrade.

While Muve is committed to transforming the speed of conveyancing, it is important to note that Muve makes absolutely no guarantee that the Exchange or Completion of your conveyancing transaction will take place by a specified date or within a specified time limit. The nature of the muveFast guarantee that we make to you is that we will target an exchange date (the ‘Target Date’) and we guarantee to discount your fees (the ‘Guarantee’), according to the formula below if the Target Date is not achieved. It is very important for us to stress that any guarantee we make relates solely to the discount to your fees and never to achieving a specific date for Exchange or Completion of your transaction.

Under the Guarantee, we will agree a Target Date with you, which will be a set number of working days – 25 for a freehold property and 40 for a leasehold property – from the Start Date (as defined below). Our Guarantee is such that for each whole week (compromised of five business days) that we miss the Target Date, the muveFast fee will be discounted by £100 + VAT, up to a maximum discount of the full muveFast fee.

While we cannot control all the factors that affect the speed of your transaction, we can influence many of them, such that our efforts improve the chance of meeting the Target Date. However, in making our Guarantee, we also require that you use your best endeavours to minimise the time spent by promptly providing documents to us and by chasing other parties where it will be helpful to do so.

The following further conditions apply to the operation of the Guarantee:

The Target Date will be an agreed number of days from the date that the last of the following documents have been provided to us: initial deposit, electronic ID verification, completed Client Care Letter and Client Questionnaire, Property Information Forms (sale cases only), Source of Funds questionnaire (purchase cases only), Memorandum of Sale (this date is the ‘Start Date’);
Where you are using a mortgage to purchase a property, you have 15 working days from the Start Date for the Mortgage Offer to be provided to us by your lender, following which the Target Date will extend by one working day for each working day the Mortgage Offer is further delayed;
Where we require signed documents from you, e.g. Contract, Transfer form, Mortgage Deed, we ask that you return these to us within 2 working days (if you are going to be out of the country, or away from email access and a printer, please notify us in advance since we reserve the right to cancel the Guarantee should you fail to meet these obligations);
Once we near exchange, we will ask you to confirm that you are ready to exchange and we require that you use best endeavours to provide such authority as soon as possible;
In the event that there is a chain of properties linked to your transaction, the Target Date applies to us being ready to Exchange (rather than actual Exchange);
In the event that you have a related transaction, both transactions must be instructed as muveFast for the Guarantee to apply equally. The only exception will be if your transactions are not required to complete on the same date;
The following instruction types are excluded from the Guarantee:

- New Build properties;
- Lease extensions;
- Deeds of Variations, and;
- Properties with interim charging orders on the title register.

- Unregistered Land;
- Leasehold properties within the scope of the Building Safety Act 2022;
- Transactions linked to ongoing divorce proceedings.

If the Guarantee ceases to apply and you do proceed to completion with your property transaction, the full muveFast fee will apply regardless of the timeline achieved.

Our Guarantee is such that if the Target Date cannot be achieved (subject to the conditions above) you can either:

9. Sale Ready and Sale Ready Plus

Sale Ready and Sale Ready Plus only applies to those clients who have purchased our Sale Ready or Sale Ready Plus service.

The purpose of the service is to initiate completion of documentation and conduct a review of that documentation prior to the agent marketing your property or your property being placed ‘under offer’ that would otherwise not take place until after the property was under offer.

Specifically, the Sale Ready and Sale Ready Plus service includes:

Arranging for you to complete your ID/AML verification report (depending on the agreement we have in place with your agent and if agreed with you, we may share the initial result of the ID/AML report with your estate agent so you do not need to repeat it). Please note that we reserve the right to request further or up to date evidence from you, as appropriate.
Completion of the Protocol Forms
Downloading the EPC
Downloading the property Title Information Document and any other title documents included in your title as appropriate
Requesting Management Pack from your Landlord and/or Management Company (if applicable)
Draft the Contract Pack for your future buyer (but note this cannot be completed until the property is under offer and we have received the Memorandum of Sale from your agent and confirmation of instructions from your buyers conveyancer)

In addition to the above, Sale Ready Plus includes:

– a review of the Protocol Forms, Title Information Document(s) and any Management Pack(s) to identify where any additional documents may be required as supporting evidence and/or to advise you on and seek to resolve any potential issues likely to be raised by your buyer’s conveyancer (subject to your instructions though please note that the work involved in resolving those issues may incur additional charges which shall be notified to you in advance).

