Our Deal With You

1. What you pay: We will  produce a fixed price quotation to undertake work specified by our  clients. We then guarantee that there will be no increases in the fees  payable, unless the client requests significant additions to the work  originally specified. In such instances, any additional fees will be   formally sanctioned by the client as a prelude to undertaking the extra  work.
2. No hidden costs: Our fees  are calculated on the basis of a stated daily rate, set against the number  of days which we will devote to each individual element of the brief.      These costs exclude VAT, which we will charge at the normal rate (but which can be reclaimed by many clients) and out-of-pocket expenses.
3. Expensive expenses?: We will   re-charge at cost any out-of-pocket expenses that we incur in the course  of undertaking a commission, but:
   1. We will stipulate a maximum  sum for expenses in our original fee quotation and this figure will not be exceeded in any event.
   2. We will only include such items as travelling costs, overnight accommodation and meals where such  arrangements are essential, postage, telephone, stationery and  reprographic expenses.
   3. When travelling by car, we  will charge the mileage rate calculated by the Automobile Association to  cover the immediate petrol and operating costs of the vehicle (currently 43.5p per mile).
   4. When travelling by train or  air, we will charge for a standard class ticket.
4. When you pay: At the start  of each assignment we will agree a payment schedule with the client. The  timing of payments will depend upon:
   1. The overall duration of the  assignment.
   2. Any peaks or milestones in   the workload.
5. Who you’re dealing with: For  every commission we will appoint a Project Leader who will be responsible for the delivery of the work to the quality required by you and within the  specified timescales. The Project Leader will always be a Director of PLC  Ltd., so you can be confident that the work is being supervised by somebody with experience and seniority within the organisation.     Furthermore, we will stipulate in all our fee proposals which staff will  be assigned to which elements of work and barring unforeseen circumstances, the people you are promised are the people you will get.     Full CV’s for the whole of our project team will be included with our fee  proposal.
6. Timescales: With each fee  proposal, we will include a timetable for completing each element of the  work specified. Whilst some components of work are dependent upon  responses and contributions from third party organisations, we will endeavour within the limitations imposed by such external factors, to  deliver the project outputs on time. Where it becomes obvious that delays  are likely, we will notify the client immediately and agree any necessary revisions to the timetable.
7. Quality: We pride ourselves  on the quality of our project outputs. We maintain our consistently high  quality of work through a combination of experienced and expert staff and  an internal quality assurance process. This provides for all draft final  reports to be scrutinised by a Director as well as the Project Leader, to  ensure that an additional perspective can be brought to bear on the  quality of outputs.
8. Confidentiality: Many of the  assignments we undertake are politically or commercially sensitive, but we undertake to treat all information supplied in connection with such commissions in the strictest possible confidence. In practice this involves:
   1. Storing hard copy and  electronic data securely.
   2. Never disclosing the  details of material supplied by clients to a third party individual or organisation.
   3. Never supplying copies of  our reports to anybody other than the commissioning client, without the  express permission of that client.
9. Publicity: It is our normal  practice to publicise details of our client list and an outline description of the projects undertaken, using the following media:
   1. Appendices in our fee  proposal documents.
   2. Our company brochure.
   3. Our company website.
   4. Periodic press releases.
10. We will assume that clients  consent to their inclusion within this information, unless you inform us  to the contrary.
11. Retention of material: We  retain all material collected in connection with an assignment (e.g.  questionnaire returns, correspondence etc.) for a period of two years after the completion of the project. After that time, we will destroy the  material, although clients are, of course, welcome to request that any or  all of such items are passed to them in the meantime.
12. Copyright: All written  outputs from commissions we undertake remain the copyright of PLC Ltd.,  unless specifically assigned to the client at your request.

Your Deal With Us:

1. A partnership arrangement:  The most successful consultancy assignments work because of the  partnership that is developed between the client and consultant.     Partnership means :
   1. Regular contact
   2. Full and open sharing of   information and ideas.
2. Entering into a partnership  arrangement on this basis will help both you and us to maximise the  benefits of the work we undertake.
3. A single client contact: Lines of communication between us and our clients work best when a single nominated point of contact is specified by the client to:
   1. Co-ordinate the provision of information to us by different individuals from within the structure  of the Client’s organisation.
   2. Co-ordinate the responses  to draft reports or consultative exercises by different individuals from within the structure of the Client’s organisation, specifying where possible, which views represent the official response.
   3. Authorise any changes or additions to the brief or the project timetable.
4. Payment: We depend upon our clients paying our invoices according to the agreed schedule of payments and certainly within a 28 day period from the receipt of the invoice.