Meridian Terms of Business

1. About Meridian

Meridian Immigration Services Ltd ("Meridian", "we", "us" or "our") is a private limited company registered in England and Wales under company number 17366515. Our registered office is 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9JQ. Our correspondence address is 15 Hamilton Park West, Highbury, London N5 1AF.

Immigration advice and services are regulated activities. Meridian will only accept and carry out regulated immigration work when its organisational authorisation is in force, through an appropriately authorised adviser and within the level and categories of work permitted by the Immigration Advice Authority ("IAA"). Current regulatory and adviser details will be stated in the client care letter and displayed on our website where required.

2. Status of these Terms

These Terms explain the general basis on which Meridian provides immigration advice and services. They do not, by themselves, create an adviser-client relationship. We will act for you only after completing any required identity and conflict checks, agreeing to accept your matter and issuing a client care letter which you accept.

Your client care letter, any case-specific Payment Progress Schedule and these Terms should be read together. The client care letter will identify the precise work, adviser, fee, payment stages, important facts and any special terms for your matter. If there is an inconsistency, the case-specific client care letter or Payment Progress Schedule will take priority to the extent of that inconsistency, subject always to applicable law and regulatory requirements.

3. Our commitment to you

We will:

act competently, professionally, honestly and in your best interests within our authorised scope;

consider your instructions and relevant evidence with reasonable care;

explain the agreed work, likely timescale, fees and material risks in plain language;

keep you informed of material progress and correspondence;

protect confidentiality and personal information in accordance with law; and

tell you promptly if we cannot continue to act or if your matter requires work outside our authorised level or agreed scope.

4. Scope of our work

The work we agree to perform will be set out in your client care letter. Unless expressly included, our engagement does not cover appeals, administrative review, judicial review, litigation, tax advice, financial advice, employment advice, family law, conveyancing or advice under the law of another country.

Information on our website is general information only. It is not a substitute for advice on your individual circumstances and does not create an adviser-client relationship. Immigration law, policy, fees and procedures change frequently, and website information may not reflect a change made after publication.

5. Your responsibilities

You agree to:

give complete, accurate and honest instructions and notify us promptly of any correction or change;

provide requested documents and information in a clear and timely manner;

not provide false, altered or misleading documents or ask us to conceal relevant information;

review forms, statements, representations and supporting documents carefully and confirm approval before submission;

meet agreed deadlines and remain responsible for any immigration expiry date, travel plan or other deadline brought to your attention;

keep your contact details up to date and check communications from us and the relevant authority;

pay Home Office and other third-party charges directly when required; and

pay our invoices in accordance with the agreed client care letter and Payment Progress Schedule.

We may be unable to advise properly or meet a deadline if information or documents are late, incomplete or inaccurate. We will not knowingly submit false or misleading information and may be required to stop acting if you do not correct a material inaccuracy.

6. Fees and completed-stage billing

Where possible, we agree a fixed professional fee. Your client care letter will state the total fee, whether VAT applies, what is included, what is excluded and the amount allocated to each completed stage.

Under Meridian's current Progress Payment Schedule arrangement:

we do not require professional fees in advance and do not accept a deposit, retainer or payment on account for work not yet completed;

we invoice only after an agreed stage has been fully completed and we have provided a written completion notice or identified the completed deliverable;

each invoice will describe the completed stage and will normally be payable within seven days, unless your client care letter states another period;

you initiate each payment after receiving the invoice and no automatic payment will be taken under this arrangement;

we do not hold money for future work or third-party charges in our business account; and

if an amount is paid in error, in duplicate, in advance or above the invoice amount, the unallocated amount will be returned promptly rather than held for later work.

If Meridian later changes its payment arrangements, any change affecting your matter will be explained and agreed in writing. It will not retrospectively convert a payment for completed work into advance client money.

7. Home Office fees and other third-party charges

Our professional fees do not include Home Office application fees, Immigration Health Surcharge, biometric charges, tribunal or court fees, translations, interpreters, experts, barristers, solicitors, couriers or other third-party costs unless the client care letter expressly says otherwise.

You will normally pay the relevant authority or provider directly. Meridian will not ask you to route these charges through its business account. Third-party charges are governed by the provider's terms and refund rules, and Meridian is not responsible for a provider's decision not to refund a charge.

8. Right to cancel a distance or off-premises contract

If you are a consumer and enter into a contract with us online, by telephone, by email or away from our business premises, you will normally have a statutory right to cancel within 14 days beginning the day after the contract is made, without giving a reason.

You may cancel by sending a clear statement to info@meridianimmigration.co.uk or to our correspondence address. You may use the model cancellation form at the end of these Terms, but you do not have to use it.

We will not begin substantive work during the cancellation period unless you expressly ask us to do so. If you request an early start and then cancel, the law may allow us to charge a proportionate amount for services supplied before cancellation. Under our current completed-stage arrangement, we will not invoice an uncompleted stage. If the service has been fully performed during the cancellation period at your express request and after you acknowledged that full performance would end the cancellation right, you may lose the right to cancel.

These cancellation rights apply in addition to your right to end our instructions under section 14 below and do not affect your statutory rights.

