DATA PROTECTION AND GENERAL TERMS 

We use information you provide primarily for the provision of professional services to you and for related purposes including updating and enhancing Client records and analysis to help us manage our regulatory compliance. Our use of that information is subject to your instructions, the Data Protection Act 1998 and our duty of confidentiality. 

Please note that our work for you may require us to give information to third parties, such as local authorities, third party professional companies and professional advisers. You have a right of access under Data Protection Legislation to the personal data that we told you about. We may, from time to time, send you information which we think might be of interest to you. If you do not wish to receive that information, please notify our office in writing.

Website Privacy Notice

Your information:

If you provide us with any personal data while using our website we may use it to provide you with any information or services you have requested. 

We may also use it for any other purpose for which you give your consent. For example we may send you additional information about the firm or its services, if you have consented to us doing so.

Terms of Business Privacy Notice

Data Protection Privacy Notice:

We use the information you provide primarily for the provision of professional services to you and for related purposes including:

• updating and enhancing client records

• analysis to help us manage our practice

• legal and regulatory compliance

Our use of that information is subject to your instructions, data protection law and our duty of confidentiality.

Please note that our work for you may require us to pass on such information to third parties such as other professional advisers, including sometimes advisers appointed by another party to your matter. We may also give such information to others who perform services for us, such as typing or photocopying. Our practice may be audited or checked by our accountants or our regulator, or by other organisations. All such third parties are required to maintain confidentiality in relation to your files.

You have a right of access under data protection law to the personal data that we hold about you. We seek to keep that personal data correct and up to date. You should let us know if you believe the information we hold about you needs to be corrected or updated.

Data Protection – Your Obligations

If you send us personal data about anyone other than yourself you will ensure you have any appropriate consents and notices in place to enable you to transfer that personal data to us, and so that we may use it for the purposes for which you provide it to us.

Keeping You Informed

We may from time to time send you information which we think might be of interest to you (for example about legal developments or our other services). If you do not wish to receive that information please notify us, preferably in writing.

Cash

We must advise you that we cannot accept cash from you for a sum greater than £500.00. This relates both to payments required from you in relation to the matter with which we are dealing, and also to the settlement of our own invoices. Your bank will always be able to arrange a direct transfer of funds to our account.

Office Hours

We are open from Monday to Friday between 9.00 a.m. and 17.00 p.m. Our representative will be pleased to see you by appointment during those hours. Arrangements can be made to see clients outside normal working hours.   

Your Instructions

In dealing with your instructions, we aim to:-

(A) Reply to correspondence within 3 working days and to return telephone calls, if possible, the same day.

(B) To clarify with you at the initial interview / meeting, or in our initial correspondence, how we will communicate with you, the action which we will need to take on your behalf, and the assistance we will need from you in progressing your case.

(C) During the matter, we will want to keep you informed of progress and discuss this and any unavoidable delays and the reason for them.

(D) Any samples, drawings, descriptive matter, or advertising issued by YLA, and any descriptions or illustrations contained in YLA’s marketing material, are issued or published for the sole purpose of giving an approximate idea of the services described in them. They shall not form part of the Contract or have any contractual force.

(E) At the conclusion of the case, you can ask for any papers and property to which you are entitled, subject to any right we have to retain them against payment of moneys owed to us by you.

(F) The Consultant will not, until the engagement has been completed and terminated, undertake work for or on behalf of any other Client if, by so doing, it would seem reasonably possible that the interests of the Client would be prejudiced, or the Consultant’s ability to act wholly in the interests of the Client would be in any way impaired.

(G) The Consultant undertakes to pursue diligently the Client’s objectives to the best of his ability within the constraints imposed by the facts and circumstances of the case. However, the Client agrees and accepts that success cannot be guaranteed because of the nature and uncertainties of planning procedure and legislation.

Remember that you can help us to help you by:-

(A) Confirming clear instructions and any time limits which are important to you.

(B) Asking us about anything which you are not sure of, and dealing with any important questions which arise promptly.

(C) Keeping in regular contact. Please feel free to ask for a progress report at any time. However, to help us plan our working day, and unless the matter is urgent, it is better to write to us or telephone to make an appointment if you need to see someone.

(D) The Client undertakes to render all necessary assistance to the Consultant by supplying upon request all necessary relevant information, documents, plans, material, etc. in his/her possession within reasonable time. The Consultant shall not be held to be responsible for any delay incurred in the project as a result of any delay in the supply of such information by the Client as aforesaid, or because of circumstances beyond his control.

Equality and Diversity

YLA is committed to promoting equality and diversity in all of its dealings with clients, third parties and employees.

