IMPORTANT: Please read these Terms carefully. If you do not understand any part, ask us to clarify and/or take independent advice before signing. These Terms and the signed Authority to Act together form the contract between you and Darlands HV Ltd.

1. The parties

1.1 Darlands HV Ltd of Suite 2063, 6–8 Revenge Road, Lordswood, Kent ME5 8UD (tel 03301 339 475), company number 16899990 ("we/us/our").

1.2 You, the client named in the Authority to Act ("you/your").

1.3 If there is more than one owner/occupier, the person signing the Authority to Act confirms they have authority to bind all relevant owners/occupiers.

1.4 If an agent signs for you, they warrant they are duly authorised and will indemnify us for any loss we suffer if they are not.

2. Key definitions

• "Authority to Act" means the signed authority appointing us as your land agent for the Property.

• "DNO" means the Distribution Network Operator (or other network owner/operator, including National Grid where relevant) that owns or controls the electricity apparatus affecting the Property.

• "Property" means the land/property you identify in the Authority to Act.

• "Payment" means any compensation/consideration offered or paid by the DNO in connection with rights affecting the Property (including an easement, lease or similar agreement) and may include injurious affection.

• "Agent Fee" means any surveyor/agent fees payable by the DNO in addition to the Payment (if applicable).

• "Completion" means the date any easement/lease (or similar agreement) is completed between you and the DNO in connection with the Property.

• "Withdrawal Fee" means our reasonable time and costs incurred up to termination, capped at £500 (plus VAT, if applicable).

• "Success Fee" means an amount equal to the Agent Fee we would reasonably have expected to receive from the DNO on Completion for this matter (or, if not agreed/ascertainable, our reasonable estimate of that amount).

3. Our services

3.1 We act as your independent land agent to help you investigate and negotiate with the DNO in relation to high-voltage apparatus on, over or under the Property, where permanent rights may be documented by an easement (or similar) rather than a wayleave.

3.2 Our role is facilitation and negotiation as your agent. We may gather information, prepare and submit a report/claim to the DNO, liaise with the DNO and its representatives, and assist with negotiation communications.

3.3 We are not a firm of solicitors and do not provide legal advice. We also do not provide tax advice or financial advice. Any decision to accept or reject an offer is yours.

3.4 Legal documents (such as a Deed of Grant of Easement or lease) must be prepared and completed by a solicitor instructed for you.

3.5 You understand that granting an easement or similar permanent right may affect your future rights and claims in relation to the apparatus and the Property. You should take independent legal advice before signing any legal document.

4. Solicitors and legal costs

4.1 You will instruct a solicitor to advise you and to draft/complete the legal documentation with the DNO. If we introduce a solicitor, you will contract with that solicitor directly under their own terms of business.

4.2 The DNO will often agree to pay the reasonable legal costs of your solicitor on completion, but this is not guaranteed and depends on the DNO’s agreement and your solicitor’s terms.

4.3 If the transaction does not complete (for example, because you withdraw or unreasonably delay matters), the DNO may refuse to pay some or all of those legal costs and you may be responsible for any solicitor fees incurred.

5. Our fees and how payments are handled

5.1 We do not charge you a fee for our services on Completion where we are paid the Agent Fee by the DNO in addition to any Payment agreed with you.

5.2 The Payment (if agreed) is a matter between you and the DNO. Unless you expressly authorise otherwise, we do not receive or hold your Payment. If any Agent Fee is sent to you in error, you agree to forward it to us within 30 days of receipt.

5.3 If you terminate this agreement after the cooling-off period (other than because of our material breach), or you proceed without us and the DNO does not pay us the Agent Fee, you may be liable for the Withdrawal Fee and/or Success Fee (see clause 8).

6. Timescales

6.1 We will use reasonable endeavours to progress matters promptly, but we cannot promise any timescale or outcome. Timescales depend on the DNO, any solicitors involved, and your response times.

7. Your obligations

7.1 You will provide accurate information and documentation we (or your solicitor) reasonably request and will notify us promptly if anything changes.

7.2 You will forward to us, promptly on receipt, any correspondence from the DNO (or anyone acting for the DNO) relating to the Property or the services.

7.3 You will not communicate directly with the DNO about the subject matter of our services unless agreed with us in advance.

8. Cancellation and termination

8.1 If you are a consumer, you have the right to cancel within 14 days of signing the Authority to Act (cooling-off period). If you cancel within this period, you will not be liable to us for our services.

8.2 After the cooling-off period, either party may terminate this agreement on 30 days’ written notice.

8.3 You may terminate sooner if we commit a material breach and do not remedy it within 30 working days of being notified.

8.4 We may terminate sooner if you materially breach your obligations (including by unreasonably failing to provide information or unreasonably delaying progress) and you do not remedy that breach within the notice period.

8.5 If you terminate after the cooling-off period (including by giving notice under clause 8.2) other than because of our material breach, you will pay us the Withdrawal Fee. We will issue an invoice and it must be paid within 14 days.

8.6 If, within 12 months after termination, you (or anyone acting for you) enter into a binding agreement with the DNO or complete an easement/lease (or similar agreement) in connection with the same apparatus/rights at the Property, you will pay us the Success Fee (less any Withdrawal Fee already paid) unless we are paid the Agent Fee by the DNO.

8.7 Nothing in this clause prevents you from cancelling during the cooling-off period under clause 8.1, and you will not owe the Withdrawal Fee or Success Fee if you do so.

9. Liability

9.1 We do not exclude or limit liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, fraud, or any liability that cannot be excluded by law.

9.2 Subject to clause 9.1, our total liability to you arising out of or in connection with this agreement (whether in contract, tort including negligence, or otherwise) is limited to the total amount of fees actually received by us from you and/or the DNO under this matter.

9.3 Subject to clause 9.1, neither party is liable for any indirect or consequential loss, including loss of profit, revenue, data or anticipated savings.

10. General

10.1 We may use agents or subcontractors to provide all or part of the services.

10.2 No variation of these Terms is binding unless agreed in writing.

10.3 Notices must be in writing and sent to the address set out in the Authority to Act. Notices sent by first-class post are deemed received 72 hours after posting.

10.4 If any term is found unenforceable, the remaining terms remain in force.

10.5 No third party has rights under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce any term of this agreement.

10.6 This agreement is governed by English law and the parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.