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General Terms & Conditions

Application and Entire Agreement
  • These Terms and Conditions apply to the provision of the services detailed in our quotation (Services) by London Bailiff Services a trading style of AWT Associates Ltd a company registered in England and Wales under number 12578681, whose registered office is at Fortress House, 301 High Road, Benfleet, England, SS7 5HA. Our VAT registration number is 406001460. (we or us) to the person buying the services (you).
  • You are deemed to have accepted these Terms and Conditions when you accept our quotation, instruct us to provide a service or services, or from the date of any performance of any such Services (whichever happens earlier) and these Terms and Conditions and our quotation (the Contract) is the entire agreement between us.
  • You acknowledge that you have not relied on any statement, promise or representation made or given by or on our behalf. These Conditions apply to the Contract to the exclusion of any other terms that you try to impose or incorporate, or which are implied by trade, custom, practice or course of dealing.

Interpretation

  • A “business day” means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or Bank Holiday.
  • The headings in these Terms and Conditions are for convenience only and do not affect their interpretation.
  • Words imparting the singular number shall include the plural and vice-versa.

Services

  • We warrant that we will use reasonable care and skill in our performance of the Services, which will comply with the quotation, including any specification in all material respects. We can make any changes to the Services which are necessary to comply with any applicable law or safety requirement, and we will notify you if this is necessary.
  • You may instruct us in writing, by email, or by other electronic communication. Any such communication and our agreement to act on it shall form a contract to which these terms will apply.
  • We will use our reasonable endeavours to complete the performance of the Services within the time agreed or as set out in the quotation; however, time shall not be of the essence in the performance of our obligations

Your Obligations

You must obtain any permissions, consents, licences or otherwise that we need and must give us with access to any and all relevant information, materials, properties and any other matters which we need to provide the Services.

  • If you do not comply, we can terminate the Services.
  • We are not liable for any delay or failure to provide the Services if this is caused by your failure to comply with the provisions of this section (Your obligations).

Fees and Deposit (Payment on account)

  • The fees (Fees / Costs / Charges) for the Services are set out in the quotation and/or as per the Tribunals, Courts & Enforcement Act 2007 (TCE2007), and are on a time and materials basis.
                   1. All Monies collected by us will be retained by us for 14 days to comply with the Insolvency Act 1986 and remitted to you after the expiry of that period.
                   2. All Monies collected by us will be allocated to enforcement fees first and/or any disbursement costs, once all of the enforcement fees and/or disbursements are cleared in full any further payments made will be allocated to the debt value and remitted to you in accordance with our terms and conditions.
                   3. London Bailiff Services reserve the right to retain all monies (whether it is client or enforcement fees) where a complaint is received before the payment could be lawfully remitted and whilst the complaint is in the process of being resolved, the monies are frozen and remain in our client account until the complaint is determined and/or ‘not upheld’.
  • In addition to the Fees, we can recover from you there are reasonable expenses including, but not limited to, disbursement costs, such as a) the cost of services provided by third parties and required by us for the performance of the Services, and b) the cost of any materials required for the provision of the Services. Contract fees, other charges, costs and disbursements in relation to debt recovery outside of the Taking Control of Goods Regulations shall be payable on account prior to commencement of action. 
  • The payment is non-refundable unless we fail to provide the Services in their entirety and are at fault for such failure (where the failure is not our fault, no refund will be made).
  • You must pay us for any additional services provided by us such as additional enforcement agents; debt recovery agents; security guards; security dogs; recovery vehicles; locksmiths; removal vehicles; storage of goods & chattels that are not specified in the quotation in accordance with our then current, applicable fee charge structure / hourly rate in effect at the time of performance or such other rate as may be agreed between us.  You give agreeable authorised indemnification to cover us for fees for services whether directly or indirectly incurred by us. 
  • The Fees are exclusive of any applicable VAT and other taxes or levies which are imposed or charged by any competent authority unless specifically stated on any quotation or invoice.
    VAT on enforcement-related fees is payable by you and deducted by us from any proceeds to be remitted. VAT on disbursements when related to the Tribunals, Courts & Enforcement Act 2007 may not be invoiced to you but may be accepted as a cost by us.
  • You must, at our discretion, make payment on account when requested as detailed in any quotation within 24 hours or before any Services are undertaken.
  • If you do not pay us according to the clause above, we can either withhold the provision of the Services until the payment is received or can terminate under the clause below (Termination).

