This page explains the basis on which we will carry out our work with you. We will sometimes send you a printed form, but we may also send you a link to this page. These Terms and Conditions apply to all of the work that we carry out for you from the date that you are sent the link or from the date that you are sent a printed copy.
These terms and conditions were last updated on 30 March 2026.
As from 1 April 2010 all work the Firm does for its Clients is governed by these terms and conditions and any agreed written variation.
Ashworths Solicitors LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales under registered number OC351692.
Its registered address is The Old Exchange 12 Compton Road Wimbledon London SW19 7QD.
Your relationship is solely with Ashworths Solicitors LLP, and the LLP has sole legal liability for the work done for you and for any act or omission in the course of that work. No member, consultant or employee of the LLP will have any personal legal liability for that work whether in contract, tort or negligence. In particular, the fact that an individual member, consultant or employee signs in his or her own name any letter or other document in the course of carrying out that work does not mean he or she is assuming any personal legal liability for that letter or document.
We use the word ‘partner’ to refer to a member of the LLP, or an employee or consultant with equivalent standing and qualifications.
No reference to a ‘partner’ is to imply that any person is carrying on business with others in partnership for the purposes of the Partnership Act 1890.
The nature of the work that we carry out for you and the scope of our retainer will be set out in the Costs Information Sheet.
Please be aware that we may be able to give basic tax advice if specifically requested to do so, but we are unlikely to have sufficient detail of your financial affairs to be able to advise whether the work that we are undertaking is tax efficient. If you have any doubt about the taxation aspect of the work that we are carrying out it is recommended that you speak to your accountant or other tax adviser.
We are not planning lawyers and we will never provide advice about the likelihood of you achieving planning consent for a particular project or scheme.
We are not able to and will never provide financial advice.
The Costs Information Sheet that we send you from time to time will set out details of who will be dealing with your work from time to time. It will also confirm their status and give details of who supervises their work. The person who deals with your work is referred to as your Case Handler.
You have the direct dial telephone number for your Case Handler. If they are unavailable, please leave a message on their voicemail or with a secretary. You also have their direct email address.
We will try to avoid changing the people who handle your work but if this cannot be avoided, we will inform you promptly who will be handling the matter (and why the change was necessary).
At the outset of a matter, we will have been able to agree as far as possible the work which we are to undertake on your behalf and will give you an estimate of the total time which we think this will take, and the total charges which we envisage will apply, including any disbursements (ie. payments to be made to third parties in connection with its work) to the extent that we are able to do so. Please note that our quotation is set out in the Costs Information Sheet.
You may at any stage set an upper limit for the amount we are able to charge you, by notice in writing to us. Once we have done work whose value is up to that limit, we will cease to do any further work, unless you authorises us to proceed.
In some cases, it may be more appropriate for us to agree a fixed fee with you. In such a case the amount charged will not vary accordingly to the amount of work done. This is contained in the Costs Information Sheet.
The Costs Information Sheet will identify if a fee is only payable upon the successful completion of the matter. In any event all disbursements incurred to date are payable by you whether or not a matter proceeds to a successful completion.
If any unexpected extra work becomes necessary, we will agree with you what the nature and extent of that work is, and the reasons why it is outside the scope of what it originally agreed. We will give a supplementary estimate of the likely costs of the extra work and agree with you before commencing the work. If we cannot reach an agreement we will not be able to carry out the extra elements. If that prevents progress being made with the main work, and that has to cease, we will be entitled to be paid for the work done to date according to the above principles.
Our charges for non-contentious work will be governed by the Solicitors’ (Non-Contentious Business) Remuneration Order 2009 which provides for Solicitors’ remuneration to be “fair and reasonable”. A copy will be supplied on request.
Where non-contentious business is particularly complex or involves substantial value or responsibility there may be an additional element in the fee to reflect this.
Following the issue of court proceedings charges are governed by the Solicitors Act 1974 which provides for the Court in the event of adjudication to decide what charges are reasonable, a procedure known as taxation.
In all other cases prior to the issue of court proceedings charges are governed by the principles set out above.
If successful in litigation, the Firm’s Client may be entitled to recover costs from the other party to the proceedings. However, the Court’s taxation of these costs rarely results in a full recovery by the successful Client. In those circumstances Clients are responsible for the payment for any shortfall to the Firm. If the other party is funded by the Legal Services Commission (formally “Legal Aid”), no costs are likely to be recovered.
Costs awarded against the other party may attract interest from the date of the Court’s order to the extent that the Client has paid the Firm’s fees and disbursements, the Firm will account to the Client for any interest paid by the other party, but will otherwise be entitled to retain it.
The Client may be liable for his or her own costs even if they are 100% successful.
The amount recovered from the opponent will be taken to discharge the Firm’s costs before being paid to the Client.
