These terms sets out the basis on which we will provide services to you in respect of claims for SDLT rebates or refunds (which in these terms we will refer to as Claims). In these terms, SDLT includes Stamp Duty Land Tax (in England and Northern Ireland), Land Transaction Tax (in Wales) and Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (in Scotland) or any replacement taxes having the same effect.

Who we are acting for

We are acting on your behalf. No one else may enforce these terms or rely on the advice provided by us to you, which remains confidential between us. You may not transfer your rights under this engagement without our prior written consent.

Term of engagement

Our engagement starts on the date of you accepting these terms and (subject to your right to cancel under “Cooling off period” below and the rights that both you and we have to end the engagement earlier, as set out elsewhere in this letter) it will end if either of us gives the other 90 days’ written notice to terminate. For the purposes of these terms, “written” includes the use of email.

Please note that if you terminate our engagement (other than where we have become insolvent or have breached the terms of this engagement in a material fashion) then you may still need to pay our fees. The same will apply if we terminate because you become bankrupt or you have breached the terms of this engagement in a material fashion. See “Fees payable on termination” below for more details.

Services to be provided

We will assess the circumstances surrounding your purchase of
the property address you have provided. We will calculate what rebate of SDLT (if any) you may be entitled to claim in respect of that property and (subject to your approval) we will submit a Claim to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) on your behalf. Please note that if you withhold your approval to us submitting the Claim, then we may terminate our engagement and you may still need to pay our fees. See “Fees payable on termination” below for more details.

In the event of any correspondence or questions from HMRC we will liaise with you in order to provide a suitable response to HMRC. If any response from HMRC leads us to believe that your Claim should be withdrawn we will inform you in writing and we may then terminate our engagement. Upon such termination, we will have no further liability to you and you will have no further liability to us.

In the event of HMRC paying the Claim and at a later date correspond or question the submission we will respond on your behalf. We may require evidence that the information you have provided is accurate. If the information is accurate and HMRC still request a repayment we will refund any success fee you have paid. The refund will be proportional to the repayment requested by HMRC.

What you must do

You must promptly provide all information we reasonably request in respect of your Claim. You must ensure all information you provide to us is true, accurate and complete and you must immediately inform us if there is any change in your circumstances which could affect the Claim or if any information you have provided is no longer true or accurate. If a Claim is rejected (or if we decide the claim should be withdrawn) as a result of inaccurate information provided by you then, if demanded by us, you must reimburse us for all reasonable costs incurred by us up to that point.

You must also sign a letter of authority in our standard form, authorising us to deal with HMRC on your behalf and for any rebate to be paid to us. If we require information from your solicitors or other professional advisers in order to prepare a Claim or calculate its value, you must authorise them to release that information to us.

You must comply with all applicable law in respect of your Claim. You must store any relevant records related to your Claim (irrespective of whether you believe we hold copies) for at least six years.

Our fees

We charge a success fee equal to 20% plus VAT (24% total) of the value of any reduction in Stamp Duty identified and certified through Advisory services. If this is provided through the 4Stamp platform an invoice will be raised and sent to the Solicitor or Conveyancer for settlement at completion.

We charge a success fee equal to 20% plus VAT (24% total) of the value of any rebate awarded by HMRC in respect of the Claim. If HMRC pay the rebate to us then we will deduct our success fee from the rebate before paying the balance to you (which we will do within 7 days of our receipt). Additionally, we charge an administration charge of £48 for our ID checks and bank transfer fees.

If HMRC pay the Claim rebate to you then you must notify us immediately. You must pay our success fee to us (to such bank account as we indicate) within 7 days of the earlier of (a) your receipt of the rebate; and (b) us being notified (whether by HMRC or you) that the rebate has been paid.

HMRC may apply deductions to a Claim rebate in respect of other sums owing by you to HMRC not related to the Claim. In such circumstances, our success fee will be 24% of the total rebate value prior to any such deductions being applied and we may deduct (or you must pay to us) the full amount of our success fee.

Our success fee remains due and payable even if our engagement is terminated after submission prior to the rebate being received. All fees must be paid to us in full without any form of set-off or other deduction.

We may charge interest on late payments

If we're unable to collect any payment you owe us we may charge interest on the overdue amount at the rate of 4% a year above the Bank of England base rate from time to time. This interest accrues on a daily basis from the due date until the date of actual payment of the overdue amount, whether before or after judgment. You must pay us the interest together with any overdue amount.

Fees payable on termination

If we terminate our engagement as set out under “When we can terminate our engagement” below then the rest of this section will apply. The rest of this section will also apply if you terminate our engagement (but it will not apply if you cancel during the cooling off period referred to below or if you exercise your rights set out under “When you can terminate our engagement” below).

