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Call now - When you’re going through the process of selling residential property to an Agent you’ll usually find yourself taking on an agreement, that’ll ultimately help the Agent collect his commission. Continue reading “Commission Agreements. What are you agreeing to with your Selling Agent?”
Category: Latest News
Conveyancing Process Taking too Long? Time scale Explained
Is your conveyancing process taking too long? Often at the beginning of a conveyancing transaction, solicitors are asked how long the process will take until completion. Continue reading “Conveyancing Process Taking too Long? Time scale Explained”
Diazepam and More. Drug Driving Laws soon to be Enforced.
Starting on the 2nd March 2015 new drug driving laws will be introduced that will crack down on driving under the influence of drugs. Continue reading “Diazepam and More. Drug Driving Laws soon to be Enforced.”
Shared Parental Leave. Regulation is Changing
Parents of babies born on or after 5 April 2015 will now be entitled to take shared parental leave of up to 52 weeks following the introduction of the Shared Parental Leave Regulations SI 2014/3050. This allows parents to put their leave in a pot, so to speak, and jointly take leave out of the pot, regardless of whether the mother is owed more leave than the father. Continue reading “Shared Parental Leave. Regulation is Changing”
Gifting to Charities? Land, Building and Shares explained.
New HMRC guidance has confirmed that charities and community amateur sports clubs can accept gifts of buildings or land under wills, and either keep them or sell them to release funds. Continue reading “Gifting to Charities? Land, Building and Shares explained.”
National Insurance Changes for Employers?
If you are an employer who employs individuals between the ages of 16 and 21, new changes coming into force from 6 April 2015 mean that you will no longer have to pay Class 1 National Insurance contributions.
Continue reading “National Insurance Changes for Employers?”
Christmas period opening hours
Please note that our offices will close Wednesday 24th December 2014 at 1pm and reopen on Friday 2nd January 2015 at 9am.
We take this opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
A Christmas Message From Aston Bond
Aston Bond wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Watch our Christmas Video below:
Expression of opinion vs defamation – bad TripAdvisor reviews
Tony and Jan Jenkinson were fined £100 by the Broadway Hotel in Blackpool for a leaving a negative TripAdvisor review about it, where they described the hotel as a ‘rotten, stinking hovel’.
The hotel introduced a policy of charging people who left bad reviews with the hope of preventing customers from ‘defaming’ the business. After seeing the bad review, the hotel charged £100 to the couple’s credit card.
The hotel has now cancelled its policy after warning by Blackpool Trading Standards that it could be illegal and it has since refunded the £100 to Tony and Jan Jenkinson.
A further issue
Cases like this highlight a further problem with websites such as TripAdvisor and their effect on businesses. In its 14 years of existence, TripAdvisor has introduced the notion of public criticism of hotels, B&Bs and guesthouses that we are used to seeing for films or music. Although the case of Tony and Jenkinson, the bad review was genuine, the problem is that reviews on TripAdvisor can be posted without verification and so there is nothing stopping customers threatening bad reviews in order to get a discount.
We are left with trying to find a balance between someone’s ‘right to give fair comment’ and the reputation of a hotel, which could be unfairly tarnished if this ‘right to give fair comment’ was abused.
Final thoughts
It is unlikely, as we saw with the Broadway Hotel that hotels will be able to protect themselves from unfair reviews by introducing a policy, as this could be legally problematic. It seems a compromise between the consumer and the business is necessary, in that consumers provide genuine, honest opinions if they choose to leave a review, and for businesses to focus on improving the services they provide.
Stephen Puri, Chief Executive
Good news for home-buyers at last! Stamp Duty Fee’s reform
Click here to see the infographic in full size
Home buyers will be pleased to hear that there is good news for them at last (apart from having wonderful solicitors). Stamp duty will now be banded in the same way as other taxes, so you will now not be moving into a higher percentage rate just because you pay £1 more for your property!
The bands are as follows:
£0 – £125,000 – no tax payable (as now)
£125,000 – £250,000 – 2%
£250,000 – £925,000 – 5%
£925,000 – £1,500,000 – 10%
£1,500,000 upwards – 12%
Below are some examples:
As before no tax payable on property at £125,000.
On a price of £185,000 the first £125,000 is tax free and 2% is charged on the remaining £60,000 – this gives a total of £1,200, a saving of £650 on the present system.
On a price of £510,000 – the first £125,000 is tax free and 2% is charged to £250,000. Then between £250,000 and £510,000, a charge of 5% takes place. This gives a total of £15,500 with a saving of £4,900 on the present system.
It is estimated that this will benefit 98% of people who pay stamp duty, with it being more expensive only for those in the higher price bands.
Here is a link to a fantastic stamp duty calculator that breaks down exactly the percentage you’ll pay under the new system: Stamp Duty Calculator
Helen Barnard, Senior Solicitor
hbarnard@astonbond.co.uk