For the purposes of Clause 10 of these Terms of Business (“Abortive Transactions”) please note that the No Move No Fee Guarantee does not apply to Sale Ready and Sale Ready Plus such that we are entitled to retain all monies initially paid by you on account to cover the cost of disbursements, file setup fee and all legal work conducted as part of the Sale Ready and Sale Ready Plus service.

10. Abortive Transactions

For a muveForward or muveFirst case with the No Move No Fee Guarantee, if the transaction does not proceed to completion, no legal fee will be charged to you for the work done to that point, but you will be responsible for paying the non-refundable file set-up fee and any disbursements that have been incurred.

For a muveFast case, in the event that a transaction becomes abortive within and no more than 14 days from instruction, and providing you have not signed the Client Care Letter and Terms of Business, we will not charge the initial money on account you have paid to cover the file set-up and legal fees for any work that we have carried out. However, we will still charge for any incurred disbursements from the initial quote we provided to you (covering such items as Land Registry Official Copies and the search pack). In the event that additional disbursements were incurred prior to the case aborting (such as management packs or additional searches), you will be responsible for paying those costs (i.e. all disbursement related costs).

11. Charges, Expenses & VAT

Our quote sets out the anticipated fees and disbursements to cover the expected work involved in the proposed transaction. The quotation is based on a straightforward matter, but some cases can be substantially more complex or have unexpected issues. In those instances additional conveyancing services may be required to complete your case and these will be communicated to you.

If you need us to provide additional conveyancing services alongside your transaction, you can see a comprehensive list of these together with pricing at the below link:
https://muve.me.uk/services/additional-conveyancing-services. Any additional fees charged shall be at the rate pertaining to the date the fee was notified to you as applying to your transaction.

In due course we will send you an invoice and statement showing all our charges and expenses payment of which is required by the date set for Completion. If sufficient funds are available at Completion and we have sent you an invoice and completion statement, we will deduct monies due from such funds on Completion. If we do not hold cleared funds to cover monies due under our invoice/statement immediately prior to the proposed completion date, we reserve the right to suspend working on your matter. We will notify you if that becomes necessary.

Please remember that this firm does not accept payment in cash under any circumstances and that if you have any query over our invoice or statement you should contact the person dealing with your work straight away. Where we have to pay money to you it will be paid by cheque or bank transfer. It will not be paid in cash or to a third party.

Our vat number is 234 6752 01.

12. Commission

In the event that we become entitled to commission from a third party during the course of the transaction, we will write to you to obtain your consent to our retaining the commission. For example, this might occur in the event that it is necessary to obtain a defective title insurance policy to support your title and the insurer may pay a commission to us for placing the policy with them. This provision on commissions does not apply to administrative or other charges which we levy for the arrangement of certain third-party services, such as the arrangement of indemnity insurance.

13. Interest

It is not the firm’s practice to hold substantial sums of client money for any significant period. Therefore, due to the administrative and economic cost of calculating interest amounts on client money we do not pay interest on money held in client account, though we will entertain requests from clients in exceptional circumstances. Please note therefore that in signing these Terms of Business you are explicitly contracting out of the provisions in the CLC Accounts Code governing the payment to clients of interest on client money held in our client account. If you do not wish this clause of the Terms of Business to apply in your case you must contact us at the earliest opportunity.

14. Referral Arrangements

We may pay a referral fee for work which is referred to us by third parties such as estate agents. Such fees will usually be required by the third party as a condition of passing the referral to us. In such a situation we will inform you in our Client Care Letter and will tell you what fee we have paid. The advice which we give to you will be independent and we will treat you in exactly the same manner as any other client. You are free to raise questions on all aspects of the transaction and any information which you disclose to us will be treated as confidential and will not be disclosed to the referrer or to any other third party without your consent. We will not act for the referrer in connection with the same transaction and you are under no obligation to instruct us in connection with the transaction. Please also note that we may share customer personal data and case progression updates with the referrer in question.

