FestiveFast Terms and Conditions

Festive Fast is designed to give you some peace of mind that we will do all we can to have you sold or moving into your new home by Christmas.

These Terms and Conditions relate specifically to the Festive Fast service and our standard Terms of Business are to be read as incorporating these terms. Where our Terms of Business reference or imply reference to a ‘fee guarantee’ for an alternative service we may offer, these Festive Fast terms are to be taken as replacing any such reference.

While we are committed to transforming the speed of conveyancing, it is important to note that we make no guarantee that the Exchange of Contracts or Completion of your conveyancing transaction will take place by a specified date or within a specified time limit.

Any guarantee we make relates solely to the discount to your fees and never to achieving a specific date for Exchange of Contracts or Completion of your transaction.

  1. Definitions
    1. Assessment Fee: £150 plus VAT. This is only applicable in some instances if the transaction cannot proceed under the Festive Fast service as identified during the Assessment Stage (explained in section 2, below).
    2. Assessment Stage: The period starting from the day after we receive the signed Client Care Letter, signed acceptance of these Terms and Conditions and the completed Client Questionnaire from you and ending:
      1. For sales – at 11.59pm on the tenth working day thereafter or two working days from the date we receive confirmation of acting from your buyer’s conveyancers, whichever is later
      2. For purchases – at 11.59pm on the tenth working day thereafter or three working days from the date that we receive the Contract Pack from your seller’s conveyancers, whichever is later (see ‘Contract Pack’ below)
    3. Completion/Completion Date: The date agreed between the parties (by way of Exchange of Contracts) to complete the sale and/or purchase transaction. This is typically the moving-day.
    4. Contract Pack (for purchase transactions): In order for us to conclude the Assessment Stage, we must be in receipt of the following documents by the deadline indicated in this clause, from your seller’s conveyancers:
      1. For freehold property purchase, by 28 November 2025:
        • Draft Contract
        • Official Copy Title Register and plan
        • Substantially completed Property Information Form
      2. For leasehold purchase, by 18 November 2025:
        • Draft Contract
        • Official Copy Title Register and plan (leasehold)
        • Lease
        • Substantially completed Property Information Form and Leasehold Information Form
    5. Exchange of Contracts: When the Agreement to sell or purchase the subject property is formally entered and becomes legally binding on the seller and buyer. The exchanged contract will fix the Completion Date.
    6. Excluded Transactions:
      1. You are acting by Enduring or Lasting Power of Attorney and the registered Power is not due to be available by 12 December 2025 (evidence of the power, application and proposed registration date shall be required during the Assessment Stage). Please note that Exchange of Contracts cannot take place without an official/certified copy of the registered document.
      2. You are acting by Grant of Representation or Order for Sale but the Grant/Order is not due to be issued by 12 December 2025 (evidence of the application and proposed issue date shall be required during the Assessment Stage). Please note that Exchange of Contracts cannot take place without an official/certified copy of the sealed document.
      3. We do not have instructions from all registered proprietors or their legal representatives (note that they shall be a client for the purposes of signing our Client Care Letter and accepting these Terms and Conditions).
      4. The property is not registered at HM Land Registry or your ownership has not been registered (except where you are a legal representative of the registered proprietor(s)).
      5. The other party or parties in the chain have informed you, your Estate Agent or us that they are unable to complete by the Target Date.
      6. Your purchase is dependent on you obtaining a mortgage but we are not on your mortgage provider’s panel such that we cannot act for them.
      7. Where results of Local Authority searches (or other searches required by your lender) will not be available on or before 5 December 2025 (and your mortgage provider will not agree to any alternative).
      8. The property is within a new build development and will not be ready for occupation by the Target Date (including issuance of any necessary warranties).
      9. You reside in a country designated as high risk by the Financial Action Task Force and/or you are using money accrued in or connected with a high risk country towards the purchase price, in full or in part.
      10. Your sale or purchase is dependant on another transaction by you (i.e. a related sale, purchase or remortgage) but we are not instructed in connection with that transaction by the deadline for instructing us for the Festive Fast service.
      11. Any transaction where the circumstances are considered unusual or particularly complex (from that of a regular, residential sale and purchase transaction) and we inform you at the quote stage that Festive Fast is not appropriate to your circumstances.
    7. Festive Fast Fee: The supplemental fee ‘Festive Fast’ as noted on the Quote provided to you.
    8. Target Date: no later than 24 December 2025.
  2. The Festive Fast Guarantee:
    1. The Festive Fast Guarantee only applies to those clients who have purchased our Festive Fast conveyancing service. The legal fee for the Festive Fast service is based on our regular legal fees as quoted plus the Festive Fast Fee.
    2. The nature of the Guarantee that we make to you is that we will aim to give you the best opportunity of achieving Completion by the Target Date and we guarantee to discount your fees by waiving the Festive Fast Fee if the Target Date is not achieved subject to the terms and conditions below.

