GENERAL CONDITIONS

1. Definition of the Services

At FUSTER and ASSOCIATES we are aware that everyone has to deal with problems and difficult situations in their everyday life, and for this reason we provide legal consultancy services in accordance with the provisions of these General Conditions. We are only a phone call or an e-mail away.

The FUSTER and ASSOCIATES services are an telephone service or e-mail service. However, if the lawyer who deals with your consultation deems it necessary, he or she may advise a face-to-face meeting, or that you email us at enquiries@spainsolicitors.com at no additional charge. FUSTER & ASSOCIATES clients engaging our services can also send us contracts, appeals and other documents by fax or email for review and analysis by one of FUSTER & ASSOCIATES´s practising lawyers, in accordance with section 8 of these General Conditions.

2. Who can use these Services?

Only clients engaging our services may use these services, although they can consult us about matters concerning members of their family. In this sense, family members are defined as relatives who share the family home. Members must be aged between 18 and 65.

When making a consultation, clients engaging our services should answer any questions that FUSTER and ASSOCIATES ask them to verify that they are an authorized user. This service is personal and non-transferable.

3. Scope of services

The services provided by FUSTER and ASSOCIATES are for private individuals and deal only with events that take place in Spain, are subject to Spanish law, and for which a Spanish judge or court has competent jurisdiction.

Consequently, the services provided by FUSTER and ASSOCIATES do not include any consultations on issues for which the law of another country is applicable, under Spanish regulations that regulate private international law. This is also applicable to the preparation of contracts, appeals and other documents.

The FUSTER and ASSOCIATES Member services are undertaken in English.

4. Contracting the Services

You can contract our services by calling 968575650, visiting our webpage www.fuster-associates.com, or by filling out the membership registration form.

5. General Conditions for FUSTER & ASSOCIATES

The FUSTER and ASSOCIATES services may be contracted by making a single annual payment in advance. Payment can be made by credit or debit card, by direct debit or by a cash payment.

The services will be activated after FUSTER and ASSOCIATES has verified that the payment has been received, within a maximum period of 72 hours.

If an invoice is returned, or the credit card payment is not accepted, the contract will automatically be terminated, and neither party will be entitled to make any claim, provided that the client has not used any of the services. However, if the member has already used the contracted services, FUSTER and ASSOCIATES reserves the right to take any legal action necessary to claim payment for the services, whether by judicial or extrajudicial means. The party that is in breach of contract, in this case the client, will be liable for the costs of the lawyer, the court representative (even when their services are not legally obligatory) and any other costs incurred during the legal proceedings (whether by judicial or extrajudicial means).

6. Services and duration

The legal consultancy services provided by FUSTER and ASSOCIATES include up to (10) ten consultations a year, starting from when the services are contracted.

For the purposes of this contract, the annual period referred to above will be calculated from one date to another, starting from the date on which services are contracted.

A consultation is defined as any query that is made during a single telephone call. Therefore, if a FUSTER & ASSOCIATES client makes two or more queries on different matters during the same telephone call, these queries will be classified as new consultations.

The preparation and review of contracts, appeals and other documents listed in section 8 of these General Conditions will also be considered to be a consultation. They should be sent to FUSTER & ASSOCIATES by fax or email in compliance with the rest of the conditions established in this contract.

Likewise, any meetings held with a FUSTER & ASSOCIATES client at any of the offices that FUSTER & ASSOCIATES has in Spain will be considered to be a consultation. These meetings will only be arranged when the lawyer who dealt with the consultation by phone deems it necessary, and are by appointment.
If a client uses the five (5) consultations they are entitled to before the end of the annual period, the contract will be considered to be tacitly renewed.

7. Telephone-services hours for Members

FUSTER & ASSOCIATES telephone consultancy services are available from Monday to Friday from 9.00-15-00.

