CHETNA & CO SOLICITORS

FEES

We want to be transparent about fees. Below is a fixed price schedule for our prominent services.

Fixed Fee Schedule (all prices inclusive of VAT)

  • Initial Consultation Session: £60

Immigration Applications and Documentation (note: services included here involve advice on evidence requirements, legal eligibility for application and completion of application requirements. Appeals and Tribunal representation might sometimes be sought, where an application is refused, and are addressed as a separate service, indicated in the following section below)

  • Visitor Visa applications: £800

  • Further Leave to Remain (FLR) applications: £1,000

  • PBS Dependent applications: £1,000

  • Spouse Visa applications: £1,000 (within UK)

  • Spouse Visa applications: £1,200 (entry clearance applications)

  • Settlement applications: £1,000

  • EEA applications: starting from £600

  • Nationality applications: £800

  • Registration as a British Citizen application: £800

  • Entrepreneur and Investor Visa applications: £2,000 (+£600 per dependent application)

  • Tier 2 applications: £1,000 (+£600 per dependent application)

  • Employer Sponsorship Licence: £1,200

  • Long Residency (10-year) applications: £1,000

  • Student Visa applications: £800 (entry clearance); £800 (extension); £600 for each student dependent

  • Travel documents: £400

  • Certificate of travel: £400

  • No Time Limit (NTL) application: £400

  • Sponsorship Declarations: £100

Immigration Appeals and Bail Applications

  • Initial appeal and representation: £2,000

  • Further appeal stages: £500 (Application to First Tier Tribunal for Permission to Appeal to Upper Tribunal); £600 (Application to Upper Tribunal for Permission to Appeal to Upper Tribunal); £1,000 (Application to Upper Tribunal following Grant of Permission to Appeal)

  • Judicial Review: £500 (Pre-Action Protocol stage); £1,500 (Paper application to Upper Tribunal for Permission to Apply for Judicial Review); £1,500 (Renewal of Application for Permission to Apply for Judicial Review); £2,000 (Judicial Review following Grant of Permission to Apply)

  • Bail applications: £600

Property-related matters

(Note: these fees cover all services required to complete the property transaction in question. In many property-related matters, there may be further disbursements incurred, for which you would be liable, most of which relate to essential third-party services required in the course of property matters. This can include fees for land registry searches and registration, as well as checks for identity and bankruptcy records. The fees for these are set by independent third-party organisations and can vary by place and time. You will be notified of such prospects and likely figures in advance of your matter being taken up, alongside wider terms of representation.)

  • Lease purchases: a range of £600-1,500, with an average fee of £900

  • Leasehold sales: a range of £600-£1,500

  • Freehold purchases: starting from £500-£1,200

  • Freehold sales: starting from £500-£1,200

Usual stages in property transaction matters

While the precise progression of your matter will vary and depend on the specific situation, we have included some key stages of most property transactions that might make the process more transparent for you. As part of our services, we expect to undertake steps including the following:

  • Take your instructions and give you initial advice

  • Check finances are in place to effect the transaction and contact other parties’ solicitors, as needed

  • Receive and advise on contract documents

  • Carry out searches

  • Obtain further planning documentation if required

  • Make any necessary enquiries of other parties’ solicitor

  • Give you advice on all documents and information received

  • Go through contractual and other document (e.g. mortgage offer) conditions with you

  • Send final contract to you for signature

  • Agree completion date

  • Exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened

  • Arrange for all monies to be transferred to relevant parties to effect transaction

  • Complete transaction

  • Deal with payment of Stamp Duty/Land Tax

  • Deal with application for registration at Land Registry

NB: if your matter is not listed above, please get in touch with us separately and we would be happy to assist. Please also note that the above charges relate exclusively to our services, and do not include fees that would be charged by the Home Office for applications, the court and tribunal fees that may apply, any external counsel fees that may apply to your matter and any external disbursements incurred in the course of completing your matter.

Complaints Procedure

We want to give you the best possible service. However, if at any point you become unhappy or concerned about the service we have provided, you should inform us immediately, so that we can do our best to resolve the problem.

In the first instance it may be helpful to contact the person who is working on your case to discuss your concerns and we will do our best to resolve any issues. If you would like to make a formal complaint, you can read our full complaints procedure highlighted below. Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case.

Our complaints procedure

Should you have cause for complaint, we will ensure that you get a full and fair process for your complaint to be treated by our firm.

 In the first instance, we would encourage you to contact the Senior Partner in the firm, Chetna Sinha, either through post at our office address or through arranged appointments through our offices.

 What will happen next?

  •  You will receive prompt acknowledgement of the receipt of your complaint, within a week of your complaint at the latest. That will trigger our formal internal complaints procedure.

  • The firm will then conduct a prompt, confidential investigation of your complaint, led by Chetna Sinha, the complaints handling manager, or, where that would be inappropriate, by Santosh Kumar.

  • Within two weeks of the acknowledgement letter, Chetna Sinha will aim to resolve your complaint, including through any consultations with you and others needed to resolve the complaint. You will receive a formal notification of the result of the complaints review within a total of 3 weeks from the acknowledgement letter being sent to you.

  • Should the complaint resolution not be satisfactory to you, you are encouraged to respond to us with the grounds for your position. We may then find alternative arrangements for a further review that would give you a further opportunity to have your complaint assessed. In that event, you will be notified of such further review within 2 weeks of receipt of your dissatisfaction with the original complaint resolution.

  • If you remain dissatisfied with your complaint, you could then contact the Legal Ombudsman using the contact details provided above.

  • Any changes to our usual procedures and timelines above will be notified to you with appropriate grounds, where necessary.

 Note before contacting the Legal Ombudsman;

  • If your complaint is specifically about our bill, you have the right to object to it and apply for an assessment of it under part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. If you should choose to exercise this right, and the court is assessing our bill, you may be unable to use the Legal Ombudsman service.

  • If you are complaining as a business client, unless you are a “micro business” (as defined by the European Union), you may not be able to use the Legal Ombudsman scheme, and should check the guidance on Legal Ombudsman’s website.

  • If you refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman as a trustee/personal representative (executor/administrator) or beneficiary of the estate/trust of a person who, before they died, had not referred the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman the period runs from when the deceased should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint; and when the complainant (or the deceased) should reasonably have known there was a cause for complaint will be assessed on the basis of the complainant’s (or deceased’s) own knowledge, disregarding what the complainant (or the deceased) might have been told if he/she had sought advice.

  • If the ombudsman considers there are exceptional circumstances (e.g. serious illness or you were still within the time limits when you made your initial complaint to them) then he/she may extend any of the above time limits to the extent that he/she considers fair.

What to do if we cannot resolve your complaint

  • The Legal Ombudsman can help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves. They will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your case.

  • Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you have, then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:

  • Within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint; and

  • No more than six years from the date of act/omission; or

  • No more than three years from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.

If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman, please contact them.

Contact details

Visit: www.legalombudsman.org.uk

Call: 0300 555 0333 between 9.00 to 17.00.

Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ

What to do if you are unhappy with our behaviour

The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help if you are concerned about our behaviour. This could be for things like dishonesty, taking or losing your money or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic.

Visit their website to see how you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.