TERMS & CONDITIONS
-
ASHFORD CLARKE & ASSOCIATES LTD hereinafter referred to as "the Company" and the client hereinafter referred as the beneficial owner/client.
-
These terms and conditions are an integral part of any agreement between the Company and the client and between the Company and any third party or parties entered into the agreement. By presentation of these terms and conditions by the Company, the client certifies that he/they we accept and understand all provisions of any business conducted by/with the client and that these terms and conditions shall be in force during or after any business conducted by the Company and the client, be those private or commercial.
-
Anti Money Laundering. The Company is licensed in the United Kingdom by the UK Tax Authority HMRC and fully comply with all UK and International Money Laundering laws. The use of any Company structure or Trust supplied by the Company that is used for any purpose of tax avoidance or Money Laundering, Terrorist funding or criminal activity will be instantly reported to their resident tax authority as 'suspicious activities;.
-
The Company, its management accepts no liability in the event that any client uses any Bank account, Company or structure sold by the Company for the purposes of Tax Avoidance, Money Laundering, Terrorism Funds, or Criminal Activity.
-
The Company does not sell or market any Company, Offshore Company, Trust or Bank account for any other purpose than the legal use of such structures as required by any national or international, laws and regulations.
-
Bank Account Pre-approval service: the ‘Companies’ bank accounts introduction service provides for the prior approval of banking facilities. In the event that a bank or financial institution accepts the pre-approval of a bank account or financial service and then subsequently upon receiving further adverse information, rejects the application. In this event the company will not refund any fees paid to the ‘Company’. The rejection of an account after initial pre-approval by any bank or financial institution being based on further information obtained by the bank or financial institution after initial pre-approval has been given. Failure by the client to disclose any such adverse information or change of circumstances of the applicant and or the applicant company will not be accepted by the ‘Company’ and therefore no refund of fees will be paid.
-
Bank Account Pre-approval Service exceptions: The bank account pre-approval services is not available to clients who form Companies in the United Arab Emirates or clients who apply for Banking Platform accounts using any other IBC jurisdiction
-
The Company will not under any circumstances refund fees on the basis of a cancellation of any transaction that the client chooses at his/her discretion. Furthermore, no refund will be given in the event that the client fails to disclose facts about their financial or legal status including any past or pending convictions of a criminal nature. The Company takes this matter very seriously. Clients are advised that it is an offence to obtain goods and services by deception. Failure to disclose is an offence if such information is withheld whilst applying for Bank facilities.
-
No refunds are given when a client does not, or is unable to provide, correct and current dated identification that may be requested at any time, by any bank or financial institution at the time of opening a bank account, or requests by any bank or financial institution for the updating of client records.
-
In the event that our Compliance onboarding investigations discover any adverse information regarding the former or current conduct of the applying client that require us to further investigate the history of the client, a charge of £125.00 per hour will be made and charged to the client.
-
Taxation: Clients are reminded that although most IBC Companies are free of corporation tax, in some countries Corporation tax will be due. In majority of countries beneficial owners of IBC Companies will have a personal tax liability for any salary, profits, or dividends taken from the IBC their Company. This is the general rule in most countries. If in doubt, we recommend you speak to your qualified tax accountant.
-
The Company provides its services on a 'best efforts' basis.
-
The Company shall not be held responsible or liable for any charges that may arise from changes in Company legislation. The Company reserves the right withdraw products and services and cancel any licence agreements it hold in any Company jurisdiction with immediate effect.
-
The Company reserves the right to cancel with immediate effect and without prior notice any Company or Trust structure and including any nominee director and shareholder agreements when the Company holds concerns about the legality and possible use of any and all Companies and or Trust structures supplied by the Company. This includes but is not exclusive to matters of possible taxation offences that may arise in any and all international jurisdictions.
-
The Company reserves the right to cancel our management of any and all Company structures without prior notification, where clients make changes to any Company or Trust structure without a minimum of 28 days’ notice of any such changes. This includes but is not exclusive to the addition or removal of any and all Companies within a structure recommended and supplied by the Company.
-
Any intention to make changes to the Directors or shareholder of any Company or Trust Company should be notified to the Company within 14 days prior to any such changes being made. Should such notification not be received by the Company, the Company reserves the right to give 21 days’ notice to the beneficial owners of any Company or Trust Company supplied by the ‘the Company’.
-
Due to current US LEGISLATION, we are unable to supply any corporation or bank account facility to US clients.
