Question: Where will you keep my papers and my deeds?

Answer: In our self contained office. We have a fireproof safe and secure filing cabinets. (In exceptional cases we also have an arrangement for storing deeds and valuable items with our bank. We make no charge for keeping your deeds or your Will or your Power of Attorney.

Question: Who are H & R Hughes Solicitors LLP?

Answer: This is our Limited Liability Partnership. The members (“partners”) in the business are Hilary and Rod Hughes and Richard Penticost (all of whom have been partners in regional law firms for well over 20 years) and Clare Lane (who has over 15 years legal experience in Heathfield and Uckfield).

Question: Do you do court work?

Answer: Generally, no. We have close associations with a small number of other firms of solicitors who have good litigations teams experienced in particular court areas. We either work with them or put you in direct touch.

Question: How accessible are your offices?

Answer: We have a ground floor reception and meeting rooms.

Question: Will you visit me at my home or office?

Answer: Willingly.

Question: What are your office hours?

Answer: Normally 8.45am to 5.30pm and outside these hours (and at weekends where necessary) by prior appointment.

Question: Are you insured and regulated?

Answer: Yes. We carry £3million of professional indemnity insurance cover and are regulated and authorised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. We have also made arrangements for our files to be reviewed (subject to your approval) as part of our commitment to meeting the highest possible standards.

Question: Will you give me an estimate of the likely costs on my matter?

Answer: Yes – we are legally obliged to do this anyway. But we promise to give you the best possible estimate having regard to all known circumstances and not to exceed the estimate without your prior consent. If it looks as though your transaction is becoming more complex than originally envisaged we will discuss things with you as soon as possible.

Question: Do you do “no win no fee” or “contingency fee” agreements?

Answer: Generally, no – except in a small number of cases.

Question: When do I have to pay your bill?

Answer: Our terms of service require that our bills are paid within 14 days of being sent to you (and we reserve the right to charge interest in accordance with our terms of service if there is a delay in settling outstanding accounts).

Question: Do I have to pay anything in advance?

Answer: In all cases we will ask you to pay any “disbursements” (payments that we have to make to other people on your behalf) before we make those payments or incur those liabilities. This includes things such as search fees or the costs of barristers’ opinions and so on.

Question: When do you review your charges?

Answer: We review them annually in april of each year. Any reviewed charges take effect from 1 April in each year.

Question: What if I have a complaint?

Answer: We hope that you will never have cause to complain and we will do our utmost to ensure that is the case. However if you are not happy about anything that we do or any aspect of the service we provide please tell us in the first instance and give us an opportunity to look into things. If you are still unhappy we have made arrangements for your complaint to be evaluated externally and we will undertake to abide by the external evaluator’s decision. If you remain unhappy after that you can, of course, make a formal complaint with the Solicitors Regulation Authority www.sra.org.uk.

Question: How can I contact you when you are away or out of the office?

Answer: If you leave a message with our secretaries we will generally get back to you the same day. If you e-mail us we will try to deal with your e-mail the same day in any event.

Question: Can I have your mobile number?

Answer: We do provide details of our mobile phone numbers to established clients and are quite happy to receive phone calls where those are necessary.

Question: What do I do if I have any other questions?

Answer: We are only too happy to answer any queries you may have and welcome any comments or thoughts you have on the service we provide.