15. Storage of Papers and Deeds

Upon receiving payment in respect of our final invoice, our policy is to store your file without cost to you for a period of up to 15 years (for a Purchase file), and a period of up to 6 years (for a Sale file), after which it will automatically be destroyed. “Store” means either (at our option) the simple storage of any paper on the file or scanning that paper and retaining it electronically (and destroying the paper immediately thereafter).

Information gathered electronically in the course of the transaction will continue to be so stored.

By instructing us to act on your behalf, you thereby expressly consent to us destroying your file as set out above unless you notify us otherwise. Naturally we will not destroy documents which you have asked us to retain in safe custody.

If you do not want your file to be destroyed after completion of your matter, you may collect your file from us provided you notify us in writing before or at the time of making payment of our final invoice, or you may ask us to retain the entire file for a specified period beyond the minimum retention period upon payment of a sum in respect of reasonable storage charges (details available upon request).

If you require a copy of any document after completion of your matter, we reserve the right to make a modest charge for its retrieval and supply.

These provisions on storage and the fees that may be charged do not apply to any separate paid for services which we offer for the retention of client documents beyond those related to a specific transaction or matter. Such services are offered on separate terms and conditions.

16. Limitations on Liability

Please note the following points concerning the limits to our liability to you. Please ask if you would like any term to be explained to you.

Any work that we do for you may involve tax implications or necessitate the consideration of tax planning strategies. We will not advise you on the tax implications of a transaction or the likelihood of them arising. If you have concerns in this respect, please raise them with us immediately.
We will not be liable to you for any loss, damage or delay arising out of the firm’s compliance with any statutory or regulatory requirement. Equally, we will not be liable for any consequential, special, indirect or exemplary damages, costs or losses or any damages costs or losses attributable to lost profits or opportunities.
We will not be liable to you for any loss arising as a result of non-application of the aforementioned Building Safety Act 2022 or for the inability to secure lending as a result of a decision made by the lender in relation to building safety and further, for the inaccuracy of any information provided in connection with the property and any remediation costs pursuant to the Act
Our liability in the event of a professional negligence or other claim is limited to £2,000,000. Our liability shall not be limited in relation to any matter for which we are unable to limit our liability by law such as death or personal injury caused by our negligence.
We will not be liable for any consequential, special, indirect or exemplary damages, costs or losses, or any damages, costs or losses attributable to lost chances or opportunities resulting from delay to your transaction or for any other reason. We can only limit our liability to the extent the law allows. In particular, we cannot limit our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence.
Whilst we endeavour to ensure that our email and attachments are checked by virus detection software no liability is accepted for any loss or damage caused by viruses emanating from or relayed to you by this firm.
We assume no responsibility for any critical date in any transaction, meaning thereby a deadline that you may have imposed for the completion of a part or the entirety of the transaction.
Unless otherwise agreed by us in writing, if we receive any sums to hold on your behalf (whether received directly from you or from a third party) then we may deposit such money into an account or accounts with any bank or financial institution (a “deposit provider” which expression shall include bank, financial institution or clearing house through which transfers are made) of our choosing. We confirm that we comply with applicable laws and applicable rules of our regulatory authority in respect of the making of any such deposits.
We shall not be liable for any loss which you or any third party may suffer in connection with the insolvency of any deposit provider with whom we have deposited funds or through whom transfers are made.
If any deposit provider which holds money that we have deposited on your behalf becomes insolvent, you agree that we may, where applicable, disclose to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (“FSCS”) all relevant details in our possession about you and the money that we hold on your behalf with such a deposit provider. However, if you do not wish us to make any such disclosure, please notify us in writing. Please note that by withholding consent to our disclosure of your details to the FSCS in such circumstances, you may forfeit any right you may have to receive compensation from the FSCS. Further information regarding the FSCS can be found on their website www.fscs.org.uk

17. Email Communications and Cyber Crime

We will use email for communication with you. However, there are some specific issues of which you should be aware:

Communications over the internet are not secure in any respect whatsoever. You must guide us as to what should not be sent over the internet to you or on your behalf.
Emails do not always reach the intended recipient. We cannot guarantee that every email, sent or received, will reach the end user.

Whilst we take reasonable precautions against viruses by use of a firewall and virus checking software, we do not guarantee that our email correspondence will be free from viruses. If we are to communicate by email, it is on the basis that you will also take reasonable precautions to prevent and protect yourself from such viruses, hacking, or other harmful devices. If you provide us with an email address, we assume that you are happy for us to communicate with you via email and to store your emails.