      Please be aware that this opportunity arises by us conducting as detailed an assessment as possible during the Assessment Stage and this is dependant on you providing us with accurate information at the quoting stage and/or within your Client Questionnaire.
    3. During the Assessment Stage we shall conduct a detailed assessment of your transaction to establish:
      1. the length of the chain (that is the number of transactions dependent on your sale and/or purchase) and your buyer/seller’s commitment to the transaction.
      2. the accuracy of information available during the quote stage to ensure the transaction is not an Excluded Transaction (please note that for some purchase transactions we will conduct a check of HM Land Registry’s (HMLR) property register to obtain the key title information. HMLR charge £7 per title document. This is a chargeable disbursement to you and the total cost shall depend on the number of documents required; typically two but sometimes up to five (£7-£35)).
      3. any complexities, which you may or may not have known about during the quote stage that may lead to potential delays.
    4. If during or by the end of the Assessment Stage we inform you that we are aware of factors that make it extremely unlikely that the Target Date shall be achieved or that the Target Date cannot be achieved as a result of complexities or issues outside of our control or that the transaction is an Excluded Transaction, then the following shall apply:
      1. you continue with an alternative conveyancing service that we may offer to you (including a revised quote) but the Festive Fast Fee shall not apply (and nor shall these Festive Fast terms save that we are entitled to charge the Assessment Fee).
      2. you cancel your instruction with us and we are entitled to charge the Assessment Fee together with the file opening fee and disbursements as outlined in our standard Terms of Business for abortive instructions.
      3. you continue with Festive Fast contrary to our advice and acknowledge that the Festive Fast Guarantee will not apply and we are entitled to charge the Festive Fast Fee even if the transaction does not complete by the Target Date.
    5. If at any time after the Assessment Stage but prior to Exchange of Contracts:
      1. We become aware of factors that mean Completion will not take place by the Target Date but you continue with your instruction then the Festive Fast Guarantee shall apply and you will not be charged the Festive Fast Fee (provided clauses 2.5.2-2.5.4 do not apply)
      2. You cancel the instruction (including as a result of your sale and/or purchase falling through) then the terms herein no longer apply save that we are entitled to invoice you an abortive fee for legal work and costs already incurred and which we shall deduct from any monies held on your client account.
      3. You fail to comply with any of the Conditions noted herein then the Festive Fast Fee shall continue to apply even if the Target Date is not achieved.
      4. You change your mind and decide you no longer want to Complete by the Target Date then the Festive Fast Fee shall remain payable notwithstanding that Completion may not take place by the Target Date
    6. If you wish to cancel your instruction at any time after Exchange of Contracts then our full legal fees including the Festive Fast Fee are payable.
    7. Notwithstanding any alternative service that we offer to you, if Completion is achieved by the Target Date the full Festive Fast Fee remains payable and due to us
    8. For the avoidance of doubt, the No Move No Fee guarantee does not apply to Festive Fast or any subsequent service connected with this transaction
  3. Conditions:
    1. While we cannot control all the factors that affect the speed of your transaction, we can influence many of them, such that our efforts improve the chance of you moving on or before the Target Date. However, in making our Guarantee, we also require that you use your best endeavours to be responsive to any instructions we may require from you and to assist us by chasing third parties where it will be helpful and appropriate for you to do so as we may request.
    2. In order for the Festive Fast Guarantee to apply you agree:
      1. Where it is a sale transaction, that you are the registered proprietor of the property you are selling or that you will provide the evidence required to legally act on behalf of the registered proprietor(s) in accordance with the timeframes set out herein (see above ‘Excluded Transactions’)
      2. Where it is a purchase transaction, that you are entitled to purchase a property in England and Wales and that you have sufficient funds or have made appropriate mortgage arrangements to proceed with the purchase.
      3. To the full use of electronic communication between us including, but not limited to, sending and receiving emails and your use of our portal.
      4. To notify us immediately of any change of mortgage provider. This is important because each mortgage provider has their own requirements which might impact the time taken to receive Local Authority Search results (please also see 1.6.6. and 1.6.7. above)
      5. To ensure your mortgage provider issues the ‘Solicitors Copy’ of your mortgage offer (if applicable) to us by 09 December 2025.
      6. To ensure all documents we send to you for completion and signature are completed, signed and returned to us within 48 hours of being sent (or such other timeframe as we may agree with you, but this does not confer any obligation on us to do so). Where possible, we will provide you with documents to be signed electronically (including via Docusign), except where we are prohibited from doing so.
      7. To provide full instructions, replies to any enquires and any requested documentation that is within your control within 48 hours of request (or such other timeframe as we may agree with you but this does not confer any obligation on us to do so).
      8. To use Credas (or such other equivalent electronic identification and verification platform) for identification anti-money laundering checks (including source of funds verification (incorporating open banking)) where possible. If you are excluded from using this (due to your location, for example) you will provide all relevant identification and source of funds documents within 48 hours of request (or such other timeframe as we may agree with you but this does not confer any obligation on us to do so). It will remain your responsibility to arrange for any documentation to be notarised or certified and sent to us, if applicable. Please note that this condition also applies to any Donors/Giftors/private lenders or any other party where we are obliged to obtain identification and/or source of funds verification.
      9. To authorise us to proceed by way of a ‘no-search indemnity’ where we are notified of a delay in obtaining searches, provided it is acceptable by your mortgage provider (if any).
  4. Additional points to note:
    1. An expedition fee of up to £175 plus VAT will apply if completion is in a period of less than 5 working days from Exchange. This fee will not apply to any cases required to exchange and complete between 15 December 2025 and the Target Date.
    2. While it is extremely rare, please note that if for any reason Completion does not take place on the agreed Completion Date (such as default by the other party), the terms of the sale contract that you will enter with the other party allow for Completion to take place at any time the parties are ready and able within 10 working days from the day after the original Completion Date. This may mean that actual completion takes place after the Target Date but the Festive Fast Fee shall continue to apply.
    3. All other matters, including limitation of liability, governing law and jurisdiction, complaints handling, refunds, and our general service commitments, are dealt with under our Terms of Business, which continue to apply in full except as otherwise stated.
    4. Nothing in these terms shall affect your statutory rights as a consumer or limit any rights you may have under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.