Cancellation and Amendment

  • We may cancel or amend a quotation if it has not been accepted by you, or if the Services have not started, within a period of 24 hours from the date of the quotation, (unless the quotation has been withdrawn). We reserve the right to cease to act on your behalf at our sole discretion. In such an event you will be informed in writing as to the reasons.
  • Either we or you can cancel an order/ instruction for any reason prior to your acceptance (or rejection) of the quotation. We will invoice you for payment of the Fees where permissible.
    1. Where cancelation takes place for any reason, such as but not limited to: a) payment received direct, b) Client / Claimant and Debtor / Defendant agree another resolution between them, c) de-instruction/ Set Aside of Warrant or a High Court Writ d), Wrongful instruction after Birmingham Bailiffs have been fully instructed by the Client / Claimant, we reserve the right to invoice you for all outstanding letter and/or attendance/ enforcement/ sale costs, recovery truck costs, locksmith costs, removal vehicle costs, storage charges or other disbursements. Where payment made on account has been made, you agree to the deduction lost  fees due from Enforcement/Debt Recovery agent instruction, administration, hourly rate and any other disbursement costs.
  • If you want to amend / or cancel any of the Services you must tell us in writing as soon as possible and in any event within 24hrs of the action taking place. We will use reasonable endeavours to make any required changes and additional costs will be included in the Fees and invoiced to you. Cancellation or amendment of services by the client/claimant at less than 24 hours prior to commencement will result in any fees due such as but not limited to additional enforcement agents; debt recovery agents; security guards; security dogs; recovery vehicles; locksmiths; removal vehicles; storage of goods & chattels being invoiced in full.
  • If, due to circumstances beyond our control, including those set out in the clause below (Circumstances beyond a party’s control), we have to make any change in the Services or how they are provided, we will notify you immediately. We will use reasonable endeavours to keep any such changes to a minimum.

Payment

  • We will invoice you for payment of the Fees where permissible either:
    1. When we are fully instructed to carry out a service or have completed the services.
    2. On the invoice dates set out in the quotation.
    3. Where commissionable fees are recoverable from the client and the instruction is withdrawn, the balance is greatly reduced or negotiations between debtor and client are in place, you authorise London Bailiff Services to invoice the instructing client for the commissionable element, where applicable, along with costs & charges based on the original debt value.
  • You must pay the Fees due within the terms stated on any invoice of the or otherwise in accordance with any credit terms specifically agreed between us.
  • Payment can only be accepted in the following methods; BACS, CHAPS, Cash, Under no circumstances are Cheques acceptable.
  • Time for payment shall be of the essence of the Contract.
  • Without limiting any other right or remedy we have for statutory interest, if you do not pay within the period set out above, we will charge you interest at the rate of 2% per annum above the base lending rate of the Bank of England from time to time on the amount outstanding until payment is received in full.
  • All payments due under these Terms and Conditions must be made in full without any deduction or withholding except as required by law and neither of us can assert any credit, set-off or counterclaim against the other in order to justify withholding payment of any such amount in whole or in part.
  • Clients who pay late may be required to pay compensation and penalty interest. The Late Payment of Commercial Debt (Interest) Act (1988) was amended in 2002 to include fixed penalties in addition to interest. For debt of less than £1000 the penalty is £40, rising to £70 for debts up to £9,999.99 and £100 above that. Interest is payable at 8 per cent over Bank of England base rate. The penalties and interest now apply to all businesses regardless of size. We reserve the right to apply charges where necessary once a late default on an invoice occurs.
  • If you do not pay within the period set out above, we can suspend any further provision of the Services and cancel any future services which have been ordered by, or otherwise arranged with, you. Where the client is a limited company, by instructing London Bailiff Services the directors accept joint and several liability for costs fees and charges due and payable to London Bailiff Services as a result of their instruction being actioned.
  • Receipts for payment will be issued by us only at your request.
  • All payments must be made in Pounds Sterling unless otherwise agreed in writing between us.

Sub-Contracting and Assignment

  • We can at any time assign, transfer, charge, subcontract or deal in any other manner with all or any of our rights under these Terms and Conditions and can subcontract or delegate in any manner any or all of our obligations to any third party.
  • You must not, without our prior written consent, assign, transfer, charge, subcontract or deal in any other manner with all or any of your rights or obligations under these Terms and Conditions.

