Our Terms

Terms of Service

These terms set out the basis on which we will provide services to you in respect of certified advice for SDLT due on property or land purchases. 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.

Services to be provided

We will assess the circumstances surrounding your purchase of the property address you have provided. We will calculate what SDLT is payable and provide a certified calculation that is underwritten by our professional indemnity insurance.

Post purchase in the event of HMRC 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. 

Our fees

We have a tiered fee structure depending on whether we Assess, Analyse or Advise. Our fees for Assess and Analyse services are fixed. If we provide Advice this will be quoted and agreed by you in advance of any work being undertaken.

All fees must be paid to us in full at completion by your solicitor without any form of set-off or other deduction. If we invoice you directly then fees will be paid prior to services being rendered.

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.

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. 

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. 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 submission;

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

(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 submission;

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

(e) 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.

Refund of Fees

If you become subject to an inquiry by a Third Party, a refund of Fees may be considered only where we  determine there is no realistic prospect of successfully overturning an adverse decision through appeal.

Where such a determination results in you being required to repay SDLT, and further appeal is deemed unviable, we will process a refund in accordance with the quotation. No interest shall be payable on refunded fees.

We retain sole discretion to determine whether to challenge any adverse determination.

In the absence of an express refund provision in the quotation, all Fees are non-refundable.

Any refund due shall be limited strictly to the amount actually paid by the Client.

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 the calculation (including its value or its likelihood of challenge by HMRC) is affected by a change in law, policy or interpretation of tax legislation that occur after our calculation is accepted.

We will have no liability to you if the calculation  (including its value or its likelihood of challenge by HMRC) is affected by incomplete or inaccurate information arising from misrepresentations or omissions in information provided by the Client or third parties.

We have no liability to you for penalties or interest imposed by a Third Party unless arising solely from the Company’s gross negligence or wilful misconduct.

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.

Assignment and Subcontracting

We reserve the right to assign the Contract and subcontract any of its obligations. This will not prejudice the Client’s rights. The Contract is personal to the Client and is not assignable.

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: 4stamp.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.