8. Services contents

Members may phone FUSTER & ASSOCIATES consultancy services for a consultation on any of the areas listed below. They may also request our lawyers to review the following contracts, appeals and other documents. These lists are considered to be numerus clausus, and therefore the coverage of the services provided by FUSTER & ASSOCIATES is expressly restricted to the contents of these lists

TELEPHONE CONSULTATIONS, REVIEW OF CONTRACTS, APPEALS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS

Residential property conveyancing

• Contracts with a down payment
• Letters to real estate agencies to notify them of the termination of an exclusive contract, and the non-renewal of the contract
• Letters to real estate agencies to notify them of the termination of a sale management contract, and the non-renewal of the contract
• Letters of complaint for delays in the delivery of a property bought off-plan
• Letters of complaint for the delivery of a property bought off-plan where the finishes are different to those listed in the building specifications
• Examinations of property title certificates and encumbrances at the Land Registry, performed at the member’s request, to verify current property ownership and whether it is encumbered
• Review of draft deeds of sale before they are executed before the notary
• Review of draft mortgage deeds before they are executed before the notary
• Review of draft deeds for the assumption of a mortgage loan before they are executed before the notary
• Review of draft deeds for the novation of a mortgage loan before they are executed before the notary
• Review of draft deeds for the termination of a mortgage loan before they are executed before the notary

Real estate law

• Sale of homes
• Home buying procedures
• Loans and mortgages
• Sale of second hand homes
• Sale of new-built homes
• Sale of off-plan homes
• Tax treatment
• Property leasing
• Type of contracts
• Rent-regulated properties
• Evictions and contract terminations
• Homeowners Associations
• Homeowner Association organisms
• Homeowner Association meetings
• Rights and obligations of the owners
• Legal proceedings against owners
• Building work on the estate
• Supplementary contributions
• Building work in the flats
• Formal complaints by neighbours

Leases

• Residential lease agreements regulated by the Urban Lease Act (L.A.U).
• Letters to lessees requesting rent that is due and payable
• Letters to lessees requesting payment of items included in the rent
• Letters to lessees regarding unauthorised subletting
• Letters to lessees regarding the execution of unauthorised building work
• Letters to lessees to notify them of rent increases in line with the CPI (using calculations presented by the member)
• Letters to lessees to notify them of the termination of the lease
• Letters to lessors to notify them of problems with the utilities
• Letters to lessors to notify them of the execution of minor building work
• Letters to lessors to notify them of the termination of the lease
• Letters to lessors to express disagreement with rent increases

Homeowners Associations

• Letters of complaint to the Association about building work
• Letters of complaint to the Association about noisy neighbours
• Letters of complaint to the Association about nuisance neighbours
• Letters to the Association about unsanitary activities carried out by neighbours
• Letters to the Association Secretary to request Association documents (statutes, meeting minutes, budgets etc)
• Letters to the Association President to include an item on the agenda of an Ordinary or Extraordinary Homeowners Meeting
• Letters to the Association President to express disagreement with an agreement approved at the Homeowners Meeting

Consumers and users

• Letters to the bank manager to recover incorrect commission payments
• Letters to the bank manager to recover unfair bank commissions
• Letters to the bank manager for unauthorised charges on the credit or debit card
• Letters to the bank manager to recover unauthorised invoices debited from the passbook
• Letters to the bank manager to request documentation about the loan or mortgage taken out at that branch
• Letters to the bank manager to wind up the provision of funds made by bank’s personnel in order to pay the taxes and other expenses of the purchase and mortgage
• Letters to the bank manager to request the cancellation of a credit or debit card
• Letters to the bank manager to request credit card deferred payments
• Letters to the bank manager to request that another person be authorised to use a current account or passbook
• Letters of complaint to property refurbishment companies for the failure to comply with specified deadlines
• Letters of complaint to property refurbishment companies for the failure to use the materials agreed upon
• Letters of complaint to property refurbishment companies for poor workmanship
• Letters of complaint to drycleaners or laundries
• Letters of complaint to telephone companies
• Letters of complaint to telecommunications companies
• Letters of complaint to Internet companies
• Letters of complaint to car hire companies
• Letters of complaint to clothes-hire companies
• Letters of complaint for telephone purchases
• Letters of complaint for Internet purchases
• Letters of complaint for catalogue purchases
• Letter of complaint for the purchase of defective or faulty products