Termination

  • We can terminate the provision of the Services immediately if you:
        1. commit a material breach of your obligations under these Terms and Conditions; or
        2. fail to make pay any amount due under the Contract on the due date for payment; or
        3. are or become or, in our reasonable opinion, are about to become, the subject of a bankruptcy order or take advantage of any other statutory provision for the relief of insolvent debtor; or
        4. enter into a voluntary arrangement under Part 1 of the Insolvency Act 1986, or any other scheme or arrangement is made with its creditors; or
        5. convene any meeting of your creditors, enter into voluntary or compulsory liquidation, have a receiver, manager, administrator or administrative receiver appointed in respect of your assets or undertakings or any part of them, any documents are filed with the court for the appointment of an administrator in respect of you, notice of intention to appoint an administrator is given by you or any of your directors or by a qualifying floating charge holder (as defined in para. 14 of Schedule B1 of the Insolvency Act 1986), a resolution is passed or petition presented to any court for your winding up or for the granting of an administration order in respect of you, or any proceedings are commenced relating to your insolvency or possible insolvency.
        6. At our sole discretion we may terminate this Agreement in the event of any action or omission by you or your representative which may frustrate the continued performance of our service. However, if work has already commenced on a case the client will remain liable for all costs to date.

Intellectual Property

  • We reserve all copyright and any other intellectual property rights which may subsist in any goods supplied in connection with the provision of the Services. We reserve the right to take any appropriate action to restrain or prevent the infringement of such intellectual property rights. No part of this website may be copied or reproduced in any format or medium without the express written permission of AWT Associates Limited.

Liability and Indemnity

  • Our liability under these Terms and Conditions, and in breach of statutory duty, and in tort or misrepresentation or otherwise, shall be limited as set out in this clause.
  • The total amount of our liability is limited to the total amount of Fees paid by you under the Contract.
  • We are not liable (whether caused by our employees, agents or otherwise) in connection with our provision of the Services or the performance of any of our other obligations under these Terms and Conditions or the quotation for:
    1. any indirect, special or consequential loss, damage, costs, or expenses or;
    2. any loss of profits; loss of anticipated profits; loss of business; loss of data; loss of reputation or goodwill; business interruption; or, other third party claims; or
    3. any failure to perform any of our obligations if such delay or failure is due to any cause beyond our reasonable control; or
    4. any losses caused directly or indirectly by any failure or your breach in relation to your obligations; or
    5. any losses arising directly or indirectly from the choice of Services and how they will meet your requirements or your use of the Services or any goods supplied in connection with the Services.
  • You will indemnify us against all damages, costs, claims and expenses incurred or suffered by us arising from our acting on your instructions, including all actions at law and from any loss or damage to any equipment (including that belonging to third parties) caused by you or your agents or employees.
  • Nothing in these Terms and Conditions shall limit or exclude our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or for any other matters for which it would be unlawful to exclude or limit liability.

Circumstances beyond a party’s control

  • Neither of us is liable for any failure or delay in performing our obligations where such failure or delay results from any cause that is beyond the reasonable control of that party. Such causes include, but are not limited to: power failure, Internet Service Provider failure, industrial action, civil unrest, fire, flood, storms, earthquakes, acts of terrorism, acts of war, governmental action or any other event that is beyond the control of the party in question. If the delay continues for a period of 90 days, either of us may terminate or cancel the Services to be carried out under these Terms and Conditions.

Communications

  • All notices under these Terms and Conditions must be in writing and signed by, or on behalf of, the party giving notice (or a duly authorised officer of that party).
  • Notices shall be deemed to have been duly given:
    1. when delivered, if delivered by courier or other messenger (including registered mail) during the normal business hours of the recipient;
    2. when sent, if transmitted by fax or email and a successful transmission report or return receipt is generated;
    3. on the fifth business day following mailing, if mailed by national ordinary mail; or
    4. on the tenth business day following mailing, if mailed by airmail.

No Waiver

  • No delay, act or omission by a party in exercising any right or remedy will be deemed a waiver of that, or any other, right or remedy nor stop further exercise of any other right, or remedy.

Severance

  • If one or more of these Terms and Conditions is found to be unlawful, invalid or otherwise unenforceable, that / those provisions will be deemed severed from the remainder of these Terms and Conditions (which will remain valid and enforceable).