Criminals now target law firms and their clients in order to try to divert your money to their bank account. Our bank details will not change during the course of a transaction and we will never change our bank account details via phone, email or letter. Bank details sent to you by email should always be double-checked even if they appear to come from us. Please check the address of any email that purports to be from us very carefully and always speak to a member of our staff if you have been sent bank details by us after the initial Client Care Letter we sent you.

We will not accept liability for any transfer or payment into an account other than that notified by you in the initial Client Care Letter we sent to you.

18. Termination

You have the right to withdraw your instructions, without charge, by notice in writing to us at any time within fourteen days of us receiving your instructions. Please note that this right will not cease if we start work within that time with your consent (see paragraph 1) but you will be responsible for any proportionate fees we have incurred.

You may terminate your instructions to us in writing at any time but we are entitled to keep all your papers and documents while any money is owing to us for fees or expenses. In addition, you do not own the entire contents of your file but only such material which is your property according to law and the rules of our regulatory body. We may decide to stop acting for you if we have good reason (e.g. if you do not pay an invoice or comply with our request for payment on account or there is a conflict of interest). A conflict of interest occurs when our duties to act in the best interests of two or more of our clients come into conflict, or where there is a significant risk that they may come into conflict.

We will also terminate the instructions where the relationship of trust and confidence between us has broken down for whatever reason. In particular, the making of rude or offensive statements to members of our staff is likely to result in us refusing to continue to act for you. We will give you reasonable notice that we will stop acting for you. If our instructions are terminated or we decide we must stop acting for you, you will pay our reasonable charges up to that point as set out in our Client Care Letter.

19. Exempt Insurance Mediation

Muve is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. However, we are included in the register maintained by the Financial Conduct Authority so that we can carry on Insurance Distribution Activities, which is broadly advising on, selling and administration of insurance contracts. This part of our business is regulated by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, and arrangements for complaints or redress if something goes wrong are subject to the jurisdiction of the Legal Ombudsman (www.legal.ombudsman.org.uk). The register can be accessed via the Financial Conduct Authority website at https://register.fca.org.uk/s/.

The Council for Licensed Conveyancers is a designated professional body for the purposes of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Its address is:

Council for Licensed Conveyancers WeWork, 131 Finsbury Pavement London EC2A 1NT

The Legal Ombudsman is the independent complaints handling body who will investigate complaints made against us. If you are unhappy with any insurance advice you receive from us, you have a right to raise your concerns with either of those bodies.

20. Data Protection

We use the information you provide primarily for the provision of legal services to you and for related purposes including updating and enhancing client records, analysis to help us manage our practice, statutory returns and legal or regulatory compliance.

Our use of that information is subject to your instructions, the Data Protection Act 1998, the GDPR, and our duty of confidentiality. Please note that in order to provide legal services to you we may be required to give information to third parties e.g. defective title insurers, estate agents, and the solicitors for the other party. You have the right of access under data protection legislation to the personal data that we hold about you.

We may from time to time send you information which we think may be of legitimate interest to you e.g., of a chartered surveyor. If you do not want to receive that information please notify our office in writing.

By signing and agreeing these Terms and Conditions you consent to Muve transferring your personal data to a jurisdiction that does not provide the same level of data protection as the UK. This is for the purpose of allowing a specialist team in Sri Lanka to provide legal, account management, and administrative capability to Muve’s operations in the UK. Please be assured that we apply extremely strict controls to any personal data that may be transferred and processed in this way and we take all reasonable steps to protect your personal data at all times. Please also note that external firms or organisations may conduct audit or quality checks on our practice, for example audits by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers. This is designed to ensure the very highest possible standards of service to our clients, These external firms and organisations are required to maintain confidentiality in relation to your file(s). Finally, please be aware that all calls both incoming and outbound are recorded for training and development purposes, which enables us to improve our services to our clients. This data may be passed to third parties for the purposes of specialist analysis. Any such passage of data is strictly controlled in line with our GDPR and Cyber Security obligations to ensure that your data is always protected. By signing the Terms of Business, you are providing consent in this regard. As all calls are automatically recorded, should you prefer that we not record your calls, please inform us in writing so that we may communicate by email only.

