Services

Services

Our lawyers have expertise in dealing with:

Armstrong & Co is a trading name of Armstrong Legal Limited

SRA number 801860

Companies House registration number 10726418

The Team

Martin Fletcher - Senior Director

Martin Fletcher has over 50 years experience providing both contentious and non contentious legal services. 

Martin heads up the Conveyancing and the Wills and Estate Administration Departments and advises on landlord and tenant, family matters, employment, personal injury and clinical negligence cases.

Martin is a member of the Solicitors Association of Higher Court Advocates

Imran Khawaja - Managing Director

Imran is the Managing Partner of Armstrong & Co. 

Imran has practised law for over 30 years and has a background in litigation, including; divorce and financial matters following marriage breakdown, landlord and tenant, employment and personal injury cases.

Imran has extensive experience of complex high value cases, international cases and matters involving solicitors and other professionals.

Rokhaya Ba - Estate Administration Paralegal

Rokhaya assists in the Estate Administration department.

Rokhaya has a Masters in International and Commercial Law and is presently studying for her CILEX qualification.

rba@armstrong-solicitors.co.uk

Louise Showono - Conveyancing Paralegal

Louise assists in the Residential Conveyancing department.

louise@armstrong-solicitors.co.uk

Deshia Gordon - Conveyancing Paralegal

Deshia assists in the Residential Conveyancing department.

dg@armstrong-solicitors.co.uk

Hamza Haider - Litigation Paralegal

Hamza assists in the Litigation and Estate Administration departments and is training to be a solicitor.

hh@armstrong-solicitors.co.uk

Turaab Abbas - Litigation Paralegal

Turaab assists in the Litigation and Estate Administration departments.

Turaab has completed his LPC (Legal Practice Course) and a Masters degree in Legal Practice. He is training to be a solicitor.

ta@armstrong-solicitors.co.uk

Our fees

In accordance with the SRA Transparency Rules we have set out below details of the average fees we charge.

In addition to our fees mentioned below, you will also have to meet:

(i)        Vat on all of our fees (the current rate is 20%).

(ii)       the direct cost of any third party payments (disbursements) and any vat thereon (the current rate is 20%) incurred during your transaction. These vary from case to case and we will provide you, where possible, with details when we confirm our quotation in writing to you.  The courts and government departments do not charge vat.

Court fees for litigated work vary depending upon the type of case and any sum in issue and change from time to time. The current court fees can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fees-in-the-civil-and-family-courts-main-fees-ex50

All of our charges are subject to review but we will of course notify you if there is any change during your matter.

Residential Conveyancing

 Sale/Purchase Price Freehold Leasehold Remortgages

Up to £999,000 £1,495 £1,495 £795

VAT £299 £299 £159

£1,000,000 -£1,499,999 £1,995 £1,995 £945

VAT £399 £399 £189

£1,500,000-£1,999,999 £2,495 £1,695 £1,095

VAT £499 £339 £219

£2,000,000 and above ask for a quote

In all cases;

• BANK TRANSFERS: If we have to arrange a same-day bank transfer to another account (for example to your lender to redeem your mortgage) we charge a fee of £50 (plus £10 VAT) per transfer. 

• INDEMNITY POLICIES: We may be required to obtain policies of insurance on your behalf to cover potential risks to your buyer. For example policies covering the lack of building regulations or a FENSA certificate for replacement windows. The policy provider will quote separately for each policy. We will charge £150 (plus £30 VAT) for arranging each policy for you.

• UNUSUAL DOCUMENTS: We reserve the right to charge separately at our hourly charging rates for considering or drafting documents that are out of the ordinary for standard purchase sale transactions. We will advise you if this becomes necessary.

• STAMP DUTY LAND TAX: This is payable on all purchases. The amount depends on the purchase price and your own circumstances. You can calculate the amount you will need here:

  https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax/#/intro

• DISBURSEMENTS: There are a number of disbursements that will be incurred. These vary depending upon the type of transaction and the value of the property in question. Some are chargeable to VAT and some are not.