-
Offshore Trust: Clients engaging the Companies services to form an offshore trust are advised to take legal and accountancy advice. The Company or its officers are not qualified to offer professional advice. Asset Protection Trusts formed by the Company on behalf of clients are to only be used for the purpose of Asset Protection and not as part of any structure designed for tax mitigation or avoidance. In the event that this rule is ignored or misinterpreted, the Company reserves the right to inform the clients resident tax authority of the Trust is being used for any purpose other than asset protection.
-
The Company will not be responsible or liable for any monies/funds/securities, purchases or advice or recommendation made directly or indirectly to any client by any officer of the Company, either singly or jointly to/on behalf of its clients. Furthermore, the Company will not accept responsibility loss or fraudulent activity of any financial instrument, cheque draft or debenture sent by the Company to any Banking institution on behalf of any client or Corporation.
-
Any changes to International or local laws governing International Business Companies (IBC) or Offshore Trust will be complied with by both the "Company" and the client without delay. Any changes to such Companies and or Trust are not the responsibility of the "Company" and as such the Company accepts no responsibility for any additional information that regulatory authorities may require from time to time.
-
The company accepts no responsibility for any alterations of rules and/or regulations against any IBC, Free Zone company or Trust imposed by any authority such as the OECD or other regulatory bodies, governments, banks or financial institutions. Furthermore, the Company accepts no liability and will offer no refund of fees paid to the company, before or after the ‘client’ has paid fees to the ‘Company’ or during the application process of setting up any Company, Trust or Bank account, due to rules or changes imposed by any Bank, Financial Institution or legally recognise Government which are outside of the Companies control.
-
Due to important changes being imposed upon our clients by international banks, it is likely that changes to the structure of clients IBC Companies may need to be changed. This is mainly in the area of beneficial owners and directors. Any charges to accommodate any new rules and regulations required by your company jurisdiction and or bank, will be charged to the client. The ‘Company’ is not responsible for regulatory changes made outside of our control.
-
The referral by the Company to any bank or financial institution of any kind does not carry any warrantee or guarantee of the financial stability of any bank or financial institution that the Company may introduce or recommend the client to, for the provision of banking/financial services. It is up to the client to do his/her due diligence on the bank or institution.
-
The Company does not accept any liability in the event of any financial failing or fraudulent activity or any dishonesty in any way by any bank/financial institution that the Company introduces the client to.
-
In the event of any bankruptcy or administration/receivership of any bank/financial institution that the Company have introduced the client to, that the client will deal directly with the banks receivers or administrators, and will in no way contact the Company regarding the recovery of any funds due in any way to the client by the bank. Failure by the client to adhere to this clause will make the client liable to legal action by the Company.
-
In the event of any successful application by the Company on behalf of the client to any bank/financial institution, the clients agrees to operate the account his/herself and not under any circumstances request demand or order the Company to handle or operate the clients bank account(s) on behalf of the client.
-
The Company is not liable for any mistakes, delay non-payment by any bank/third party.
-
The Company reserves the right to terminate relations with the client if the Company receives any information forcing it to do so.
-
The Company reserves the right to alter or change these terms and conditions at any time without prior warning to the client.
-
The Company reserves the right to change or alter the pricing structure on any documentation or website without prior notice.
-
The Company and client agree that any and all disputes, including those involving any third party, will be settled by negotiation. If both/either or all parties fail to reach an agreement, then the parties will appoint arbitrators in the country where the dispute originated. Such matters shall be final and exclusively settled by arbitration without recourse to law in any country or jurisdiction.
-
Once the client has taken control of their IBC, the Company hold no further responsibility and offer no warranty regarding the continued association with any bank or financial institution to which the Company have provided introduction. Banks and financial institutions reserve the right to close any or all accounts and/ or facilities if they deem this necessary. In such situations it is not the responsibility the Company to intervene in any dispute between any bank or financial institution.
-
The Company will not be responsible or liable for any investments, securities or purchases or advice made directly or indirectly to/on behalf of its clients, singly or jointly, severally or corporately. Under no circumstances will the Company be responsible for the performance, recommendation, dishonesty or lack of performance, by any third party or introduction made by the Company. The client accepts that the Company acts and gives advice only in good faith.
-
The Company are not licensed deposit takers and do not or will not accept funds other than fees paid directly for the Company's services.
-
The Company accepts no liability for the client's statutory responsibility for any UK or offshore company in any jurisdiction whatsoever.
-
The Company and its officers are not qualified to give legal, financial or taxation advice, nor do they do so. Clients are recommended to obtain advice from a qualified professional before entering into the purchase of any offshore company, bank account or the creation of an offshore trust.
-
Any advice or recommendation given by the Company is solely a reflection of the Company's understanding of the current position of its products in the market place. The Company does not guarantee or give any warranty for the performance or protection of any offshore trust or corporate structure of any kind.