21. Proof of Identity, Funds and Confidentiality

We must by law obtain satisfactory evidence of your identity and address. The same will also be required for anyone who is gifting you money to help with the purchase of a property. Please help us to do so by giving us the information and documentation we ask for. We are unable to proceed with your transaction and will not be able to exchange contracts until this has been provided.

We must by law obtain proof that the funds which are being used by you to fund your conveyancing transaction do not result from criminal or other illegal activity. This applies also to funds coming from a third party in the form of a gift. Please note that if we are not satisfied that we have been provided with sufficient proof of funds, we will not refund any sums that we have incurred as disbursements up to that point (for example in requesting Searches or Title Documents in relation to the transaction). Please note also that funds originating outside the UK may take additional time to verify.

We are under a general professional and legal obligation to keep your affairs private. However, we are required, by current legislation, to make a report to the National Crime Agency (NCA) where we know or suspect that a transaction involves Money Laundering or Terrorist Financing. By instructing us to act on your behalf in accordance with these terms of engagement you give us irrevocable authority to make a disclosure to NCA if we consider it appropriate.

22. Equality and Diversity

This firm is very committed to promoting equality and diversity in all of its dealings with clients, third parties and employees. Please contact us if you would like a copy of our equality and diversity policy.

23. Miscellaneous Terms

Where you the client are an individual consumer only: your statutory rights are not affected by any of these terms and conditions. Further information on your statutory rights can be obtained from any Solicitor, Trading Standards Office or Citizens Advice Bureau.

In accordance with the disclosure requirements of The Provision of Services Regulations 2009, our professional indemnity insurance is organised by Miller Insurance Services LLP of 70 Mark Lane, London EC3R 7NQ. The territorial coverage of our policy is England & Wales.

You have the right to use copies of materials we create for you for the particular purpose for which they were prepared. However, all copyright remains with us and you must obtain our permission if you wish to use copies of these materials for any other purposes.

This firm’s services are provided solely for your benefit as our client, and our terms of business are enforceable only by you and us, and not by any third party. This firm has no duty to or responsibility towards any other person (unless that person is also a client of ours), even if the objective of your instructions is to benefit a third party.

If any provision of these terms of business is invalid or unenforceable for any reason that shall not affect the remainder of our agreement with you.

These terms of business are governed by English Law, and any dispute between you and us shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

In any situation where there is a direct conflict between the provisions in these Terms of Business and the provisions in the firm’s Client Care Letter these Terms of Business shall take precedence.

24. Entire Agreement

This firm’s Terms of Business together with the Client Care Letter supersede any and all other prior understandings and agreements, either oral or in writing, between us with respect to our provision of services to you. These Terms and the Client Care Letter constitute the sole and only agreement between us with respect to our supply of legal services to you. You acknowledge that no representations, inducements, promises, or agreements, orally or otherwise, have been made to you by us, which are not embodied in these Terms and the Client Care Letter, and that any statement or promise that is not contained in these Terms or the Client Care Letter shall not be valid or binding or of any force or legal effect.

25. Cancellation – Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013

You have a right to cancel your instructions. As a 14-day cancellation period applies, we are unable to start work until the cancellation period expires, unless you expressly request us to do so. By signing the Client Care Letter, you are explicitly agreeing that we can start work straight away, before the end of any cancellation period, and expend the funds you have paid on account for fees and disbursements. You are also acknowledging that in these circumstances you will lose any right to cancel the contract if the service has been fully performed within the 14-day cancellation period (although it will almost always take longer than fourteen days to complete a conveyance, particularly where a chain is involved, and so this is very unlikely). If we do start work and you then cancel your instructions during the cancellation period, you will be responsible for any proportionate fees we have reasonably incurred up to the point of cancellation.

26. Investment Advice

We are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. If, whilst we are acting for you, you need advice on investments we may have to refer you to someone who is authorised to provide the necessary advice.

27. Complaints

We are committed to providing a high-quality service to all our clients. Any complaint by a client is a serious matter and is dealt with promptly. We will fully investigate the circumstances of the complaint and the issues that are raised. We will use the results of the investigation to help prevent any further similar complaints and to put in place systems and procedures which will ensure improvements. We have a procedure for dealing with issues and feedback that arise from clients.

