The Independent Qualified Conveyancers (Scotland) Regulations 1997

Terms of engagement letter, etc

12.—(1) An independent qualified conveyancer shall, before accepting instructions from a client to provide conveyancing services, provide the client with a letter (“the terms of engagement letter”) which informs the client of the terms upon which he will provide conveyancing services for that client, including information relating to the following matters, namely:–

(a) the total price payable by the client for the provision of the conveyancing services, together with details of the elements included in that total price, including–

(i) the fees to be charged by the independent qualified conveyancer;

(ii) any expenses or outlays to be met; and

(iii) any value added tax or other tax which is likely to be charged;

or, where the total price is not ascertainable at the relevant time, of the manner in which the total price will be calculated;

(b) whether any of the elements included in the total price is variable and, if so, in what circumstances and of the amount of the variation or, if this is not ascertainable at the relevant time, of the manner in which the amount of the variation will be calculated;

(c) when the whole or any part of the total price or any variation thereof will be required to be paid;

(d) the nature of the conveyancing services which the independent qualified conveyancer will provide and the length of time that it is likely to take to carry out those services;

(e) the name of the person who will be providing the conveyancing services;

(f) the steps that will be taken to keep the client informed of progress;

(g) the right of the client to obtain independent financial advice in connection with the provision of conveyancing services or with the transaction to which those services relate;

(h) the right of the client at any time to require the independent qualified conveyancer to cease to provide him with conveyancing services (including, in particular, where there is any variation of the price in terms of sub-paragraph (b) above) and the terms upon which the client may do so;

(i) the circumstances in which the independent qualified conveyancer may refuse to provide (or cease continuing to provide) the conveyancing services in terms of regulation 22 and as to what happens when he does so;

(j) the procedures established and maintained by the independent qualified conveyancer under regulation 35 for dealing with any complaints made to him in connection with the provision of conveyancing services; and

(k) the client may make any complaint to the Board in connection with the provision of conveyancing services by the independent qualified conveyancer including any such complaint where he considers that the independent qualified conveyancer–

(i) is guilty of professional misconduct; or

(ii) has provided inadequate professional services; or

(iii) has failed to comply with these Regulations; or

(iv) has been convicted of a criminal offence rendering him no longer a fit and proper person to provide conveyancing services as a qualified conveyancer.

(2) Where an independent qualified conveyancer may also provide a client not only with conveyancing services but also with any of the specified services, he shall, before accepting instructions from the client to provide any of those services, inform the client in writing (whether or not in the terms of engagement letter) not only of the matters required by paragraph (1) but also–

(a) that the independent qualified conveyancer is willing to provide the conveyancing services both with and without any of the specified services;

(b) of the price payable by the client for the provision of conveyancing services alone;

(c) of the price payable by the client for the provision of each of the specified services required by the client if the conveyancing services were not also to be provided; and

(d) of the total price payable by the client for any combination of the services required.

(3) In this regulation, the price payable for the provision of any of the specified services means–

(a) if the amount is known and is fixed, the amount payable for that service;

(b) if the amount is known but is liable to vary, that amount and the circumstances in which it may vary;

(c) if the amount is not known, the manner in which it will be calculated or the factors which will be relied on in making the calculation;

(d) if there is more than one payment payable for that service–

(i) the number of payments payable for that service; or

(ii) if the payments are periodical, the frequency of such payments and any circumstances in which it may be varied.