If we reasonably believe that your Claim is likely to be successful but have been unable to submit or progress the Claim, we will calculate the success fee that would have been payable to us on receipt of a rebate from HMRC and you will pay that success fee to us within 7 days of our demand. You acknowledge and agree that this is a fair remedy to ensure we are compensated for work carried out by us on your behalf.

Cooling off period

If you are a consumer, the following paragraph will apply. Where we have not met you in person on our premises, you have the right to cancel our engagement within 14 days of entering into it without giving any reason. The cancellation period will expire after 14 days from the date the engagement is entered into. Should you wish to exercise your right to cancel, please inform us in writing. We will not carry out any work during the 14-day cancellation period.

Client information

You must provide us with any ID documents we require as part of our anti-money laundering or “know your client” procedures. You agree that we may carry out online identification or credit checks in respect of you and your ID documents.

Intellectual property rights

We will retain all intellectual property rights (including copyright) in any materials we prepare in relation to your Claim. You may not use them for any purpose not connected directly with the services provided by us to you. In particular, you may not use any materials provided by us to submit a claim to HMRC yourself (or to instruct a third party to do so). You acknowledge that all such materials are confidential information belonging to us.

We're not responsible for delays outside our control

If our supply of services is delayed by an event outside our control, we will contact you as soon as possible to let you know and do what we can to reduce the delay. As long as we do this, we won’t have any liability to you for the delay.

When we can terminate our engagement

We can terminate this engagement if:

(a) you don't, within a reasonable time of us asking for it, provide us with information or cooperation that we need to progress your Claim;

(b) you provide us with untrue, inaccurate or incomplete information regarding your Claim;

(c) you are joint clients and you are each giving inconsistent instructions or information to us or we reasonably believe there is a dispute between you which affects our ability to progress your Claim;

(d) you (or in the case of joint clients, any of you) become bankrupt;

(e) you refuse to allow us to progress your Claim; or

(f) you otherwise breach the terms of this engagement in a material fashion.

When you can terminate our engagement

You can terminate this engagement if:

(a) we become insolvent; or

(b) we breach the terms of this engagement in a material fashion.

Confidentiality

Both you and we undertake that we will not at any time disclose to any person any confidential information concerning the other (including where applicable its business, assets, affairs, processes, calculations, customers, clients or suppliers) except as permitted below.

Each of us may disclose the other party's confidential information:

(a) To our employees, officers, representatives, contractors, subcontractors or advisers who need to know such information for the purposes of exercising our rights or carrying out our obligations under this engagement. Each party will ensure that its employees, officers, representatives, contractors, subcontractors or advisers to whom it discloses the other party's confidential information comply with this paragraph.

(b) As may be required by law, a court of competent jurisdiction or any governmental or regulatory authority.

Neither of us may use the other party's confidential information for any purpose other than to exercise our rights and perform our obligations under this engagement.

All dates are estimates

All dates we provide to you (whether in respect of our own services or HMRC processing times) are estimates and we have no liability to you if any estimate is not met.

Our liability to you

We are responsible to you for foreseeable loss and damage caused by us. If we fail to comply with our obligations under this engagement, we are responsible for loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result of our breaking our contract or our failing to use reasonable care and skill, but we are not responsible for any loss or damage that is not foreseeable. Loss or damage is foreseeable if either it is obvious that it will happen or if, at the time of our engagement, both we and you knew it might happen.

We will have no liability to you if your Claim (including its value or its likelihood of success) is affected by a change in law or by incomplete or inaccurate information supplied by you.

We do not exclude or limit in any way our liability to you where it would be unlawful to do so. This includes liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or the negligence of our employees, agents or subcontractors; for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; and for breach of your legal rights in relation to our services.

If you are dealing with us as a business rather than as a consumer, then (subject at all times to the previous paragraph):

(a) our total liability to you in respect of our engagement (whether in contract, tort (including negligence), misrepresentation, restitution or otherwise) will not exceed the success fee payable to us under “Our fees” above; and

(b) we will have no liability whatsoever to you (whether in contract, tort (including negligence), misrepresentation, restitution or otherwise) for any loss of profit or any indirect or consequential loss.

We use your personal data as set out in our Privacy Notice

How we use any personal data you give us is set out in our Privacy Notice:

miradoradvisory.co.uk/privacy.

Other important terms

If a court or other authority decides that some of these terms are unlawful, the rest will continue to apply.

Even if we delay in enforcing our rights in these terms, we can still enforce them later.

These terms are governed by English law and wherever you live you can bring claims against us in the English courts. If you live in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, you can also bring claims against us in the courts of the country you live in. We can claim against you in the courts of the country you live in.

This notice was last amended on 5th June 2023