Any complaint is referred by the person handling your case to our Complaints and Feedback team. You also retain the right to send us your complaint to the following email address: feedback@muve.me.uk. Should your complaint be one that can be resolved easily, such as a call back request or a request for an update, our Complaints and Feedback team are ready to assist you quickly and efficiently. However, should your complaint be of a more complex nature, where you prefer to fill out an official complaint form, please do let us know and we will send you the form to help begin the formal complaint handling request.

All complaints are recorded on our central register. Once a complaint is received, we will acknowledge, investigate and respond to you with our findings, while proposing a reasonable resolution. However, there are certain circumstances where a clear resolution may not be reachable at operational level and as such must be then escalated to Head of Legal Practice; David Jabbari. In the unlikely event that the complaint cannot be resolved at this stage, you are in your rights to escalate your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, providing the complaint cannot be resolved within 8 weeks of initial notification to us in the form of a Formal complaint.

Please do note that Muve always believes that our customers come first. Do rest assured that we will endeavour to do everything in our power to provide you with a satisfactory and reasonable resolution to your complaint within the 8 week timeframe.

What will happen next?

We will deal with your complaint in accordance with our internal standard for dealing with client communications. Professional guidelines ensure this process must be completed within 8 weeks; however it is our aim to resolve the complaint to your satisfaction as promptly as possible. We will respond as follows:

We will send you a copy of this procedure, and an acknowledgement of your complaint providing you with confirmation of who will be dealing with your complaint;
At this stage we may provide you with a response to your complaint. If we cannot do so because we feel further investigation of your complaint is required, we will advise you of this and will provide you with a timeframe detailing when you should expect to receive our substantive response;
After our investigation we will send you our substantive response to your complaint. This will include suggestions for resolving the matter;
If you are still not satisfied at this stage you can write to us again. Your complaint will then be escalated to our Head of Legal Practice who will review your complaint:

David Jabbari
Connect2Law Ltd t/a Muve
Parkshot House 5
Kew Road
Richmond TW9 2PR.
david.jabbari@muve.me.uk

We will let you know the result of the review upon its completion. At this time we will write to you, confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons;
If you are still not satisfied with our final response, you have the right to contact the Legal Ombudsman about your complaint. You have 6 months from the date you receive our final written response to raise your complaint with the Legal Ombudsman.

The Legal Ombudsman will accept complaints up until 1 year after the date of the act/omission or 1 year after you should have become aware of the problem. The Legal Ombudsman will not accept complaints where the act or date of awareness was before October 2010.

The contact details for the Legal Ombudsman are:

Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6806
Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ
Telephone: 0300 555 0333
Minicom: 0300 555 1777
Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

European ADR Scheme

Please note also the existence of the European ADR Scheme. This is a web-based platform developed by the European Commission. Its objective is to help consumers and traders resolve their contractual disputes about

purchases of goods and services out-of-court at a low cost in a simple and fast way. Information can be found at:

https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/main/index.cfm?event=main.home.show&lng= EN

In relation to personal data provided to us in the course of a complaint, and which will enable us to deal effectively with the complaint, this data will be processed in compliance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998 and the GDPR 2016.

If you make a valid claim against us for a loss arising out of work for which we are legally responsible, and we are unable to meet our liability in full, you may be entitled to claim from the Compensation Fund administered by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (from whom details can be obtained).

FestiveFast Terms and Conditions

The following terms relate specifically to the FestiveFast service and our Terms of Business are to beread as incorporating these terms. Where our Terms of Business reference or imply reference to themuveFast Guarantee, these FestiveFast terms are to be taken as replacing any such reference.

While Muve is committed to transforming the speed of conveyancing, it is important to note that wemake no guarantee that the Exchange of Contracts or Completion of your conveyancing transactionwill take place by a specified date or within a specified time limit.

