Guiding Stars UK – Terms and Conditions

 

Last Updated: 17 September 2026

 

These Terms and Conditions set out how Guiding Stars UK provides independent McKenzie Friend support.

They explain the nature and limits of our services, what clients can expect from us, what we expect from clients, and the arrangements relating to bookings, payments, cancellations and court attendance.

 

By booking or using our services, you agree to these Terms and Conditions.

Please read them carefully before making a booking or payment. If you have any questions, please contact Guiding Stars UK before booking.

 

1. Scope of Service – McKenzie Friend Role

Guiding Stars UK provides independent McKenzie Friend support to litigants in person. We are not solicitors or barristers and do not provide legal representation or regulated legal services. We do not provide legal advice. Any information, guidance or support provided is within the scope of our McKenzie Friend service.

 

Our support is provided with reference to the Practice Guidance: McKenzie Friends (Civil and Family Courts) 2010.

A McKenzie Friend may assist by providing moral support, taking notes, helping with case papers and providing quiet assistance during proceedings.

A McKenzie Friend does not have an automatic right to:

• address the court

• examine witnesses

• act as your advocate

• sign court documents on your behalf

• file or serve court documents on your behalf

• act as your agent in the proceedings

• conduct litigation on your behalf

 

You remain a litigant in person and retain responsibility for the conduct of your own case.

 

2. Services Provided

Depending on the service booked, Guiding Stars UK may assist with:​

• general information and explanation of Family Court processes and procedure

• helping you understand court correspondence and documentation

• discussing available options and possible next steps

• case preparation meetings

• organising case papers and documents

• assistance preparing draft forms and court documents

• assistance preparing or reviewing draft statements, position statements and other written material

• preparation for hearings and professional meetings

• note-taking

• signposting to solicitors, barristers and other appropriate services

• attending court with you as a McKenzie Friend

• attending meetings with you as a McKenzie Friend

 

Where we assist with written documents, these are provided as drafts for you to review and approve. You are responsible for ensuring that any document accurately reflects your circumstances and the information you wish to provide. You remain responsible for approving, signing, filing and/or serving documents where required.

 

Guiding Stars UK does not guarantee that a court will accept any particular document, application, submission, argument or proposed course of action.

 

3. Allocation of McKenzie Friends

 

Guiding Stars UK works with a small team of McKenzie Friends.

You may request a particular McKenzie Friend and we will try to accommodate your preference, subject to availability.

If your chosen McKenzie Friend becomes unavailable because of illness, emergency or other unforeseen circumstances, an alternative McKenzie Friend may be offered. You are not required to accept a replacement.

Where Guiding Stars UK is unable to provide the booked service, the provisions set out in Section 9 will apply.

 

4. Client Responsibilities

 

You remain responsible for your own proceedings and decisions.

You agree to:

• provide complete and accurate information

• tell us promptly if important information or circumstances change

• provide documents and information within any agreed timescale

• check all documents prepared with our assistance

• comply with court orders and directions

• monitor and comply with court deadlines

• sign, file and serve your own documents where required

• communicate respectfully with Guiding Stars UK and members of our team

• make your own decisions about your case

 

You may obtain independent legal advice from a solicitor or barrister at any time. Where a matter requires specialist legal advice, regulated legal representation or another professional service, we may recommend that you obtain appropriate independent professional advice.

 

5. Court Decisions and Matters Outside Our Control

 

Guiding Stars UK cannot guarantee the outcome of any proceedings. Court decisions are made independently by judges and magistrates based on the circumstances and evidence before the court.

Subject to your statutory rights and any responsibility which cannot lawfully be excluded, Guiding Stars UK is not responsible for matters outside our reasonable control, including:

• decisions made by a court

• decisions or actions of another party

• decisions or actions of solicitors, barristers, Cafcass, social workers, experts or other third parties

• court administration

• changes to court listings

• court delays

• adjournments, cancellations or relisting

• information withheld from us

• inaccurate or incomplete information provided to us by a client or third party

This does not exclude responsibility for any failure by Guiding Stars UK to provide its own services with reasonable care and skill.

 

6. Professional Standards, Confidentiality and Data Protection

 

Guiding Stars UK aims to provide services with reasonable care and skill and in a professional and respectful manner. Guiding Stars UK is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). Personal information is handled in accordance with applicable data protection legislation, including UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Information and case papers provided to Guiding Stars UK will be treated as confidential.

 

Information may be disclosed where:

• you have authorised the disclosure

• disclosure is required by law or court order

• disclosure is necessary to comply with a legal obligation

• there is a safeguarding concern or serious risk of harm which makes disclosure appropriate or necessary

 

Further information about how personal information is collected, stored, used and retained is contained in our Privacy Policy.

Nothing in these Terms and Conditions excludes or restricts your statutory consumer rights or any liability which cannot lawfully be excluded or restricted.

 

7. Fees and Payment

 

Fees are charged according to the Guiding Stars UK Fee Schedule / Price List in force when a booking is made. The applicable price will be made clear before you enter into a booking. Unless otherwise agreed, payment is required in advance. A booking is not confirmed until the required payment, client credit or applicable court attendance booking payment has been received. Booking an appointment through Calendly or another scheduling system is for scheduling purposes and does not itself constitute commencement of chargeable work.

