Terms & Conditions

Set out below is the information required by the Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Conveyancers of the New Zealand Society of Conveyancers ("Conveyancing Society").

lnformation for Clients

  1. Fees: The basis on which fees will be charged is set out in our letter of engagement. When payment of fees is to be made is set out in our Standard Terms of Engagement. We may deduct from any funds held on your behalf in our trust account any fees, expenses or disbursements for which we have provided an invoice.
  2. Professional lndemnity Insurance: We hold professional indemnity insurance that meets or exceeds the minimum standards specified by the New Zealand Society of Conveyancers. We will provide you with particulars of the minimum standards upon request.
  3. Conveyancer's Fidelity Fund: The NZ Society of Conveyancers maintains the Conveyancers Fidelity Fund for the purpose of providing clients of Conveyancers with protection against pecuniary loss arising from theft by Conveyancers. The maximum amount payable by the Fidelity Fund by way of compensation to an individual claimant is limited to $100,000. Except in certain circumstances specified in the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006, the Fidelity Fund does not cover a client for any loss relating to money that a Conveyancer is instructed to invest on behalf of the client.
  4. Complaints: We maintain a procedure for handling any complaints by clients, designed to ensure that a complaint is dealt with promptly and fairly. If you have a complaint about our services or charges, you may refer your complain to the person in our firm who has overall responsibility for your work. lf you do not wish to refer your complaint to that person, or you are not satisfied with that person's response to your complaint, you may refer your complaint to Kim Matheson, Vice President NZ Society of Conveyancers.

    5. The NZ Society of Conveyancers operates the Conveyancers Complaints Service and you are able to make a complaint to that service. To do so, phone 07-3437050 and you will be connected to the nearest Complaints Service Office, which can provide information and advice about making a complaint.

  5. Persons Responsible for the Work: The names and status of the person or persons who will have the general carriage of or overall responsibility for the services we provide for you are set out in our letter of engagement.
  6. Client Care and Service: The Conveyancers Society client care and service information is set out below. Whatever legal services your Conveyancer is providing, he or she must:
    • Act competently, in a timely way and in accordance with instructions received and arrangements made.
    • Protect and promote your interests and act for you free from compromising influences or loyalties.
    • Discuss with you your objectives and how they should best be achieved.
    • Provide you with information about the work to be done, who will do it and the way the services will be provided.
    • Charge you a fee that is fair and reasonable and let you know how and when you will be billed.
    • Give you clear information and advice.
    • Protect your privacy and ensure appropriate confidentiality.
    • Treat you fairly, respectfully and without discimination.
    • Keep you informed about the work being done and advise you when it is completed.
    • Let you know how to make a complaint and deal with any complaint promptly and fairly.

    7. The obligations Conveyancers owe to clierrts are described in the Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Conveyancers. If you have any questions, please visit www.nzconveyancing.co.nz.

  7. Limitations on extent of our Obligation or Liabllity: Any limitations on the extent of our obligations to you or any limitation or exclusion of liability are set out in our letter of engagement.

Standard Terms of Engagement

These Standard Terms of Engagement apply in respect of all work carried out by us for you, except to the extent that we otherwise agree with you in writing.

  1. Services: The services we are to provide for you are outlined in our engagement letter.
  2. Financial:
    1. Fees:
      1. (a) The fees we will charge ( or the manner in which they will be arrived at, are set out in our engagement letter.
      2. (b) lf the engagement letter secifies a fixed fee, we will charge this for the agreed cope of our services. Work which falls outside that scope will be charged on an hourly rate basis. We will advise you as soon as reasonably practicable if it becomes necessary for us to provide services outside the agreed scope and, if requested, give you an estimate of the likely amount of the further costs.
      3. (c) Where our fees are calculated on an hourly basis, t he hourly rate will be disclosed to you in our engagement letter.
    2. Disbursements and expenses: In providing services we may incur disbursements or have to make payments to third parties on your behalf. These will be included in our invoice to you when the expense is incurred. We may require an advance payment for the disbursements or expenses which we will be incurring on your behalf.
  3. GST ( if any): Is payable by you on our fees and charges.
  4. Invoices: We will send our invoices to you, in the interin if required or on the completion, or termination of our engagement. We may also send you an invoice when we incur a signifiant expense.
  5. Payment lnvoices are payable within 14 days of the date of the invoice, unless alternative arrangements have been made with us. We may require interest to be paid on any amount which is more than 7 days overdue. lnterest will be calculated at the rate of 5% above our firm's main trading bank's 90-day bank bill buy rate as at the close of business on the date payment became due. We will be entitled to pass on to you the costs of collection of any overdue amounts including but not limited to any court fees, service fees commissions payable for collection and Conveyancing costs on a Conveyancer/Client basis.
  6. Security:We may ask you to re-pay amounts to us, or to provide security for our fees and expenses. You authorise us: (a)to debit against amounts pre-paid by you; and (b) to deduct from any funds held on your behalf in our trust account any fees, expenses or disbursements for which we have provided an invoice.
  7. Third Parties: Although you may expect to be reimbursed by a third party for our fees and expenses, and although our invoices may at your request or with your approval be directed to a third party, nevertheless you remain responsible for payment to us if the third party fails to pay us.
  8. Confidentiality
    1. We will hold in confidence all information concerning you or your affairs that we acquire during the course of acting for you. We will not disclose any of this information to any other person except: (a) to the extent necessary or desirable to enable us to carry out your instructions; or (b) to the extent required by law or by the Conveyancers Society's Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Conveyancers.
    2. Confidential information concerning you will as far as practicable be made available only to those within our firm who are providing legal services for you. We will of course, not disclose to you confidential information which we have in relation to any other client.
  9. Termination
      1. You may terminate our retainer at anytime.
    1. We may terminate our retainer if any of the circumstances set out in the Conveyancer Society's Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Conveyancers
    2. lf our retainer is terminated you must pay us all fees due and expenses incurred up to the date of tennination.
    3. Retention of files and documents: You authorise us (without further reference to you) to destroy all files and document for this matter ( other than any documents that we hold in safe custody for you) 7 years after our engagement ends, or earlier if we have converted those files and documents to an electronic format.
  10. Conflicts of Interest: We have procedures in place to identify and respond to conflicts of interest. If a conflict of interest arises we will advise you of this and follow the requirements and procedures set out in the Conveyancers Society's Rules of Conduct and Client Care.
  11. Dutv of Care: Our duty of care is to you and not to any other person. Before any other person may rely on our advice, we must expressly agree to this.
  12. Trust Account: We maintain a trust account for all funds which we receive from clients ( except monies received for payment of our invoices). If we are holding significant funds on your behalf we will normally lodge those funds on interest bearing deposit with a bank. In that case we will charge an administration fee of 5% of the gross interest derived.
  13. General:
    1. These Terms apply to any current engagement and also to any future engagement, whether or not we send you another copy of them.
    2. We are entitled to change these Terms from time to time, in which case we will send you amended Terms.
    3. Our relationship with you is governed by New Zealand law and New Zealand courts have non-exclusive jurisdiction.