Definitions
1. Assessment Fee: £150 plus VAT (representing 25% of the Fast Fee). This is only applicable insome instances if the transaction cannot proceed under the FestiveFast service as identifiedduring the Assessment Stage
2. Assessment Stage: The period starting from the day after the Instruction Date and ending at11.59pm on the 10th working day thereafter
3. Completion/Completion Date: The date agreed between the parties by way of Exchange ofContracts to complete the sale and/or purchase transaction
4. Exchange of Contracts: When the Agreement to sell or purchase the subject property isformally entered and becomes legally binding on the seller and buyer. The exchanged contractwill fix the Completion Date
5. Excluded Transactions:
  1. You are acting by Enduring or Lasting Power of Attorney and the registered Power isnot due to be available by 9 December 2024 (evidence of the power, application andproposed registration date shall be required in advance)
  2. You are acting by Grant of Representation but the Grant has not yet been issued byHM Courts and Tribunal Service. If the application for the Grant was submitted by alaw firm who confirms the Grant shall be available by 9 December 2024 then thisclause shall not apply
  3. We do not have instructions from all registered proprietors or their legalrepresentatives
  4. The subject property forms part of a Relevant Building for the purposes of the BuildingSafety Act (5 storeys or above)
  5. The property is not registered at HM Land Registry or your ownership has not beenregistered
  6. The other party or parties in the chain have informed you they are unable to completeby the Target Date
  7. The property is within a new build development and construction has not yetconcluded
  8. You reside in a country designated as high risk by the Financial Action Task Forceand/or you are using money accrued in or connected with a high risk country towardsthe purchase price, in full or in part
  9. Your sale is dependant on you purchasing a property but you have not providedinstructions within the cut-off time for our FestiveFast service
  10. Your purchase is dependant on you selling your property but you have not providedinstructions within the cut-off time for our FestiveFast service
  11. Any transaction where the circumstances are considered unusual or particularlycomplex (from that of a regular, residential sale and purchase transaction) and weinform you at the quote stage that FestiveFast is not appropriate to your circumstances
6. Fast Fee: £600 plus VAT being the uplift on our base legal fee noted on your quote
7. Instruction Date: the date when we receive the signed acceptance of these Terms togetherwith our signed Client Care letter incorporating our standard Terms of Business
8. Target Date: Monday 23 December 2024
The FestiveFast Guarantee:
1. The FestiveFast Guarantee only applies to those clients who have purchased our FestiveFastconveyancing service. The legal fee for the FestiveFast service is based on our regular legal feesas quoted plus the Fast Fee
2. The nature of the FestiveFast Guarantee that we make to you is that we will aim to give youthe best opportunity of achieving Completion by the Target Date and we guarantee to discountyour fees by waiving the Fast Fee if the Target Date is not achieved subject to the terms andconditions below. Please be aware that this opportunity arises by us conducting as detailed an assessment aspossible of your transaction during the first two weeks of the Instruction Date and this isdependant on you providing us with accurate information at the quotation stage. It is very important for us to stress that any guarantee we make relates solely to the discount toyour fees and never to achieving a specific date for Exchange of Contracts or Completion ofyour transaction.
3. Our FestiveFast Guarantee is such that:
  1. during the Assessment Stage we shall conduct a detailed assessment of your transactionto:
    1. establish the length of the chain (that is the number of transactions dependenton your sale and/or purchase)
    2. the accuracy of information available during the quote stage to ensure thetransaction is not an Excluded Transaction (please note that in some purchasetransactions, where we do not receive information from the seller’s conveyancerwithin five working days of the Instruction Date, we will conduct a check of theLand Registry property register for the property. This is a chargeabledisbursement to you of between £3-£15)
    3. any complexities, which you may or may not have known about during the quotestage that may lead to potential delays.
  2. if, during or by the end of the Assessment Stage we inform you that we are aware offactors that make it extremely unlikely that the Target Date shall be achieved or that theTarget Date cannot be achieved as a result of complexities or issues outside of our control orthat the transaction is an Excluded Transaction, then the following shall apply:
    1. you continue with muveFast (but not FestiveFast) such that we agree abespoke target date for Exchange of Contracts and the regular muveFast terms apply;
    2. you continue with our regular conveyancing service as already quoted but theFast Fee shall not apply (and nor shall the FestiveFast terms herein) save that we are entitledto charge the Assessment Fee
    3. you cancel your instruction with us and we are entitled to charge theAssessment Fee together with the file opening fee and disbursements as outlined in ourstandard Terms of Business for abortive instructions