9. Communication and service standards

We will normally communicate by email and telephone unless another method is agreed. Email and internet communications carry unavoidable security and delivery risks. You must tell us if you do not wish to receive particular information by email or if another reasonable communication method is required because of disability, language or other circumstances.

Timescales given by Meridian are estimates unless expressly agreed otherwise. We do not control the time taken by the Home Office, an embassy, a court, tribunal or another third party. We will tell you about material delays or requests that come to our attention.

10. Decisions and no guarantee of success

We will provide our professional assessment based on the facts, documents and law available at the time. No adviser can guarantee that an application, appeal or other matter will succeed. Decisions are made by the Home Office, courts, tribunals and other relevant bodies. A refusal, delay or adverse decision does not by itself mean that our service was defective or that professional fees for completed work will be refunded.

Immigration law and policy may change during or after your matter. Where a material change affects active work, we will explain the effect so far as it falls within our agreed scope. Unless further work is agreed, our responsibility ends when the matter described in the client care letter is completed and the file is closed.

11. Confidentiality and data protection

We will keep your information confidential except where disclosure is authorised by you, necessary to carry out your instructions, required by law or regulation, necessary to prevent serious harm or protect legal rights, or required by the IAA in the exercise of its regulatory functions.

Our separate Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share and retain personal information and the rights available to you. It is available through the footer of our website and forms part of the information governing our use of personal data.

12. Identity, fraud and compliance checks

Before or during an engagement, we may request evidence of identity, address, authority to act, source of funds or other information reasonably required for legal, regulatory, insurance, fraud-prevention or risk-management purposes. We may decline or cease to act if satisfactory information is not provided or if acting would breach law, regulation or professional obligations.

13. Conflicts of interest

We carry out conflict checks before accepting work and will keep potential conflicts under review. If an actual or significant potential conflict arises, we may have to decline instructions or stop acting for one or more people. Where permitted, we will explain the position and take reasonable steps to protect your interests and confidentiality.

14. Ending our engagement

You may end our engagement at any time by telling us in writing. A stage already completed and properly invoiced remains payable. Under the current completed-stage arrangement, an uncompleted stage will not be invoiced.

We may stop acting where there is good reason, including non-payment of a properly due invoice, failure to provide instructions, documents or truthful information, a request to act unlawfully or misleadingly, abusive or threatening conduct, a conflict of interest, loss of necessary authorisation or insurance, or a breakdown of trust that makes continued work unreasonable. Where possible and lawful, we will give reasonable notice, explain the position and provide information about urgent deadlines and the transfer or return of your file.

15. Files and document retention

We will normally retain the client file and supporting records securely for six years after the matter is closed, subject to legal, regulatory, insurance and data protection requirements. We may retain information longer where a complaint, dispute, investigation, safeguarding issue or legal obligation requires it.

Original documents supplied by you will normally be returned when no longer required. Unless agreed otherwise, we may keep electronic copies. You should retain your own copies of applications, evidence, decisions and important correspondence.

16. Complaints

We aim to provide a high standard of service. If you are dissatisfied, please raise the matter as soon as possible under our Complaints Handling Procedure, available through the footer of our website. The procedure explains how complaints may be made verbally or in writing, how they are recorded and investigated, and the possible outcomes.

We will acknowledge a formal complaint in writing within three working days and provide a final written response within 20 working days. If the timescale must change, we will tell you and explain why. You may complain to the Immigration Advice Authority at any time, whether or not our internal procedure has concluded. Using the complaints procedure does not affect any other legal rights available to you.

17. Liability and statutory rights

We are responsible for loss that is a reasonably foreseeable result of our breach of contract or failure to exercise reasonable skill and care, subject to applicable law and any fair and lawful limitation expressly stated in your client care letter. We are not responsible for a decision or delay of the Home Office or another third party, for loss caused by inaccurate, incomplete or late information supplied to us, or for matters outside the agreed scope, except to the extent that the law makes us responsible.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, death or personal injury caused by negligence, breach of duties that cannot lawfully be limited, or any right or remedy that cannot lawfully be excluded. Nothing in these Terms affects your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 or other mandatory consumer law.

18. Intellectual property and use of documents

You may use advice, representations, checklists and other documents prepared specifically for you for the purpose of your own matter. Meridian retains ownership of its general templates, systems, know-how and materials. Documents prepared for one client or matter should not be relied upon by another person or used for another purpose without our written agreement.

19. Website links and third-party services

Our website may contain links to government or third-party websites. Links are provided for convenience and do not mean that Meridian controls or endorses all content, availability, security or privacy practices of those sites. You should read the relevant provider's terms and privacy information before using its services.

20. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms to reflect changes in law, regulation, payment arrangements or our services. Updated Terms will be published on our website with an effective date. A change will not alter the agreed terms of an existing matter unless it is required by law or regulation or is explained and agreed with you in writing.

21. Governing law

These Terms and our relationship with you are governed by the law of England and Wales. The courts of England and Wales will have jurisdiction, but this does not deprive a consumer living elsewhere of any mandatory protection or right to bring proceedings available under applicable consumer law.