Law and Jurisdiction

  • These Terms and Conditions are governed by and interpreted according to English law. All disputes arising under these Terms and Conditions are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

Debt Recovery Outside of Taking Control of Goods Regulations: General Terms

The following Terms & Conditions are the only Terms & Conditions, which AWT Associates Ltd (hereinafter called ‘The Company’) contracts with the party whose name and address appear on the written instructions (hereinafter called ‘the client’). By instructing the company, the client agrees to be bound by these terms and conditions.

The Service

In consideration of:-

  • Upon payment of the contract fee of £495 or as agreed in writing by the company and also subject to the company’s general terms and conditions, published herein, the company, its servants or agents, shall provide a debt recovery service for the period of 120 days, but not exceeding one year, or
  • The payment of the fee as stated and subject to the terms and conditions of the company its servants or agents shall provide a recovery service in relation to the individual debt as described and fully detailed within the recovery demand completed by the client, if there is more than one debtor on a completed recovery demand then this will be marked as a multiple case contract internally. At its sole discretion, the company can refuse to accept instructions from the client.
  • The service shall commence immediately upon receipt of instructions, and any agreed contract fee must be paid to the Company immediately as cleared funds.Where the Client is a limited company, by instructing London Debt Recovery, the directors accept joint and several liability for all commission, costs, fees and charges due and payable to London Debt Recovery, its agents and recommended lawyers arising from such instructions.

Commission shall become due and payable in full upon instruction where, following our engagement, any of the following occurs:

(a) we recover payment of all or part of the debt from the debtor;

(b) the debtor makes payment directly to the Client;

(c) the Client instructs us to pause, withdraw or close a case after we have made contact with the debtor;

(d) the Client and the debtor enter into negotiations directly and subsequently agree any settlement, compromise, repayment plan, payment arrangement or other agreement relating to the debt, whether or not payments have commenced under that arrangement; or

(e) the Client otherwise reaches an arrangement directly with the debtor without our involvement.

In the circumstances described in paragraphs (b), (c), (d) and (e), our commission shall be calculated on the full principal debt value placed with us for recovery and shall be payable in full immediately upon the settlement, agreement or arrangement being reached. If the Client receives payment directly from the debtor, the Client must notify us immediately and pay the commission due upon receipt of such payment.

  • For the purpose of this contract not being a yearly service, we shall undertake your debt for 120 days. If by this time there have been no collections, we will, at our sole discretion, have the right to extend the contract at no further cost to the client.
  • The company is under no obligation to provide interim written reports. We will provide updates on the case where an update is required to be given and when there is news to give.
  • The company expressly excludes liability whatsoever arising for any delay in the provision of service where:-
  • The full and precise details of the debt and any other information pertaining to the debt have not been and/or are not able to be provided to its servants or agents by the client, whether expressly requested or otherwise:- or
  • Documents and/or letters issued are delayed and/or destroyed in circumstances beyond the control of the company, its servants, or agents:- or
  • The individual or company named as debtors in bankruptcy, liquidation or receivership, or any insolvency proceedings as defined by and/or pursuant to the Insolvency Act 1986, or any amendments to the act or subsequent act of parliament, are reasonably believed to be immediately pending.
  • The Company has to pause operations due to a natural disaster, such as COVID-19

The Company shall be under no further obligation to the client in respect of any debt placed for recovery with the company and pursuant to this agreement, where:-

  • The debt has been paid to the company and account made to the client, its servants or agents, pursuant to the terms and conditions hereunder:-
  • The debt has previously been or is subject to court proceedings, and/or commencement of the litigation process has been made pursuant to such proceedings:- or
  • The service to be provided by the company, its servants or agents has been exhausted., or
  • The client, its servants, has failed to respond to reasonable requests and/or correspondence from the company, its servants or agents; or
  • The debtor is / or becomes subject to the actions described under clause 7.3; or
  • In the opinion of the company its servants or agents there exists no reasonable prospect of discharging the civil burden of proof within the courts of England and Wales, or Scotland. For this reason, the debt is deemed such that there is no reasonable prospect of recovery, or the expiry of the term of this agreement. Termination of the agreement by the company shall be at its sole discretion.
  • Expressly exclude any liability for the set of and/or counterclaim arising from any action and/or proceedings to recover the contracting parties’ debt

The company expressly exclude any liability for any cost arising, incurred or awarded as a result of the attempts of the company to recover the debt owed to the contracting party.