Storage of Papers

After completing the work, we are entitled to keep all your papers and documents whilst there is still money owing to us for our charges and expenses. We will keep our file of papers, except for any of your papers which you have asked us to return to you, for no more than six years. We will keep your file on the understanding that we have the authority to destroy it six years after the date of the final bill we send you in this matter. We will not of course destroy any documents you specifically ask us to keep.

If we retrieve papers or documents from storage in relation to continuing or new instructions to act in connection with your affairs, we will not normally charge for such retrieval. 

However, we will make a charge based on the time spent producing stored papers or documents to you or another, of £50, and may also charge for reading correspondence or other work necessary to comply with the instructions given by you or on your behalf in connection with the papers. These will be charged at the fees quoted in the Calculation of Fees section of this document.

Complaints Procedure

We sincerely hope that you will not have any cause for complaint about our service or our bill, but we do recognise that misunderstandings and mistakes can occur. We would wish to resolve all such matters as quickly as possible. If therefore you do feel you have a complaint, then please say so to the representative dealing with the matter, who will attempt to resolve the matter there and then.   

Limitation of Liability

Your attention is particularly drawn to this clause:

• Nothing in these Terms shall limit or exclude YLA’s liability for:

• death or personal injury caused by its negligence, or the negligence of its employees, agents or subcontractors;

• fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or

• breach of the terms implied by section 2 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 (title and quiet possession).

Subject to the above, YLA shall under no circumstances whatever be liable to the client, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, for any loss of profit, or any indirect or consequential loss arising under or in connection with the Contract; and YLA’s total liability to you in respect of all other losses arising under or in connection with the Contract, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise. 

Except as set out in these Terms, all warranties, conditions and other terms implied by statute or common law are, to the fullest extent permitted by law, excluded from the contract.

Variation of these Terms

We shall be pleased to consider varying any of the terms of business to meet the requirements of a particular case or client prior to our carrying out any work.

Should you have any queries or concerns regarding our terms of business, then please contact our representative, who will be more than happy to answer any enquiries you may have.

Terms and Conditions of one hour Online Consultations 

The Consultation will be between you (The Client) and YLA. 

1. The property to be discussed will be located in England. If the Client disregards this, and books a consultation for a property located in Scotland, Wales or Overseas, no refund shall be provided. YLA's main areas of operation are Suffolk, Essex and London, where preference is suggested for Consultation purposes. 

2. The property shall be a Plot of Land, House, Bungalow or Farm Estate with outbuildings, a Garage etc. Large Commercial property, HMO's, mixed use or Industrial units discussion won't be suitable for this form of Consultation. If the Client disregards this, no refund shall be provided. 

3. This Consultation is not suitable for small projects such as home extensions, basement conversions, loft conversions, structural alterations or small conversions. 

4. The Consultation shall be for up to one hour. It is as the discretion of YLA if the appointment can run longer. Where necessary, additional Consultation appointments can be scheduled. 

5. The fee for the Consultation shall be £145 (including VAT), which is non refundable once booked. 

6. It is confirmed in advance that the Client has not engaged the services of another Consultancy firm or Architect to discuss this property under discussion. If during the Consultation it becomes apparent that another firm has been engaged with, the Consultation shall be ended and no refund shall be provided. 

7. Prior to the Consultation, the Client shall provide the full property address, title number (if known), property link, images, drawings and other relevant details. Ideally these will be sent over at the time of booking the Consultation. 

8. The Client will provide details of their requirements, desires for the project and budget to assist with checking commercial viability purposes. 

9. The final design, construction charges, third party professional fees and final timescales are the responsibility of the Client and their appointed personnel. 

10. Any advice given to the Client during the Consultation is for guidance purposes and does not offer any future guarantees that statutory planning approvals will be granted. This relates to all matters such as Outline Applications, Full Planning approval, Listed Building consent etc. The Client takes full responsibility for all these matters themselves with their own design team and appointed professionally appointed personnel. 

11. Guidance or advice offered by YLA regarding the future development potential of the property the Client is considering buying, should be considered alongside advice by third party professional services and advisors (where applicable). This third party advice is the Client's responsibility to undertake prior to potentially purchasing the property. 

12. YLA will not provide detailed construction costs or commercial viability details. Only broad guidelines and estimates shall be provided and the Client is responsible for checking these matters themselves if appropriate to do so. 

13. During the Consultation, YLA will not provide detailed estimates of third party professional fees in connection with the property. This will be the responsibility of the Client to do so.

14. YLA will provide a written summary of the Consultation after the video call. 

15. The Consultation is only a general discussion on the property, and YLA will have no ongoing responsibilities or liabilities for any information provided following the video call and provision of the summary. No detailed Architectural drawings, planning reports or studies will be provided by YLA.

For Clients who have concerns about the Consultation or believe the service did not meet their expectations, please refer to the Complaints procedure guidance given above in this page.