If the Client withdraws from the action he or she will be responsible for their own costs as well as those of their opponent.
If the case is funded by an insurer the Firm is under a duty to report the prospects of success and as a result of that report funding may be withdrawn.
A costs order does not mean automatic recovery of the Client’s costs as the opponent may not be able to pay and enforcement proceedings will then cost extra.
The Client is liable for their opponent’s costs in addition to their own costs even if he or she loses.
Where the opponent makes a payment into Court of part of the Client’s claim, if that payment is not accepted and the final judgment is for the same amount or a lesser amount, then the Client will have to pay the opponent’s costs from the date of payment in addition to the Client’s own costs.
As you would expect, the use of digital technology is key to being able to provide our clients with a fast and efficient service which is easy for everyone to use. Where it can be avoided, we never use paper-based forms and deal with everything that we can using online services.
Common examples of these are:
our own “on boarding” forms;
the third-party ID verification products that we use such as InfoTrack and ThirdFort;
the online Property Information Forms that we use for residential conveyancing transactions; and
electronic signing platforms such as DocuSign.
Whilst this technology is mostly very convenient, it does come at a cost. Often this cost is difficult to predict as our software vendors not only frequently change their individual prices, but often alter their whole pricing structure. This is making it increasingly difficult to provide accurate costs estimates at the start of each transaction, and also makes it difficult accurately pass on “item by item” costs.
We have therefore made a decision that in future we will provide our clients with an “all inclusive” digital forms package which will be charged as a cost depending on the type of service that we are carrying out for you. This cost will attract VAT as it is a service that we provide to you. Your invoice will automatically include the following services if we provide them to you.
Stamp Duty Land Tax
If we electronically submit an SDLT return on your behalf we will make a charge of £75 plus VAT. This fee includes the cost not only of preparing the return and submitting it, but also includes any platform fees that we get charged by our software vendors. This, in fact, is not a new charge and we have been passing on this cost for a number of years.
DocuSign Charge
We use different electronic signing platforms depending on the circumstances and the nature of the transaction. Even within those platforms there can be different types of charges for different types of documents. It can also be difficult to identify in advance how many signing envelopes might be needed, and also charges might sometimes be accrued after an invoice has been prepared. If we do adopt electronic signing on your file we will make a one-off charge of £15 plus VAT. This fee includes the cost of not only preparing the documents for electronic signature, but also the platform fees that we get charged by our software vendors. This fee will cover all of the documents required as part of the transaction unless we agree otherwise (which will usually only be the case for complex commercial matters).
Electronic ID Charge
We use different third-party ID verification services depending on the circumstances, and they charge in different ways. Where we adopt third-party ID verification we will make a charge of £20 plus VAT per person. This fee includes the cost of not only preparing the ID verification request, but also the platform fees that we get charged by our software vendors.
Property Information Forms
If the service provider InfoTrack, is dealing also with your ID verification there will no longer be a charge for dealing with Property Information Forms. This is included in the £20 plus VAT electronic ID charge.
If, however, you do not need ID verification (for example, because we have only very recently acted for you) we will make a charge of £20 plus VAT per person for setting up the Property Information Form, Leasehold Information Form (where needed) and the Fittings and Contents Form. This fee includes the cost of not only preparing the forms, but also the platform fees that we get charged by our software vendors.
From time to time we may incur additional disbursements that are not anticipated when preparing the Costs Information Sheet. Typical examples would include courier fees or additional Land Registry fees if we need to renew a search or examine other titles. We will always try to advise you beforehand of this additional expenditure but by its very nature it will not always be possible to do so. In any event, however, we will need to pass these costs on to you.
In addition to the above, we charge a fee for providing other incidental services such as sending same day payments, retrieving old files and preparing Stamp Duty Land Transaction Returns. These charges are set out below (although they may not be appropriate to every transaction):
Domestic same day transfer: £40.00 plus VAT;
International bank transfer: £50.00 plus VAT;
Preparation of SDLT Return: £75.00 plus VAT;
Retrieval of old file: £30.00 plus VAT;
Returned payment: £20.00 plus VAT; and
Multiple incoming payments: £35.00 plus VAT.
Please note that these charges may not reflect the actual cost or charge to the firm.
We will inform you if any unforeseen extra work becomes necessary – for example, due to unexpected complexities or difficulties or if your requirements or the circumstances change significantly during the matter. We will also inform you in writing of the estimated cost of the extra work before incurring extra costs.
If this firm does not complete the work (usually because the transaction proves to be abortive), we will charge you for the work done and expenses incurred. The charge will be based on the time spent carrying out your instructions. Time spent on your affairs will include meetings with you; considering, preparing and working on papers; correspondence; and making and receiving telephone calls.