Should circumstances negate, or the debtor’s whereabouts prove insuperable, or in the event of the debtor not being, for legal reasons, able to underwrite the debt a written report outlining events in relation to the above will be issued to the client if so the client requests, and will conclude this contract, the company will not be held responsible/liable for such events.

You may terminate this agreement at any time, the only cost therefore would be the contract fee that has been charged at the outset of this contract and any commissions due as per this agreement, as per sections 11.1 and 14

Termination of the agreement, negotiating with the debtor directly when the contract has commenced, reducing the debt or acceptance of payment from the debtor or their agents by the client during the contract, will result in the full commission as per section 14 becoming due immediately. This includes any extension of the contract as per section 5.

Litigation

From time to time, the Company may, in the pursuit of the debt, determine that formal legal proceedings should be taken, either by means of insolvency action or other actions at the County Court. In such circumstances, the company would offer to the client an introduction to our recommended lawyers, or if expressly instructed by our client, we would liaise with other lawyers on behalf of our client.

  • Should the client (or the company on the client’s behalf) provide our recommended lawyers with instructions to act upon their behalf, all costs, fees, disbursements and other associated costs will be subject to agreement between the clients and our recommended lawyers. The company are not authorised to agree, vary or negotiate costs levied by our recommended lawyers upon the client during the course of their conduct if any matter referred. The company does not accept liability or responsibility in connection with the conduct of our recommended lawyers in respect of the client’s instructions. Such fees agreed are to be paid to the company.
  • Any monies recovered or secured on the clients behalf from the date of provision of instruction by the client (or the company on the clients behalf) to our recommended lawyers, or other lawyers engaged by the client will be subject to a commission charge by the company at a rate equal to the rate agreed between the company and the client at the time of first instruction, or any subsequent written rate variation as notified by the company to the client. The client agrees that our recommended lawyers will account to the company in respect of any monies recovered.
  • If we are instructed by our clients for any legal work outside of this contract, then this will be outsourced to our recommended lawyers and charged according to the terms above.

 

Receipts & Payments
  • The Company shall under no circumstances become a party to any agreement howsoever made, reached or created between the client, its servants or agents, and any debtor / or third party, its servants or agents.
  • Once instructed by the client, the Company shall charge a commission charge with a rate set at 20% of all monies recovered unless specifically agreed by the Company in writing.
  • The client, its servants or agents hereby agrees to provide to the company, its servants or agents, at its registered office address written notice of receipt of monies pursuant to debts placed with the company for collection and subject to the terms and conditions here under and received directly by the contracting party, its servants or agents, with seven days of receipt of such monies being received.
  • The contracting party hereby agrees to pay the company costs, interest and agreed commission and V.A.T. thereon, at a rate set by parliament from time to time prevailing on monies received by the contracting party.
  • Any sums paid to the client directly from the date of our being instructed will be deemed a collection and therefore our commission charge will be charged and will be immediately payable.
  • The company reserve the absolute right and discretion to place funds into accounts, as it thinks fit for the purpose of holding such monies where the client consents to a debtor’s request to discharge sums due by way of an instalment arrangement, fees and/or commission charges due to the company will also be charged up to the aggregate value of the total instalments agreed in accordance with the current rates agreed between the client and the company and all such charges, will be subject to V.A.T. Payment will become due from the client upon receipt of the first instalment from the debtor.
  • Where a debtor defaults upon an agreed instalment, the company will endeavour to recover the balance of the sums due. In the event of which, the client will not be entitled to any refund of commissions or fees, whether the company are successful in securing the balance of monies due or not.
Agreement
  • English Law shall govern the construction, performance and validity of these terms and conditions and of any contract between the company and the client. The company and the client shall submit to the jurisdiction of the English Courts, as the company shall in its sole discretion direct.
  • The company will not discuss any part of your agreement with any third party and therefore, this contract is bound as a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). The NDA will remain in place and will not be removed even at the conclusion of this contract. Both parties agree that no part of this agreement is to be discussed with any other party. No part of this contract is to be discussed within the public domain either during or after the contract has expired, this includes online forums, within social media and online review sites without the express permission of The Company under The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Any breaches of this NDA will result in immediate injunctive relief with an immediate significant cost order.
  • We will not undertake cases relating to debt under a credit consumer agreement.