-
Once any bank account, onshore or offshore is opened on behalf of any client or corporate entity, the account must be run by the client or corporate entity. The Company can and will not assist in running any private or corporate bank account on behalf of its clients.
-
While we endeavour to provide merchant card services with pre-approval, we cannot guarantee the performance of the merchant card provider after the point of sale. THEREFORE, it is essential that clients provide true and accurate information at the time of application. Clients will still have a legal responsibility for the payment of fees of IBCs and bank accounts regardless of the outcome of the merchant card facility arrangement.
-
The Client understands that an annual renewal fee will be payable to keep their company/Trust in good legal standing and failure to renew will result in the company / Trust being suspended, resulting in a restoration fee being applied.
%20transparency.png)
About Us
Accountancy
Everything we do for you has one purpose – to make your business life as simple and rewarding as possible. Our aim is to put you, our client, at the heart of everything we do and strive to provide you with the best possible service. We do this by recruiting passionate people and investing in their training and development. We structure each team so you have a personal dedicated accountant who is supported by a back office team of experts, meaning your accountant can provide the most proactive and efficient service possible.
We do use technology to support our accountants but we are not a technology lead business. We are primarily a people lead business that uses technology where appropriate, mainly to aid and assist our decision making for you. What this means is when you email or call us with a question it may take us a few hours to deal properly with a query rather than a few seconds to send a bland standard response. I would rather we got you the right answer than the quickest answer.
We take our role as your accountants extremely seriously. You have put your trust in us and we will do all we can not to let you down. We will endeavour to:
-
Respond to any question sent to your accountant or any dedicated department within 24 hours. If we need more time, we will update you as soon as we can and we promise to keep you informed of the progress we are making in answering your question
-
All of our new clients will be spoken to within 24 hours of joining us
We operate as a close-knit team led by Fitzroy Lewis and Mark Cordner. Between them, Fitzroy and Mark have more than 40 years experience supporting businesses in most sectors, from tech start-ups to mining companies and enjoy helping small businesses across the UK and globally achieve their full potential.
IT services
Our business start-up package is our best seller. It will equip you with everything you need to begin your new business.
So you'll get all of the services shown below and a quick turnaround, perfect if you're looking to get your company up and running quickly.
Website
Up to a (but not limited to) 6 Page bespoke, responsive and SEO friendly website.
Hosting
Email and website hosting.
Domain & Email
The purchase of a (.co.uk) domain name. And professional email addresses.
SEO
Our websites are built with basic SEO in mind (additional packages available).
One off payment
No ongoing maintenance costs, just a one-off payment. Once completed a full handover of your service to the hosting company.
Company Formations Service
We offer a quick hassle free service to our clients. Often your Bank account will be open within a few days. We even offer a same day UK incorporation service. We do not have to ask you for Bank references or credit score you. The vast majority of Banks will ask you for a Bank reference. As one of the Banks introducers we are able to open accounts with the absolute minimum of fuss and formality. 60% of all the business we do is via personal recommendation. We do little in the way of advertising.
-
Above all we offer a friendly and knowledgeable service to all our clients old and new and our staff will treat you with respect and courtesy. Our Company ethos is the client always comes first.
-
Ashford Clarke & Associates Ltd are now in our 3rd year of successful business. We now operate world-wide.
-
Apart from our UK Company Bank accounts service we offer a UK and Offshore Company formation service.
We are happy to answer any questions you may have, so do not hesitate to contact us.
Personal & Corporate Trusts
A Trust is not a corporate entity, it is a legal relationship between three parties, the settlor, the trustees and the beneficiaries. Offshore Trusts are one of the most secure and effective financial planning vehicles available. By establishing a trust, you gain confidentiality and protect your assets from financial risks and is recognised in locations throughout the world.
There are a number of advantages of forming an Offshore Trust:
-
Looking for privacy - the terms of the trust are not shown on public records
-
Asset protection – trusts allow individuals to protect assets, for example by putting a property in the trust the settlor ensures he is no longer the owner of the property
-
Holding Vehicle - some business arrangements can benefit from using a trust as a holding vehicle for other companies or structures, for example using the Offshore Trust as the Director and Shareholder of an Offshore IBC (International Business Company)
Ashford Clarke are an experienced and reliable formation agent who can assist with the setup of an Offshore Trust. We pride ourselves on not only the speed in which we can setup but also the efficiency of the service we provide. All work carried out by our specialist team is completed with the utmost confidentiality and urgency.
Our Offshore Trust packages are unique, and can include an optional Trustee service, along with the preparation of the Trust Deed. We will also provide fully completed documents for the Trust.