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The legal helpline (the “Helpline”) is a free legal telephone helpline service provided by Minster Law Limited or our selected Partners (“We” or “Us”) to BGL Direct Life Limited (“BGL”).
We have agreed that BGL may grant their policyholders, or their next of kin if calling on behalf of the policyholder’s estate following their death, (“You” or “Caller”) access to the Helpline subject to these Licence Terms and Conditions (“Conditions”).
We’ve summarised the key points We think You need to know, but You should read the full Conditions which apply to the relationship between You and Us.
Using the Helpline will be deemed to be acceptance of these Conditions and You confirm that You have the right and ability to enter into agreement with the Conditions and Your consent for relevant information required to support the Helpline being shared with BGL and our Partners.
1. (a) The Helpline is open to take calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
(b) Following contact with the Helpline We will contact You by the end of the next working day (Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm).
2. (a) The Helpline is only available for personal, non-commercial use and covers the following areas of law in England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland:
Wills and Probate
Capacity
Power of Attorney
General legal advice surrounding end of life matters
(b) Only You can use the Helpline.
(c) We can withdraw, limit or suspend access to the Helpline at any time and without notice to You under any circumstances, including, but not limited to, circumstances:
(i) where You are rude or abusive;
(ii) which in our view amount to unreasonable, abusive or excessive use of the Helpline;
(iii) which are detrimental or disruptive to the provision of the Helpline to other callers or the effective performance of our business, our Partners or the Helpline;
(iv) which We deem to be in breach of these Conditions;
3. For the purpose of the Helpline We are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to provide advice and cannot advise You on any tax consequences of Your enquiry or the merits of investment transactions or exercising investment rights or act as an arranger or broker of transactions. You should ask an accountant or financial advisor to advise on such matters.
4. Callers are requested to be ready with a concise summary of their enquiry and the legal question they wish to ask. BGL will take details and pass them to Us. We will contact You and, where possible and appropriate, provide initial basic information related to Your enquiry on any of the above areas of law noted within clause 2 based on what You tell us. If Your enquiry relates to any other area of law or work not normally undertaken by Us within the scope of the Helpline or if there are other circumstances giving us reason not to give You information (for example, a conflict of interest), We are under no obligation to provide any information or advice.
5. On contacting the Helpline initial details will be taken by BGL who will take the necessary information to support responding to Your query. We will contact you by the end of the next working day in relation to Your query.
6. Advice may be provided by Minster Law or one of our carefully selected partners who have agreed to act on behalf of Minster Law (“Partner”).
7. To support provision of the Helpline We will need to exchange information between ourselves, Partners and BGL. By contacting the Helpline You will be deemed to have consented to passing this information about Your query. This information will relate to the nature of Our contact with You and We and BGL will store this information in accordance with paragraph 25.
8. We may ask You for information to help us with Your enquiry. You must give Us information We ask for as soon as possible and tell Us if You think it is not complete or accurate. It is also Your responsibility to carry out any action that We suggest you should do. We will not be responsible for anything that happens because You have not done something We suggested You do promptly.
9. Any information provided through the Helpline is given as a general preliminary guide only and should not be relied upon as a substitute for formal legal advice given in the context of full information (including documentation) provided by You to Your Solicitor in a properly defined engagement.
10. The Helpline does not include:
a) drafting or amendment of documents or clauses;
b) preparation of letters; or
c) advising, supporting or representing you in any further way.
11. Where We believe formal legal advice is required, We will tell You. We may be able to refer You to one of our legal representatives at Minster Law, our Partner, or another law firm with whom We have a working relationship who will discuss next steps with You, so You can decide if You would like that law firm to assist You further. You are under no obligation to use any organisation suggested by Us for further formal legal advice. Funding for such legal costs and advice is not available under the terms of the Helpline.
12. Whilst Minster Law will have taken reasonable steps to ensure that our Partner or any organisation You are suggested may be suitable to assist you or to instruct in relation to Your particular legal query, issue or dispute We will not be responsible for any act or omission on their behalf in relation to the depth or quality of their advice, conduct or legal advice. Any complaints or issues with their conduct or advice should be directed to that organisation.
