Terms of Engagement
1. Who we are and what this document is
The Source of Funds Company is a trading name of Complex Legal Limited, a company registered in England & Wales (company number 10066369) with its registered office at 16 High Lane, Manchester M21 9DF. VAT registration no. GB 236 5282 05. In these terms, “we”, “us” and “our” mean Complex Legal Limited trading as The Source of Funds Company, and “you” means the person instructing us and paying our fee.
These are the terms on which we provide our source of funds checking service. They form a contract between you and us when you pay our fee. Please read them before paying — you will be asked to confirm you accept them as part of the payment process.
We are not a law firm, we are not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority or the Financial Conduct Authority, and we do not provide legal or financial advice. Contact: enquiries@sourceoffundscompany.com · 0161 706 0800 · sourceoffundscompany.com.
2. Who our client is
You are our client. Your solicitor may have recommended us to you, but your solicitor is not our client, does not instruct us on your matter, and pays us nothing. No fee, commission or other payment passes between us and any law firm in either direction. Our contract is with you alone.
3. The service
Our service is to:
- contact you to identify how your property purchase is being funded;
- tell you what evidence of the source of your funds is needed for your circumstances, and how to provide it to us;
- gather and review that evidence with you;
- prepare a clear source of funds report presenting that evidence; and
- send the report to the law firm acting for you on your purchase, with a copy to you.
What the service is not. We collect, organise and present evidence. We do not decide whether your source of funds is acceptable — that decision belongs to your law firm, which makes its own assessment under its own legal obligations. Our report is not legal advice, is not an audit, and is not a guarantee that your purchase will proceed or that your law firm will be satisfied.
4. Our fee
Our fee is £60 including VAT (£50 plus VAT), payable once, in advance, through the payment page on our website. Paying the fee and accepting these terms is how you instruct us. The fee covers the full standard service described in clause 3, and there is nothing further to pay us for that service.
5. If your circumstances require enhanced checks
In rare cases, the money laundering regulations require a deeper level of checking (known as enhanced due diligence) which goes beyond the standard service. If this applies to you:
- we will tell you as soon as we identify it, normally on our first call;
- we will give you a fixed written quote for the work actually required, with your £60 counted towards it; and
- if you prefer not to proceed, we will instead refund your £60 in full.
We will not carry out, or charge for, any work beyond the standard service without your agreement in advance. You cannot lose your fee under this clause: it is either counted towards the quoted work or refunded in full.
6. When we start, and your right to cancel
As a consumer buying a service at a distance, you have a legal right to cancel this contract within 14 days of entering into it (the “cooling-off period”) under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.
Property purchases rarely allow time to wait. By accepting these terms you expressly request that we begin work immediately, without waiting for the cooling-off period to end. You acknowledge that once the service has been fully performed — that is, once your report has been sent to your law firm — you lose the right to cancel.
If you cancel before your report has been sent to your law firm, we will refund your fee in full. To cancel, email or telephone us using the contact details in clause 1; you may use the model cancellation form at the end of these terms but do not have to.
7. What we need from you
You agree to:
- give us information that is accurate, complete and truthful;
- provide the evidence we ask for promptly — delays in providing evidence become delays in your report; and
- tell us promptly if your funding arrangements change after you instruct us.
We prepare your report in reliance on what you provide. We are not responsible for the consequences of information that is inaccurate, incomplete or untrue, and if we conclude that we cannot properly prepare a report, we may end the contract and (unless you have knowingly provided false information) refund your fee.
8. How we work
A named member of our team will take your case and remain your point of contact through to your report. We work by telephone and email. We aim to make first contact within one working day of your instruction, and to deliver your report promptly once we have received the last piece of evidence we need.
9. Your documents and data
Once your report has been sent to your law firm, we delete your documents and information from our systems. We keep no copy of your evidence or report. Your law firm holds the report on its file. We retain only the records of your payment and our engagement with you that we are legally required to keep for accounting and tax purposes.
Full details of how we handle your personal data, and your rights, are in our Privacy Notice, which forms part of these terms.
10. Our liability to you
Nothing in these terms excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited by law. Your statutory rights as a consumer, including under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, are not affected.
Subject to that, our total liability to you in connection with the service is limited to £1,000. We are not liable for losses that are not a foreseeable result of our breaking this contract, nor for delay or failure in your property transaction itself — including where your law firm declines to rely on the evidence presented, requires further checks, or reaches its own view on your source of funds.
11. Complaints
If you are unhappy with our service, tell us: complaints@sourceoffundscompany.com or 0161 706 0800. We will acknowledge your complaint within 2 business days and respond substantively within 10 business days. We are not covered by an ombudsman scheme, but this does not affect your legal rights or your right to bring a claim.
12. General
- These terms and our Privacy Notice are the entire agreement between us for the service.
- Only you and we have rights under this contract; no one else (including your law firm) may enforce it.
- If any part of these terms is found unenforceable, the rest remains in force.
- We may update these terms from time to time; the version you accepted at payment is the version that applies to you.
- These terms are governed by the law of England & Wales, and the courts of England & Wales have jurisdiction (if you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you may also bring proceedings there).
Model cancellation form
To: The Source of Funds Company (a trading name of Complex Legal Limited), enquiries@sourceoffundscompany.com
I hereby give notice that I cancel my contract for the supply of the source of funds checking service.
Ordered on [date] · Name of consumer · Address of consumer · Signature (only if this form is notified on paper) · Date