In our experience:

Freehold sales generally attract disbursements in the region of £100-£200 (inclusive of VAT) for copies of any missing documentation

Leasehold sales also require a management pack from the freeholder. Typically these are £250 to £450 (plus VAT).

Purchases attract land registry charges of £40 to £300 (no VAT) and search fees of approximately £500 (inclusive of VAT).

We will provide you, where possible, with details of the disbursements we expect for your transaction when we confirm our quotation in writing to you.  

Our fees are payable even if your transaction does not proceed to completion.

Powers of Attorney

Each £650

VAT£130

Public Guardianship Office fee currently £82 (no VAT) for each Power of Attorney

Will & Codicils

Single Joint Codicils

£350 £600 £300 

VAT: £70 £120 £30

Estate Administration

Our charges will be calculated by reference to the amount of work done.

Hourly rate Letters and emails written Letters and

and telephone calls emails received

Director £350 £35.00 £17.50

VAT £70 £7.00 £3.50

Probate paralegals £275.00 £27.50 £13.75

VAT £55.00 £5.50 £2.75

The exact number of hours it will take depends on the circumstances in your case. Such as:

• The amount of supporting evidence that we need to consider

• Failure to cooperate with advice

• Hidden assets not being declared

• It becoming a taxable estate by virtue of the discovered assets

• Unforeseen complexities that may arise

Where there is a will, a non taxable estate will usually entails 10-15 hours of work. A taxable estate will generally involve 15-30 hours.

Where there is no will, a non taxable estate will usually entail 20-30 hours of work. A taxable estate will generally involve 30-40 hours. Costs are likely to be at the lower end range if the case is a straightforward Letters of Administration matter which deals with a taxable estate where the deceased has died intestate.

The probate office fee for the Grant of Probate and sufficient certified copies is currently £170 (no vat).

Other expenses where applicable such as swearing of oath fee of £5-£10 per executor. There may also be need to advertise in the

Law Society Gazette Wills & Whereabouts advertisement of £300-£500 and/or London Gazette advertisement to protect against creditors £185 plus VAT (Approx.)

The sale of freehold/leasehold properties which are comprised within the estate will give rise to separate conveyancing charge as set out above.

Divorce

Undefended Divorce

£950 (+£190 vat)

Court fee, currently £580 (no vat)

Matrimonial Finances

£350.00 per hour ( plus £70 vat)

Tenant Eviction

S.21 Proceedings - Accelerated Procedure

Meeting and taking instructions from you, considering tenancy agreement and

eligibility, preparing and serving s.21 notice £250.00 (+£50 vat)

Completing Claim Form and Certificate of Service and issuing proceedings at Court £250.00 (+£50 vat)

Court Fee  £380.00 (no vat)

Preparing Court application for judgment for possession £150.00 (+£30 vat)

Preparing Court application for issue of warrant of possession and

obtaining bailiff appointment £150.00 (+£30 vat)

Court Fee   £110.00 (no vat)

S.8 Proceedings - Rent arrears

Meeting and taking instructions from you, considering tenancy agreement and

eligibility, preparing and serving schedule of arrears and s.8 notice £250.00 (+£50 vat)

Completing Claim Form and Certificate of Service, updating schedule of arrears and

issuing proceedings at court £250.00 (+£50 vat)

Court Fee £355.00 (no vat)

Preparing witness statement updating arrears, schedule of arrears and

preparing case for court hearing £250.00 (+£60 vat)

Hearing-court attendance (see note below) £750.00 (+£150 vat)

Request for warrant of possession and confirmation of bailiff appointment £150.00 (+£30 vat)

Court Fee £110.00 (no vat)

Disputed Matters  

If the matter becomes disputed, any additional work engaged by us over and above the normal steps identified above, will be charged at an hourly rate. A fee earner of the appropriate level of experience will be allocated to the disputed matter, in dealing with your case. The current rates are set out below.

Details of any additional costs will be provided to you once it becomes clear if any additional work will be necessary.

It may be necessary to appoint a barrister to attend a hearing on your behalf, this will result in an additional charge. We will notify and agree the likely cost with you.