13. You should contact the Helpline personally and not via a third party. Any information given is provided to and for Your benefit alone and not for the benefit of family, friends and other third parties.
14. Information is given by telephone only and not in writing. We will not enter into correspondence with You. Documents (including letters and other written communications) cannot be considered or drafted. We are under no obligation to take any action as a result of your call unless We are formally instructed in writing in accordance have confirmed and agreed such instructions to act. We may monitor emails in accordance with the Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practice) (Interception of Communications) Regulations 2000.
15. We cannot receive or deal with any funds for You or on Your behalf in relation to the Helpline.
16. Excessive use of the Helpline is not permitted and may result in the service being withdrawn for particular Callers. Telephone calls may be ended by the Helpline if they are considered excessive (e.g. over 30 minutes long) or if an excessive number of calls are made. We reserve the right to withdraw the Helpline from You or generally at any time without notice.
17. We shall not be responsible for any losses whatsoever suffered, sustained or incurred by You or any third party by reason of Our compliance with obligations imposed on us by 1) the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 and/or 2) the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and/or 3) other legislation relating to or connected with the prevention of crime and/or 4) the instructions of any law enforcement agencies.
18. No liability is accepted for any direct or indirect loss You or any third party sustain arising from the advice on this helpline, subject to your legal rights.
19. Except as expressly and specifically provided in these Conditions, all warranties, conditions and other terms implied by statute or common law are, to the fullest extent permitted by law, excluded from these Conditions.
20. Nothing in these Conditions shall exclude or limit:
a) liability arising from death or injury to persons caused by negligence; or
b) liability arising as a result of fraud or gross negligence to which no limit applies; or
c) any other liability which cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.
21. We shall not be liable for:
a) any loss resulting from the provision of the Helpline by other Service Providers
b) any loss for which liability is disclaimed elsewhere in these Conditions;
c) loss of profits;
d) loss of business;
e) depletion of goodwill or similar losses;
f) loss of anticipated savings;
g) loss of goods;
h) loss of use;
i) loss or corruption of data or information;
j) any special, indirect, consequential or pure economic loss, costs, damages, charges or expenses.
22. In the event a Court deems that any liability were to arise or attach from the provision of advice through the Helpline Our liability will be to limited to the total of £100.00 or the lowest permitted sum according to law for any one claim. For the avoidance of doubt, a claim shall be defined as a claim or a series of claims (whether by one or more claimant) arising from, or in connection with, or attributable to, any one act, error, omission or originating cause or source or the dishonesty of any person or group of persons acting together, and any such series of claims shall be deemed to be one claim for all purposes under this clause
23. The limit on liability noted within clause 22 shall cover all claims of any sort whatsoever (including but not limited to interest and costs). This provision shall have no application to any liability for death or personal injury or any other liability for which exclusion or restriction is prohibited by law or to liability as a result of fraud.
24. Our liability to You shall further be limited to that proportion of the loss or damage (including interest and costs) suffered by You which is ascribed to Us by a court of competent jurisdiction allocating proportionate responsibility to Us having regard to the contribution to the loss and damage in question of any other person (‘loss or damage’ having the same meaning as in the Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978). This provision shall have no application to any liability for death or personal injury or any other liability for which exclusion or restriction is prohibited by law or to liability as a result of fraud or reckless disregard of professional obligations on our part.
25. To ensure that We can provide You with access to the Helpline We will need to obtain and process personal data relating to You and the reason for Your call. We are required to inform You that any personal or sensitive data We receive about You or from You about someone else may be processed by Us to ensure We comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.
26. We acknowledge that We will comply with all Data Protection Legislation including but not limited to the Data Protection Action 1998 and the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (“GDPR”) as in force from time to time as transposed into domestic legislation and as amended, replaced or superseded from time to time including by the GDPR.
27. (a) The information We may process is Your Personal Data and/or Sensitive Personal Data as set out in the Data Protection Act 1998 or GDPR from 25 May 2018.
(b) “Personal Data” is any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person: an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person;
(c) “Sensitive Personal Data” has the meaning given in the Data Protection Act 1998 and shall be considered to be any data that falls into one of the “special categories of Personal Data” upon commencement of the GDPR;
28. We will only process Personal Data or Sensitive Personal Data in accordance with Our requirements under these Conditions or as agreed with BGL to perform the Helpline function.