  3. If, at any time during the transaction after the Assessment Stage but prior to Exchangeof Contracts:
    1. you cancel the instruction (including as a result of your sale and purchasefalling through) then the terms herein no longer apply save that we shall invoice you for thebalance of monies held on your client account (for the avoidance of doubt, this relates only tothe initial payment made by you on instruction or for any additional fees for legal workconducted but not any payment towards the purchase deposit or mortgage redemption, forexample) in respect of time and costs incurred to that point.
    2. you have failed to comply with any of the Conditions noted herein then theFast Fee shall continue to apply even if the Target Date is not achieved
    3. you change your mind and decide you no longer want to Complete by theTarget Date the Fast Fee shall remain payable notwithstanding that Completion may not takeplace by the Target Date
    4. provided clauses 2.3.2 – 2.3.3(iii) do not apply, if we become aware of factorsthat mean Completion will not take place by the Target Date but you continue with yourinstruction then the FestiveFast Guarantee shall apply and you will not be charged the FastFee
  4. If you wish to cancel your instruction at any time after Exchange of Contracts our full legalfees including the Fast Fee are payable
  5. Notwithstanding any alternative service that we offer to you, if Completion is achievedby the Target Date the full Fast Fee remains payable and due to Muve
  6. For the avoidance of doubt, the No Move No Fee guarantee does not apply to FestiveFastor any subsequent service connected with this transaction
Conditions:
1. While we cannot control all the factors that affect the speed of your transaction, we caninfluence many of them, such that our efforts improve the chance of you moving before theTarget Date. However, in making our Guarantee, we also require that you use your bestendeavours to be responsive to any instructions we may require from you and to assist us bychasing third parties where it will be helpful and appropriate for you to do so as we mayrequest.
2. In order for the FestiveFast Guarantee to apply you agree:
  1. Where it is a sale transaction, that you are the registered proprietor of the property youare selling or that you will provide the evidence required to legally act on behalf of theregistered proprietor(s) in accordance with the timeframes set out herein (see above‘Excluded Transactions’)
  2. Where it is a purchase transaction, that you are entitled to purchase a property in Englandand Wales and that you have sufficient funds or have made appropriate mortgagearrangements to proceed with the purchase
  3. To the full use of electronic communication between us including, but not limited to,sending and receiving emails and your use of the Muve Portal
  4. To ensure your mortgage provider issues the ‘Solicitors Copy’ of your mortgage offer (ifapplicable) to us by 29 November 2024
  5. To ensure all documents we send to you for completion and signature are completed,signed and returned to us within 48 hours of being sent (or such other timeframe as wemay agree with you but this does not confer any obligation on us to do so). Where possible,we will provide you with documents to be signed electronically (including via Docusign),except where we are prohibited from doing so
  6. To provide full instructions, replies to any enquires and any requested documentation thatis within your control within 48 hours of request (or such other timeframe as we may agreewith you but this does not confer any obligation on us to do so)
  7. To use Thirdfort (or such other equivalent service provider) for identification and sourceof funds verification (incorporating open banking) where possible. If you are excluded fromusing Thirdfort (due to your location, for example) you will provide all relevantidentification and source of funds documents within 48 hours of request (or such othertimeframe as we may agree with you but this does not confer any obligation on us to doso). It will remain your responsibility to arrange for any documentation to be notarised orcertified and sent to us, if applicable. Please note that this condition also applies to anyDonors/Giftors/private lenders or any other party where we are obliged to obtainidentification and/or source of funds verification.
  8. To authorise muve to proceed by way of a ‘no-search indemnity’ where we are notified ofa delay in obtaining searches, provided it is acceptable by your mortgage provider (if any)
3. Your transaction is not an Excluded Transaction.
Additional points to note:
1. An expedition fee of £175 plus VAT will apply if completion is in a period of less than 5 workingdays from exchange. This fee will not apply to any cases required to exchange and completebetween 16 - 23 December 2024 inclusive
2. While it is extremely rare, please note that if for any reason Completion does not take placeon the agreed Completion Date (such as default by the other party), the terms of the salecontract that you will enter with the other party allow for Completion to take place at any timethe parties are ready and able within 10 working days from the original Completion Date. Thismay mean that actual completion takes place after the Target Date. Provided the default is notas a direct result of any error by Muve, the Fast Fee shall continue to apply

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