In the event that we need to charge on this basis we will charge you the hourly rate as set out in the Costs Information Sheet. In the event that your Case Handler is assisted by a colleague you should be aware that the hourly rate for different grades of case handler does vary. We will advise you of the appropriate hourly rate in this event.
Routine letters and routine telephone calls made and received will be charged in units of 1/10th of an hour. Our charges for considering routine letters received will be in units of 1/20th of an hour. Other letters and calls made and received will be charged for on a time basis.
On 1 April each year the hourly rate will be reviewed (to take account of changes in our overheads) and we will notify you in writing of any increased rate. If you have any query about the revised rates, please contact your Case Handler straight away.
We will discuss with you how you are to pay for our charges and expenses.
The Costs Information Sheet will set out the amount that we need from you before commencing work on your behalf. We will then pay expenses as they become due. We may request further payments on account of expenses as the matter progresses. These amounts will be shown as paid on your final bill.
We are able to accept funds from you by cheques (made payable to Ashworths Solicitors LLP), by electronic banking or by credit or debit card payment. Please telephone us for our bank details or if you wish to pay by credit or debit card (although we are no longer able to receive funds “on account” using a credit or debit card). Please note that a surcharge may apply to card payments.
We will pay you interest on sums that we hold on your behalf in our clients account at a rate of interest 0.35% lower than the rate that we obtain from our bank and only where the amount exceeds £95. Interest that is retained by is used to defray our administration costs in running the clients account.
Where the Bank of England base rate is 0.35% or lower we will not be able to pay you interest on the sums that we hold on your behalf. In the event that our bankers charge us for holding your funds (which may well happen if interest rates fall below 0.35%) then we reserve the right to charge a client account administration charge of £35.00 plus VAT for each transaction that we run through our client account (which charge may not reflect the actual cost or charge to the firm).
We are undertaking work on your behalf which is regulated work, as defined by the legislation governing money laundering, we will be obliged to carry out identity checks on you. We would ask you for your co-operation in this regard, if we are unable to complete these checks we will not be able to carry out works on your behalf.
It is important that you should understand that, in certain circumstances, the legislation referred to above may oblige us to report suspicions involving possible money laundering transaction to the authorities.
If, as a result of us complying with the terms of this legislation, we would be obliged to do, or refrain from doing, anything in relation to your work, then we shall not be liable for any consequence of that.
In accepting these Terms of Business you hereby authorise us to carry out electronic identity checks against your name(s). The fact that these checks have been performed may be disclosed in registered maintained by Credit Reference Agencies.
We are required to give you our initial assessment of any unusual level of risk or uncertainty for you in this matter. We will confirm the level of risk when confirming our fees on the Costs Information Sheet.
From time to time it is necessary to put in place a Legal Indemnities Insurance Policy to cover certain risks (such as the enforcement of restrictive covenants or the absence of buildings regulation consent). When this is the case we will discuss it with you. Should a policy be required we are happy to act on your behalf in arranging it.
We are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. However, we are included on the register maintained by the Financial Conduct Authority so that we can carry on insurance distribution activity, which is broadly the advising on, selling and administration of insurance contracts. This part of our business, including arrangements for complaints or redress if something goes wrong, is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The register can be accessed via the Financial Conduct Authority website at www.fca.gov.uk.
We select products from a limited number of insurers depending on the type of policy that is being arranged. We are not contractually obliged to conduct business in this way. Please ask us for a list of insurers.
We will usually send you a bill for our charges and expenses prior to the completion of the above transaction. Payment of the bill is due on or before completion.
If sufficient funds are available on completion and we have sent you a bill, we will usually deduct our charges from the funds.
If you do not pay our bill on completion payment is due to us within 28 days of our sending the bill to you. If you do not pay the bill within this time, we will charge you interest on it at 9% per year on a daily basis from the date on which payment of our bill is due.
If you have any query about the bill, you should contact your Case Handler straight away. The complaints procedure (below) applies to queries about your bill, and you may also have the right to object to your bill by applying for it to be assessed under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974.
Despite our best efforts we may make a mistake, by which we mean any breach of our duties to you. If we do, and are liable to compensate you, you agree that our liability is limited in the following respects:
We use the information you provide primarily for the provision of legal services to you and for related purposes including:
Our use of that information is subject to your instructions, data protection law and our duty of confidentiality.
Please note that our work for you may require us to pass on such information to third parties such as expert witnesses and other professional advisers, including sometimes advisers appointed by another party to your matter. We may also give such information to others who perform services for us, such as typing or photocopying. Our practice may be audited or checked by our accountants or our regulator, or by other organisations. We do not normally copy such information to anyone outside the European Economic Area, however we may do so however when the particular circumstances of your matter so require. All such third parties are required to maintain confidentiality in relation to your files.
You have a right of access under data protection law to the personal data that we hold about you. We seek to keep that personal data correct and up to date. You should let us know if you believe the information we hold about you needs to be corrected or updated.