Employment

Settlement agreements are more common than people think. If you’ve been offered one, you may not know who to turn to for advice at what can be a stressful and daunting time. This is where we come in.

Our charges are £500 (plus £120 vat)

For all litigious matters are charges are £350 per hour (plus £70 vat).

Other work - Litigated disputes, debt collection, employment disputes and matrimonial finances

In all other matters where we cannot predict the amount of work that may be required to complete the matter, such as litigated disputes, debt collection, employment disputes and matrimonial finances, we charge on an hourly rate for all work done. We will provide you with an estimate from the outset but in complicated matters this may change as the matter proceeds and it becomes clear how much time is likely to be needed. We will let you know if it becomes apparent that we will have to spend more time on this matter than currently estimated.

Our current hourly rates as at May 2023 are set out below. Vat at 20% will be added to our fees.

Hourly rate Letters and emails written and telephone calls Letters and emails received

Imran Khawaja &

Martin Fletcher

£350 (plus £70 vat) £35.00 (plus £7 vat) £17.50 (plus £3.50 vat)

• Simple Case with a small number of documents and a a fairly simple background will cost in the region of £4,000-£10,000 (+£800-£2,000 VAT)

• Moderately complex case with some documents and a more complex background will cost in the region of £10,000-£20,000 (+£2000-£4,000 VAT)

• Complex case with High number of complex documents and a complex background will cost upwards of £20,000 (+£4,000 VAT)

If court proceedings become necessary court fees will apply as set out at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fees-in-the-civil-and-family-courts-main-fees-ex50.

Disbursements:

These are expenses we need to pay for in order to perform your work, which are not included in our hourly rate. Examples are barrister’s fees for representation or advice, an experts report and accommodation. Travel in the form of mileage. This is charged at 45p per mile. It might also include parking or tolls (such as motorway tolls).

Timescales

It is difficult to be precise about the time scales for the work we do due to the number of variables involved, particularly where third parties are involved. However, based on past experience, typically we would estimate as follows:

• Residential conveyancing 2-3 months

• Commercial conveyancing 2-3 months

• Debt collection 1-2 months. 18-24 months if court proceedings are required and become defended.

• Probate 6 months for simple estates and up to 24 months where there are muliple assets to collect and distribute.

• Employment 2-3 months 18-24 months if tribunal proceedings are required and become defended.

• Litigation & debt collection 18-24 months if court proceedings are required and become defended.

• Landlord & Tenant Evictions 6 months

This is intended as general guidance only. A number of factors outside our control will affect the time taken to conclude your matter.

 Complaints Policy

 We want to give you the best possible service. However, if at any point you become unhappy or concerned about the service, we/I have [change as appropriate] provided then 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 [delete if not required]. If you would like to make a formal complaint, then you can read our full complaints procedure [link to your process]. Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case.

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 our final response to your complaint

and

• No more than one year from the date of the act or omission being complained about; or

• No more than one year from the date when you should reasonably have known that there was cause for complaint.

For more information contact the Legal Ombudsman.

• Website:http://www.legalombudsman.org.uk

• Address:          Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH

• E-mail:             enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

• Telephone:      0300 555 0333

You may also complain to the Solicitors Regulation Authority if the issue relates to conduct or the breach of an SRA principle:

• ·         Address: The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street, Birmingham, B1 1RN

• ·         Email: report@sra.org.uk

• ·         Telephone:      0370 606 2555

  From April 2023, he time limit for referring a complaint to the LeO will be not later than one year from the date:

  of the act or omission being complained about; or.

  when the complainant should have realised that there was cause for complaint. The Legal Ombudsman will retain the ability to exercise discretion to extend the 1 year time limit for specific customers if, on the evidence, it was fair and reasonable to do so.

  Your complaint must be made within 6 months of receiving the final outcome from your our own complaints process.

  If your complaint relates to our bill, then you may have the right to have the bill assessed under the Solicitors Act 1974 (Part III).

CONTACT

2 Dartmouth Road, Forest Hill, London, SE23 3XU 

T: 020 8699 3477 

F: 020 8291 3645 

DX: 34400 Forest Hill

E: info@armstrong-solicitors.co.uk