Tel: 020 8297 7933

info@simonbethel.co.uk
Services
 
Simon Bethel Solicitors Limited are proud to own a Legal Aid Services and are a qualified member of the Criminal Defence Service. At Simon Bethel Solicitors Limited, we understand that there are an alarmingly increasing number of ways to fall foul of the law ranging from simple speeding offences to complex crime such as fraud.

If you do find yourself in trouble with the law we will do all that is possible to guide you through the minefield, advising and assisting at the police station if necessary.

Being arrested can be an incredibly worrying and frightening experience, especially if you are arrested and detained in police custody for any period of time. It is vital that you know what your rights are, particularly with regard to how long you can be kept in custody, how to conduct yourself and what you should (and should not) say while under arrest.

We can provide advice and support for any period of detention at the Police Station.

Should your case go to court we can represent you before the magistrates court and if a matter is referred to the Crown Court we would fully brief a suitably qualified Barrister to represent you there and, if necessary, in the Court of Appeal.

  • Civil Litigation
  • Criminal Law
  • Prison Law
  • Fraud and Business Crime
  • Police Station Representation
  • Immigration and Nationality Law
  • Family and Probate
  • Employment Law
  • Housing, Landlord and Tenant Law
  • Residential and Commercial Conveyancing

Transparency on our fees:

We provide excellent professional service at reasonable prices. The SRA Transparency Rules 2018 require us to publish our costs information about the provision of certain services we provide.

Crime:

At police station, everyone requiring advice and assistance will be entitled to free legal representation under the legal aid scheme except the client declines representation under the legal aid scheme.
At the Magistrates Court, Crown Court and other appellate Courts, you may qualify for legal representation under legal aid. You may be required to make contributions towards your defence costs.
We undertake all of the work not covered by legal aid on an hourly rate basis, these rates are exclusive of VAT and disbursements.  Our hourly rates are as follows:

  • £350 per hour for a Partner/Director
  • £267 per hour for a solicitor of more than 8 years qualification
  • £229 per hour for a solicitor of more than 4 years qualification
  • £165 per hour for all other solicitors
  • £120 per hour for paralegals and trainee solicitors

There are instances we will agree to provide legal representation on a fixed fee basis. Subject to agreement, our fixed fees may include the following:

  • Representation at first appearance at Magistrates’ Court - £650 + VAT
  • Appointment in the office and Representation at first appearance at Magistrates’ Court - £850 + VAT
  • One day trial in the Magistrates Court including preparation - £1,500 + VAT

Advice on appeal will attract an additional cost, our hourly rate will apply.
Timescales of hearing dates are provided by the court
The amount of time we spend at Court is dependent on the Court listing, other cases in the Court list and the complexity of your case.

The fee does not include:

Instructing expert witnesses
Advice and assistance in relation to a Special Reasons hearing
Advice on appeal
Barrister’s fees if we have to instruct one in your case

For more information on our fees and how we can help you please get in touch.

Immigration:

  • Immigration Appeals to First Tier Tribunal (lodging grounds, preparing the case excluding Advocacy) - £1500 to £4000.
  • Immigration Appeals Upper Tribunal (lodging grounds of appeal, preparing the case and excluding Advocacy) – £1500 to £4000.
  • Application for Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK – £1500 to £2000
  • Applications under Private Life route (20 years long residence, 7 years continuous residence by a child, including discretionary leave etc) – £1,500 to £2000
  • Judicial Review – £2000 to £4,000 excluding Advocacy 
  • Application for Naturalisation – £1,000 to £2,000
  • Application for leave to remain in the UK as family members of a person present and settled in the UK – £1,500 to £2,000.
  • EEA Applications (residence card as a family member of EEA national, retaining rights of residence as a family member after divorce or death, derivative residence card as a primary career, residence card as extended family members, registration certificate as an EEA, permanent residence as an EEA national) – £1,500 to £3,000
  • Extension of leave to remain in the UK (on all categories) – £1,500 to £2,000
  • Application for UK work visas (Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 4 and Tier 5) – £2,500 to £3,500
  • Investors Visa – Hourly rate and levels of investments will determine our fees including the client status
  • Others category: Hourly rate will apply.
  • In respect of advocacy fees, this will be a disbursement in your case and will be agreed with the barrister before we instruct one on your behalf.

What our service involves:

We offer a professional service with very reasonable fees and flexible payment terms for all our clients. If clients cannot afford to pay our fee in full at the time of the instructions, we are happy to accept instalment payments as agreed with our team.  Our agreed fee covers all work relating to your matter including;

  • Taking initial instructions
  • Providing advice on which documents would be needed for your type of application
  • Checking the support documents for the application/appeal
  • Preparing the necessary application/appeal forms on your behalf
  • Preparing representations in support of your application
  • Sending the application form, representations and support evidence to the Home Office
  • Representing the client at the tribunal hearings/appeals
  • All communication between the Home Office and other agencies concerning your application/appeal until we receive a written decision in your matter.

Please be advised that we will not issue any refund if you withdraw your instructions. Furthermore, please note that the prices quoted does not include the Home Office fee, clients will be responsible for paying the Home Office fees/appeal fees (HO fees vary depending on the type of the application).

