Terms of use

22. Cancellation Charges

22.1. By default, we offer fixed fee representation for all immigration cases. This means that the firm will provide its clients with a binding fee quotation for taking on the client’s case.

22.2. All fixed fee matters are exclusively accepted on a retainer basis. This means that at the point of instruction, you are agreeing to retain the firm’s services until conclusion of the case or, at a minimum, until the agreed scope of work has been completed.

22.3. The agreed scope of work is generally considered to be for the firm to either provide regulated advice, lodge an application on behalf of a client or to submit written representations on behalf of the client.

22.4. Sabz Solicitors LLP does not warrant, imply or guarantee the outcome of any such advice, submissions or representations and by instructing the firm, you accept that the firm does not accept any responsibility for the any decisions made by any Government department or independent third party.

22.5. All instructions are accepted in good faith and based on a provisional assessment of your circumstances routinely carried out by a member of our assessment team. Assessment team staff are unable to provide regulated legal advice as the information provided should be considered the personal opinion of the Assessment Officer only. Under no circumstances should you assume or otherwise infer that any information provided to you is legal advice unless it has been provided by a regulated solicitor at the consultation stage unless you otherwise explicitly advised to the contrary in writing.

22.6. We will only charge you legal fees for work carried out once you have received legal representation. The first point at which our clients receive representation is when they are provided with a legal consultation irrespective of method of delivery.

22.7. The fees charged by the firm in the event of cancellation are as follows:

22.7.1. If you are unsure about which type of fee arrangement your case has, please refer to your proposal of service and or confirmation of instruction emails which are routinely sent to clients by the Assessment Officer who has taken your instructions or, if the instruction was taken face to face, you should refer to your Instruction Agreement:

22.7.1.1. Cancellation Prior to Engagement (Pre Consultation) Where a client has provided an instruction to the firm (by requesting and paying for a service following a proposal/quotation) and subsequently decides to cancel their instructions prior to engagement of legal representation i.e. pre legal consultation, the client will be required to pay an administration fee of EUR 250. This fee is applied to cover our costs of administering the file, payment and refund processing.

22.7.1.2. Cancelling an Agreed Fixed Fee Instruction: Where a client has instructed the firm under an agreed fixed fee retainer agreement, that fee has been paid to exclusively retain the firm’s representation until conclusion based on the anticipated scope of work agreed to by the firm. This type of agreement cannot be varied retrospectively and therefore neither the firm nor the client can vary the terms or fees once service has been engaged. This type of agreement can be cancelled upon the explicit request of the client however, regrettably no refunds can be offered in such cases.

22.7.2. Where a client has instructed the firm under a fixed fee retainer agreement, that fee has been paid to exclusively retain the firm’s representation until conclusion based on the anticipated scope of work agreed to by the firm. This type of agreement can be cancelled upon the explicit request of the client.

22.7.3. Where the instruction is cancelled prior to conclusion of the case, the client will be entitled to be refunded any portion of unused fees that they may have paid on account.

22.8. All work carried out will be billed at the following fixed rates in the event of cancellation:

22.8.1. Pre Consultation Cancellation – EUR 250 (providing the client has provided at least 3 hours prior notice of cancellation which has been confirmed as received by a member of our team), a one-time fixed administration fee of EUR 250 will be applied to the file. If a minimum of 3 hours prior notice has not been given and consequently, the firm is required to reserve a 1 hour consultation slot, the consultation fee of EUR 300 will remain chargeable on account of the firm not being able to accrue billing elsewhere.

22.8.2. Legal Consultation Only + EUR300 Legal consultations taking place between clients and a solicitor at Mancipatio whereas the solicitor has discussed the client’s circumstances and provided professional advice in respect of whether the client’s objectives can or indeed cannot be met alongside an explanation of the basis for the same and or other professional guidance concerning laws, regulations, immigration practices, feasibility assessments etc will be billed at a fixed rate of EUR 300 irrespective of method of delivery and duration. Although each client is allocated a maximum of 1 hour to conduct a consultation, it must be understood that this time restriction is an allowance as opposed to a target. Dependent upon your circumstances and the complexity of your case, the duration of your consultation is entirely dependant on the solicitors’ professional assessment of the requirements and therefore the consultation will last until the solicitor, in their professional capacity is satisfied that they have obtained all required information to enable them to produce a detailed client care pack which is discussed in the next point. (It is possible to have more than one legal consultation, specifically this is particularly relevant when the clients wishes or instructions may have changed e.g perhaps the client now wishes to pursue an entirely different visa route and requires advising on an alternative – each consultation will be billed as a standalone service at the standard fixed rate of EUR 300).

22.8.3. Client Care Pack + EUR300 For all fixed fee instructions, a Client Care Pack will be produced following a legal consultation. A Client Care Pack firstly provides a formal letter of instructions whereas it will clearly set out a written record of your circumstances, your instructions, our professional advice, identification of the relevant laws and regulations, our terms of engagement and next steps in the process. Secondly, the Client Care Pack will be accompanied by a tailored documentary requirements list. This list will advise you on what supporting documents you need to collate in order to tender as supporting evidence as part of your case. The list is typically exhaustive and advises you on documents that you should ideally be able to produce (if you have any concerns or queries regarding the documents list, these should be raised with the author of your Client Care Pack). (It is possible to have more than one Client Care Pack, specifically this is particularly relevant when the clients wishes or instructions may have changed e.g perhaps the client now wishes to pursue an entirely different visa route and requires advising on an alternative – each Client Care Pack will be billed as a standalone service at the standard fixed rate of EUR 300).

22.8.4. Miscellaneous Work + £300 hour All work falling outside of the above fixed tasks, including, but not limited to legal research, third party enquiries, liaison with third parties or representatives, file work, written or oral representations and communications with you or on your behalf including emails and telephone calls will be billed based on the amount of time the task takes to complete. Sabz Solicitors LLP will bill for all tasks completed for the client at a standard rate of £300 per hour a derivative unit thereof. Our minimum billing unit is 15 minutes. Hourly rates may be billed at a fixed hourly rate of EUR 400 with incomplete or miscellaneous work billed on a pro rata basis. E.g. 1 Hour is billed at a fixed rate of EUR 400. This hour, i.e. 60 minutes, can be divided into four units of 15 minutes and each unit will be billed at the respective rate of EUR 100 thus four units equate to 1 complete hour.