Interest Policy
In accordance with the Solicitors Accounts Rules 2019, this policy sets out how Smith & Co Solicitors will deal with interest on money held on account.
It is this firm’s policy to account to its clients for interest on a fair and reasonable basis for both the client and the firm.
In particular:
- Any money received on your behalf will be held in our client account. The client account will hold pooled amounts for different matters for its clients. These are held on an instant access account to facilitate transactions.
- Interest will be calculated at a rate of 50 per cent of the current interest rate paid by Royal Bank of Scotland on any sum of cleared funds held by us on your behalf in our Royal Bank of Scotland client account.
- Interest will not be payable if the amount calculated is £50 or less. Below that sum, we consider that the administrative costs of dealing with the funds would exceed the interest due.
- The interest due, if any, will be calculated on completion of any client instruction, when monies are returned to clients and will be added to the balance due to the client.
- Interest will not be calculated on money held for the payment of a professional disbursement if the person to whom the money is owed has requested a delay in settlement.
- If client monies are held in a separate designated deposit account (for example a specific bank account for a specific matter) all interest earned on that account will be credited to that bank account and paid to the client in full (subject to any applicable withholding tax).
- Clients are unlikely to receive as much interest as might have been obtained had they held the funds and invested the money themselves.
- The interest rate we receive from our bank, and are therefore able to pass on, can be lower than the investment rates available and also lower than the Bank of England base rate.
- We will review interest rates regularly and also whenever the Bank of England changes it’s bank rate.
- Interest is paid without deduction, and it is the client’s responsibility to declare gross interest received to the HMRC.