Family law & Inheritance

• Civil or religious marriages
• Separations and divorces
• Marriage annulments
• Gender-based violence
• Widowhood
• Financial aspects
• Pre-marriage agreements
• Liquidation of joint property
• Tax treatment
• Children
• Adoption
• Foster care
• Parental authority and custody rights
• Civil liability for underage and handicapped children
• Problems at school
• Emancipation
• Rights of minors
• Inheritances
• Types of wills
• Intestacy
• Testamentary succession
• Lawful heirs
• Legacies
• Trusts
• Inheritance division
• Disinheritance
• Tax treatment
• Senior citizens
• Contributory pension claims
• Non-contributory pension claims
• Rights to assistance

Labour law

• Work contracts and registration in the company
• Types of contracts
• Applicable collective wage agreement
• Salaries
• Working hours
• Holidays
• Functional and geographical mobility
• Workers´ rights
• Mobbing
• Sexual harassment at work
• Overtime
• Frauds in labour contracts
• Contracting foreign workers without work permits
• Compensation for contract termination or redundancy
• Claims brought before FOGASA (Wages Guarantee Fund)
• Accidents at work and work-related illnesses
• Types of accidents at work
• Legal proceedings
• Degrees of incapacity and disability
• Social Security benefits
• Unemployment
• Incapacity and disability
• Maternity
• Retirement
• Non-contributory benefits
• Disciplinary penalties for workers
• Disciplinary proceedings
• Appeals
• Tax treatment
• Pension plans
• Personal income tax withholdings
• Remuneration in kind
• Travelling and expense allowances
• Compensation
• Unemployment benefits

Consumer law

• Medical negligence
• Claims against hospitals
• Claims against cosmetic surgery centres
• Claims and legal proceedings
• Defective products claims
• Claims and legal proceedings
• Claims relating to holiday trips and packages
• Travel insurance cover
• Lost luggage claims
• Delayed flights and missed connections
• Claims and legal proceedings
• Claims against telephone companies
• Recovery of incorrect invoice payments
• Failure to process cancellation-of-services requests
• Failure to process requests to port a telephone number
• Claims and legal proceedings
• Claims against mechanical repair workshops
• Failure to supply an estimate
• Claims and legal proceedings
• Claims against insurance companies
• Recovery of incorrect invoice payments
• Failure to process cancellation-of-services requests
• Failure to process requests to change modules and coverage
• Delays in compensation payment
• Claims and legal proceedings
• Claims against banks and credit institutions
• Recovery of incorrect commissions
• Unfair clauses
• Personal and mortgage loan terms
• Claims and legal proceedings
• Claims for Internet purchases
• Incorrect credit card charges
• Purchases of defective products
• Undelivered orders
• Claims and legal proceedings
• Claims for catalogue purchases
• Incorrect credit card charges
• Purchases of defective products
• Undelivered orders
• Claims and legal proceedings
• Unfair clauses in standard form contracts
• Claims and legal proceedings

Financial problems

• Mortgage delinquency
• Personal loan delinquency
• Credit card loan delinquency
• Department store credit card delinquency
• Problems with foreclosures and auctions
• Debts to financial institutions
• Debts to the Tax Administration
• Debts to the Social Security
• Debts to Town Halls
• Debts to Homeowners Associations

Personal income tax

• Individual or joint tax returns
• Regulatory legislation
• Requirements regarding the family unit
• Employment income
• Regular and irregular earnings
• Deductible expenses and reductions
• Rental income
• Leasing
• Deemed income from property
• Regular and irregular earnings
• Deductible expenses and reductions
• Savings income
• Dividends and profit-sharing
• Interests
• Regular and irregular earnings
• Deductible expenses and reductions
• Trading income
• Allocation of assets to the business activity
• Methods of determining income
• Regular and irregular earnings
• Deductible expenses and reductions
• Capital gains and losses
• Profit and loss assessment
• Tax treatment of gains made on the sale of habitual residence and assets allocated to business activities
• Reinvestment and requirements
• Exemptions
• Compensation
• Lump-sum unemployment payment
• Tax payments on account
• Legal obligations of the taxpayer and the withholding agent
• Withholdings
• Payments on account
• Payment by instalments
• Pension plans
• Tax penalties
• Tax refunds

