Terms of business

About these terms

These terms apply to all work we do for you unless we agree something different in writing. Instructing us, or paying our fee, means you accept them.

Keystone Secretarial Services operates from 167-169 Great Portland Street, London W1W 5PF, and is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (registration ZC168532).

What we do and do not do

We provide UK company formation, a registered office address, company secretarial support including confirmation statements and statutory registers, and director, shareholder and PSC changes. What is included in your engagement is confirmed in writing before work starts.

We do not provide legal advice, tax advice, accountancy or audit services, and nothing we say should be treated as such. Where a matter needs that advice we will tell you, and you should take it separately.

Engaging us

• You tell us what you need and we confirm the scope and a fixed price in writing.
• We complete identity and anti-money laundering checks.
• Work begins once the fee is paid and the checks are complete.
• Any change of scope is agreed and priced in writing before it is carried out.

Fees and payment

• Prices are all-inclusive: Companies House fees, UK VAT and identity verification fees are included, and there are no hidden charges.
• Monthly plans run on a minimum term of six months paid, after which three months' written notice ends the plan. Plans are reviewed annually and any change is notified in advance.
• One-off fees are payable before work starts. Monthly fees are payable in advance by the agreed method.
• Work outside the agreed scope is quoted separately and only carried out once you approve it.

Your responsibilities

• Give us accurate, complete and current information about the company, its officers and its owners.
• Tell us promptly when something changes - an address, an officer, a shareholding or a person with significant control.
• Respond to requests for information in time for statutory deadlines.
• Complete identity verification when asked.

We rely on the information you give us. We are not responsible for a filing being wrong or late where the cause is information that was inaccurate, incomplete or provided too late.

Identity checks and anti-money laundering

We are required by law to verify the identity of clients and of the people behind a company before we act, and to keep records of those checks. We may decline or stop work where checks cannot be completed satisfactorily, and we may be required to make a report to the authorities without telling you.

Registered office and post

• The address may be used as the company's registered office and, where agreed, as a director's service address. It may not be used for any other purpose, or held out as a trading address, without our written agreement.
• Official post from Companies House, HMRC and other government bodies is received, scanned and forwarded to you.
• General business post, parcels and deliveries are not part of the service and may be returned to sender.
• The address may not be used by a company we do not act for, and may not be transferred to another company without our agreement.

Filings and deadlines

Where we are engaged for ongoing support we track your statutory deadlines and prepare and file on your behalf on the information you have confirmed. The statutory duties of the company and its officers remain theirs at all times; we act as agent, not as an officer of the company, unless separately appointed in writing.

Ending the arrangement

• Either of us may end a monthly plan by three months' written notice, after the minimum term.
• On exit we forward on post received, and you must change the company's registered office to an address you control before the plan ends.
• Where the registered office has not been changed by the end date, we may resign the address and notify Companies House.
• Fees already paid for a completed one-off service are not refundable.

Liability

We provide our services with reasonable care and skill. Our total liability for any claim connected with an engagement is limited to the fees you paid us for that engagement in the twelve months before the claim arose. We are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, loss of profit, or penalties arising from information given to us late or incorrectly.

Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited.

We maintain professional indemnity insurance appropriate to the services we provide.

Complaints

If something goes wrong, tell us. We acknowledge complaints within two working days and aim to give a full response within ten working days. Contact details are on the contact page and in the footer of every page.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction. How we handle personal information is set out in our privacy policy.