29. We will take all reasonable steps We deem appropriate as required by Data Protection Legislation to protect Your information and it is lawfully processed.
30. You are entitled to request in writing access to Personal Data or Sensitive Personal Data we may hold on You which is processed by Us, and We acknowledge We are legally required to grant such a request unless the data is legally privileged. The right of access includes the right to information on the purposes of the processing, the recipients, the source and substance of any disclosed data. If We are required to provide data in response to a request relating to Your enquiry, We reserve the right to raise an invoice or charge for the provision of such activities in accordance with the law surrounding Data Protection Legislation as is in effect at the time of the request.
31. Telephone calls made under the scope of the Services offered under the Helpline may be recorded for data protection and training purposes and shall be stored for a limited period of time which will be in accordance with our internal policies and procedures. Unless You notify us in writing otherwise, You consent to the exclusive electronic storage by us (or by third parties on our behalf) of all such telephone recordings. You may request a copy of the telephone recording subject to a reasonable charge.
32. We expect that you will receive an efficient and effective service. In the unlikely event of a problem arising or Your being dissatisfied with the service provided, You should contact our Client Relations Team in the first instance, at the address below.
33. If any provision of these Conditions is found by any court, tribunal or administrative body of competent jurisdiction to be wholly or partly illegal, invalid, void, voidable, unenforceable or unreasonable it shall to the extent of such illegality, invalidity, voidness, voidability, unenforceability or unreasonableness be deemed severable and the remaining provisions of these Conditions and the remainder of such provision shall continue in full force and effect.
34. Failure or delay by Us in enforcing or partially enforcing any provision of these Conditions shall not be construed as a waiver of any of Our rights under these Conditions.
35. Any waiver by either party of any breach of or any default under any provision of these Conditions by the other shall not be deemed a waiver of any subsequent breach or default and shall in no way affect the other terms of these Conditions.
36. These Conditions are not intended to and do not confer any rights on any third party under the Contracts (Right of Third Parties) Act 1999.
37. We will not be responsible for a failure to fulfil Our obligations under these Conditions or for delay in doing so if such failure or delay is due to circumstances beyond Our reasonable control, such as acts of nature, acts of government, war, riots, strikes and accidents in transportation.
38. The formation, existence, construction, performance, validity and all aspects of these Conditions shall be governed by English law and the parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.
39. The Conditions and all communications will be in English.
40. We may at any time assign Our rights or sub-contract Our obligations under these Conditions, in whole or in part, without notice to You.
41. We reserve the right to amend the Conditions under which the Helpline is offered at any time without notice. This right shall not affect the previous Conditions accepted by You when using the Helpline on a previous occasion. In the event of any conflict between these Conditions and Your policy terms and conditions, the Conditions shall prevail.
MINSTER LAW and MINSTER LAW SOLICITORS are the trading names of MINSTER LAW LIMITED, a company registered in England & Wales number 4659625.
Our registered office is at: Kingfisher House, Peel Avenue, Wakefield, WF2 7UA
Email: lifehelpline@minsterlaw.co.uk
Web: www.minsterlaw.co.uk
VAT No. 638 3863 06
We are authorised and regulated by The Solicitors Regulation Authority under No. 383018. The SRA Code of Conduct and professional rules to which we are required to adhere are available via the SRA website www.sra.org.uk
Date 29/8/2018
We’re currently experiencing a high volume of calls into our contact centre and whilst we are doing our very best to maintain service levels, we ask that you only call our contact centre if absolutely necessary so we can keep our phone lines available for vulnerable customers and those who don’t have access to online services.
If you need to check any details or make a change to your policy, please log in to your Self-Service Centre. It will be much quicker for you to make changes to your policy online at the moment. Once logged in, you can also use our Webchat service which is available Monday- Saturday 8am-6pm and Sunday 10am-4pm to make changes, accept or decline your renewal or if you need to let us know about a claim. To log in, please click here.
We also have some other information that may be useful. Click here to read our FAQ’s, and information on what we are doing to support key workers can be found here.