Traffic

• Traffic accidents
• Insurance company claims
• Breathalyzer tests
• Breathalyzer tests and whether they are obligatory
• Vehicle immobilisation
• Problems with insurance companies

Appeals against traffic and parking penalties are expressly excluded.

The preparation and review of contracts, appeals and other documents includes only the review and preparation of these documents, and their return to the FUSTER & ASSOCIATES client by fax or email. At no time will these services include the subsequent management, presentation, tracking, processing or any other actions that are consequent to such review or preparation. All contracts, appeals and other documents will be reviewed within a maximum period of 72 hours, starting from when the FUSTER & ASSOCIATES Member provides all the information required to review or draw up the contracts, appeals or other documents.

FUSTER & ASSOCIATES is not responsible for how FUSTER & ASSOCIATES client use the contracts, appeals, and other documents reviewed or prepared by FUSTER & ASSOCIATES. and accepts no liability in this regard.

9. Office visits

When a member phones for a consultation, the lawyer who deals with his or her consultation may decide, due to the subject-matter or complexity of the consultation, that the member should visit the FUSTER & ASSOCIATES office in Spain that is nearest to them. The member should always make an appointment in advance.

This visit will be considered to be one consultation, and therefore it will be correspondingly deducted from the FUSTER & ASSOCIATES Member services contracted by the client.

FUSTER & ASSOCIATES will provide an estimate for any judicial or extrajudicial proceedings that result from a consultation by a FUSTER & ASSOCIATES Member. If the FUSTER & ASSOCIATES Member accepts the estimate, a document for the contracting of professional services will be prepared, which will contain, among other points, the services to be provided by FUSTER & ASSOCIATES and the fees or retainer that have been agreed upon, as well as the method of payment.

10. Resolution of consultations

Consultations made by FUSTER & ASSOCIATES Members will be answered immediately. However, the subject-matter or complexity of some consultations will mean that the FUSTER & ASSOCIATES lawyer needs to undertake more in-depth research. In this case, FUSTER & ASSOCIATES will answer the consultation within a maximum period of 72 hours, starting from when the FUSTER & ASSOCIATES Member provides all the information needed to resolve the consultation.

11. Protection of personal data

In compliance with Organic Law 15/1999, of 13 December on the Protection of Personal Data (LOPDCP), you, the member, expressly authorise FUSTER & ASSOCIATES to enter your personal information into the automated personal information files for processing.

In accordance with the preceding paragraph, you, the member, expressly authorise FUSTER & ASSOCIATES to use your personal information in order to send you, either by post or by email, special offers, publicity for new services or companies related to the services provided by FUSTER & ASSOCIATES, and publicity about the services of other companies which are provided or promoted through or in collaboration with FUSTER & ASSOCIATES.

Under article 34.e) of the LOPDCP, you, the member, expressly authorise FUSTER & ASSOCIATES to cede, either temporarily or definitively, any of your personal information that has been processed, or has been collected for processing, even though it may be sent to countries that do not have a degree of protection that is comparable to that of the LOPDCP.

In compliance with the LOPDCP, you may access, rectify or cancel your personal information by writing to the central offices at FUSTER & ASSOCIATES Avda de la libertad, 301 Edificio Europa, 1ª, 6, Los Alcázares (Murcia).

12. Competent courts and tribunals

In the event of a dispute as to the interpretation of any of the provisions or clauses of these General Conditions, or in the event of legal action arising out of the provision of services, both contracting parties expressly submit to the courts and tribunals of San Javier, expressly waiving any other jurisdiction that could correspond to them.