The person responsible for data protection in this firm is Brendan Dean.
A copy of our Privacy Policy can be found by visiting: https://ashworthsbackup.qproduction.co.uk/privacy-policy/. This sets out details of the types of personal data that we collect about you, how your personal data is collected, how and why we use your personal data, who we share your data with and how long your personal data will be kept. Our Privacy Policy also sets out your rights and how you may complain about our use of your information.
We may receive personal data from you for the purposes of our money laundering checks, such as a copy of your passport. These will be processed only for the purposes of preventing money laundering and terrorist financing, or as otherwise permitted by law or with your express consent.
You consent to us retaining such data for longer than the five year statutory period, unless you tell us otherwise.
If you send us personal data about anyone other than yourself you will ensure you have any appropriate consents and notices in place to enable you to transfer that personal data to us, and so that we may use it for the purposes for which you provide it to us.
We may from time to time send you information which we think might be of interest to you (for example about legal developments or our other services). If you do not wish to receive that information please notify us, preferably in writing.
After completing the work, we are entitled to keep all your papers and documents while money is owing to us. We will keep our file of papers (except for any of your papers which you ask to be returned to you) for no more than sixteen years and on the understanding that we have your authority to destroy the file sixteen years after sending you our final bill. We will not destroy documents you ask us to deposit in safe custody.
We reserve the right to make a charge for retrieving stored papers or deeds in response to continuing or new instructions to act for you.
You may terminate your instructions to us in writing at any time. For example, you may decide you cannot give us clear or proper instructions on how to proceed, or you may lose confidence in our work.
We are entitled to keep all your papers and documents while money is owing to us.
We will decide to stop acting for you only with good reason and on giving you reasonable notice.
If you or we decide that we will stop acting for you, you will pay our charges on an hourly basis and expenses or as stated in any separate correspondence.
We are confident that we will give you a high quality service in all respects. However, if you have any queries or concerns about our work for you or about our bill, please take them up first with your Case Handler. If that does not resolve the problem to your satisfaction or you would prefer not to speak to your Case Handler, then please take it up with our client care partner who is Brendan Dean.
All firms of solicitors are obliged to attempt to resolve problems that clients may have with the service provided. It is therefore important that you immediately raise your concerns with us. We value you and would not wish to think you have any reason to be unhappy with us. We are required to inform you however that we do operate a formal complaints procedure, a copy of which is available upon request.
If you are not satisfied about our own handling of your complaint you can ask the Legal Ombudsman to consider the complaint. Their address is PO Box 6167 Slough SL1 0EH (Tel: 0300 555 0333). Normally you will need to bring a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving a final written response from us about your complaint (and no later than one year from the date of the act or omission being complained about or one year from the date when you should have realised that there was cause for complaint).
Your responsibilities to us include:
Your continuing instructions will amount to your acceptance of these terms of business.
Contact us today and our
team will be happy to assist
with your enquiry.
I can only recommend Ashworths. Been using them for
over 15 years, simply the best.”
Diana Greenham and her team at Ashworths have been fantastic in supporting and guiding us through the conveyancing requirements for our property. They were exceptionally thorough, efficient, and professional throughout the entire process, and always supportive and kind. Their expertise and ability to handle questions and resolve issues were truly impressive.
AM Feb 13, 2026
Ashworths are an excellent firm of solicitors. I have retained them on a number of property related sales. Their attention to detail was impressive as was their very personal style of service.
Davif Farrell Jan 12, 2026
In handling my commercial leases and property transactions, Brendan at Ashworths Solicitors has demonstrated an exceptional level of professionalism and expertise. He approaches every matter with precision, efficiency, and a clear focus on achieving…
Alex Winchester Jan 31, 2025
James Simmonds looked after the sale and purchase of properties for my mother with competence, efficiency and compassion. I would not hesitate to recommend his services and I hope to be able to use him again in due course.
Susannah Sykes Oct 19, 2025
Brendan carried out first class work with the sale of our property on a matter that was not straight forward. He clearly demonstrated the ability to make things happen whilst using clear instructions that get to the point and deliver results.
John Baxter Oct 14, 2025
Areej was fantastic she was always quick to respond, cheerful and incredibly clear. Her advice as informed and precise and her conduct was professional and accessible. Thank you so much!
Oscar Pearce Oct 12, 2025
Ashworths matched my needs exactly. Local, focused on property and represented owell. I have no hesitation recommending them.
John Simmonds Oct 8, 2025
I’ve always used Ashworths for all my properties since being a first time buyer, I simply wouldn’t go anywhere else. They are brilliant at what they do, knowledgeable, efficient, and I can always trust the team will do a top level job. I recommend them to all my friends.
Lucy Sep 29, 2025
Rated 4.6 on