Time Estimate

It is difficult to estimate how long it will take before the Home Office can reach a decision in your matter. This will depend on a case by case and caseworker dealing with the application. However, we can only give a rough estimate that most straightforward cases can takes between 3 to 6 months for the Home Office to provide a decision, and complicated cases can take between 6 to 24 months for the Home Office to reach a decision.

Conveyancing:

Residential Property Purchase:

We carry out property purchase on selected basis as we are not members of lenders’ various panels.  In all conveyancing matters, we will comply strictly with money laundering rules.
We have set a guide of our fees  for work  required to complete the purchase of your new home, including dealing with registration at the Land Registry and dealing with the payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax (Stamp Duty) if the property is in England, or Land Transaction Tax (Land Tax) if the property you wish to buy is in Wales. It must be stated that our fees may change but we will reflect at the onset and agree with the clients before we proceed.
Fees for freehold property between £250k and £500k - £3,000 - £3,500 plus VAT
Fees for leasehold property between £250k and £500k - £3,500 - £5,500 plus VAT
Over £500,000                                                                - £1% plus VAT

Residential Leasehold Sale:

Fees for freehold property between £250k and £500k - £3,000 - £3,500 plus VAT
Fees for leasehold property between £250k and £500k - £3,500 - £5,500 plus VAT
Over £500,000                                                                - £1% plus VAT

Additional Charges:

Bank Transfer Fee £30 plus VAT
SDLT Admin fee £60 plus VAT

DISBURSEMENTS:

There are disbursements that are chargeable in Land transactions with difference prices.

Title documents and Land Registry fees are charged at the rate set by the Land Registry.

The following is a list of the typical searches we conduct on your behalf.  The search fees are set by the local authority and/or search provider.  We will advise you of these fees.

  • Local Authority Search:
  • Plan Search: -
  • Chancel Insurance:
  • Environmental Search
  • Drainage Search:
  • Registration
  • Others
  • Stamp Duty Land Tax*

*This will depend on the purchase price of your property. You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using HMRC's website or if the property is located in Wales by using the Welsh Revenue Authority's website here.

Additional information:

On a leasehold sale, we must obtain management pack from the freeholder and/or management company.  They will charge for providing this documentation and you will be responsible for their fees in this regard.
On a leasehold re-mortgage, we must obtain ground rent and service charge information form from the freeholder and/or management company.  They will charge for providing this documentation and you will be responsible for their fees in this regard.

Family & Probate matters

We provide services through our family team in the areas of family law which covers awide range of family matter issues including Divorce, Children, Contact Orders, Financial Arrangements, Litigation and other related family matters.

Our fees range from £150 to £350 per hour for contentious matters and in some cases, we offer fixed rates in less cumbersome divorce or family related matters ranging between £800 to £1500 in non-contentious matters. Our detailed client letters will confirm the specific fees including the disbursements and other expenses. In some instances, fees may also be agreed and fixed bespoke with the client needs in family matters.

If you require more information on our fees, please do get in touch us.

Probate

We provide advice and assistance in non-contentious probate matters such as obtaining grant and re-sealing where necessary. Our costs based on hourly rates from £100 to £350 depending on the experience of the solicitor or caseworker dealing with your case as stated above. In other instances, we can agree a fixed fee depending on the complexity of the matter.

All our fees are subject to VAT on the prevailing VAT rate.

Employment

Our fees

Simple case £1,000.00 – £2,000.00 (excluding VAT)
Medium tier £3,000.00 – £5,000.00 (excluding VAT)
High complexity case £4,000.00 – £15,000.00 (excluding VAT)

Disbursement

We offer fixed and hourly fees on our employment and our Client care letter will highlight our fees and structure at the onset. We also provide a Settlement Agreement Service.  The costs of approving a straightforward Settlement Agreement are normally between £250.00- £500.00 plus VAT.

The fees set out above cover all the stages of the work we will carry out on your behalf and they include the following key stages of the claim:

  • Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on merits;
  • Entering into pre-claim conciliation where this is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached;
  • Preparing claim or response;
  • Reviewing and advising on claim or response from other party;
  • Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process;
  • Preparing or considering a schedule of loss;
  • Preparing for (and attending) hearings;
  • Exchanging documents with the other party and agreeing a bundle of documents;
  • Taking witness statements, drafting statements and agreeing their content with witnesses;
  • Preparing bundle of documents;
  • Reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements;
  • Agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or cast list;
  • Preparing Instructions to Counsel.

We also provide a Settlement Agreement Service.  The costs of approving a straightforward Settlement Agreement are normally between £250.00- £500.00 plus VAT.

The time that it takes from taking your initial instructions to the final resolution of your matter depends largely on the stage at which your case is resolved.  If a settlement is reached during pre-claim conciliation, your case is likely to take few weeks.  If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 6 months or beyond. This is just an estimate on timescale and as we progress, we will of course be able to give you an accurate timescale.

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Simon Bethel Solicitors is the trading name of Simon Bethel Solicitors Limited, a company registered in England & Wales with registration number: 9483611. A list of Directors is open to inspection at its registered office: 68 Lewisham High Street, London SE13 5JH.

Authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority – SRA Number: 623211
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