Work begins once the appropriate payment arrangements have been completed and the service has commenced.

Additional expenses such as:

• mileage

• public transport

• parking

• accommodation

will be discussed and agreed with you before they are incurred wherever reasonably possible.

 

Fee Changes

Guiding Stars UK may update its fees from time to time. Changes will apply only to new bookings made after the revised Fee Schedule / Price List takes effect. A fee already agreed and paid for a confirmed booking will not be increased retrospectively.

 

8. Client Credit and Chargeable Work

 

Where ongoing support is required, clients may be asked to maintain a client credit balance.

Client credit may be used towards chargeable services including:

• telephone or video calls

• substantive emails

• substantive messages

• drafting

• document review

• preparation

• case-related meetings

• other agreed case-related support

Client credit must remain sufficient to cover chargeable work. No further chargeable work will normally be undertaken where the balance has been exhausted unless another payment arrangement has been agreed. Charges will be deducted from the client's credit balance as work is completed. Amounts properly charged for work already completed are not ordinarily refundable. This does not affect your statutory consumer rights.

Any unused client credit is refundable when services end or upon written request, subject to any outstanding fees properly due.

Where a refund of unused client credit is due, it will normally be processed within 14 days and returned to the original payment method unless otherwise agreed.

 

9. Cancellations, Transfers and Court Attendance

 

Guiding Stars UK provides appointment-based and time-reserved services.

When a booking is confirmed, time may be reserved specifically for you and preparation may begin before the scheduled appointment, meeting or hearing.

 

Client Cancellations

Guiding Stars UK provides time-reserved and preparation-based services. When a service is booked, specific time may be reserved in our diary to undertake the work and, where applicable, complete it within an agreed timeframe or before a court or professional deadline.

Fees for work already undertaken are non-refundable.

This includes time already spent:

• reviewing information or documents

• preparing or drafting documents

• carrying out case preparation

• attending calls or meetings

• providing other agreed services

 

Where a specific period of time has been reserved in our diary for your work, cancellation does not automatically entitle you to a full refund. If that reserved time cannot reasonably be reallocated to other paid work following your cancellation, Guiding Stars UK may retain an amount representing the reasonable financial loss caused by the cancellation. For example, this may apply where time has been specifically reserved to complete urgent work, prepare documents by an agreed deadline, prepare for a hearing, or undertake other work within an agreed timeframe.

Where work has already been completed, the fee relating to that work will not be refunded simply because you later decide not to use the work or no longer require the service.

 

Where only part of a prepaid service has been undertaken, any refund will be calculated after deducting:

• the value of work already completed;

• preparation already undertaken;

• reasonable costs already incurred; and

• any reasonable loss arising from reserved diary time which cannot reasonably be reallocated.

 

Any remaining amount due to you will be refunded. Guiding Stars UK will take reasonable steps to minimise losses caused by cancellation, including reallocating reserved diary time where reasonably possible.

Nothing in this section affects your statutory consumer cancellation rights.

 

Consultations and Remote Sessions

Appointments are reserved specifically for the client and may prevent that appointment time from being offered to another client.

Where at least 48 hours' notice of cancellation or a request to rearrange is provided, one transfer to another available appointment will normally be offered. Transfers are subject to availability and are limited to one transfer per booking unless otherwise agreed.

 

Where less than 48 hours' notice is provided, a transfer is not guaranteed. Where a client cancels with less than 48 hours' notice, or fails to attend a booked appointment, the appointment fee may be retained in whole or in part where the reserved appointment time cannot reasonably be reallocated and this represents the loss caused by the cancellation or non-attendance.

Any work or preparation already undertaken remains chargeable. Where the appointment time is successfully reallocated to other paid work, this will be taken into account when determining any amount refundable.

The general Client Cancellation provisions above also apply.

 

Court Attendance

Court attendance requires a specific hearing date to be reserved in the diary and may prevent Guiding Stars UK from accepting other court attendance or client work on that date. A Court Attendance Booking Payment, at the rate shown in the current Fee Schedule / Price List, is required to reserve the hearing date. This forms part of the total court attendance fee and is credited towards the final balance.

Unless otherwise agreed, the remaining balance must be paid no later than 28 days before the hearing.

Where a hearing is listed with less than 28 days' notice, the payment deadline will be confirmed at the time of booking.

If the required balance is not received by the agreed deadline, Guiding Stars UK may release the reserved hearing date after providing reasonable notice.

 

Cancellation by the Client

If the client cancels court attendance more than 14 calendar days before the hearing, any refund due will take account of work and preparation already undertaken, services already provided, reasonable expenses already incurred and any reasonable financial loss resulting from the cancellation. If the client cancels court attendance 14 calendar days or less before the hearing, the full agreed court attendance fee will normally remain payable.

This is because the hearing date has been reserved specifically for the client and Guiding Stars UK may have declined other court attendance, meetings or client work and may no longer have a reasonable opportunity to replace the booking.

Where the reserved date cannot reasonably be reallocated to other paid work, no refund of the court attendance fee will normally be due.

 

Hearing Adjourned, Vacated, Cancelled or Relisted by the Court

 

Where the court adjourns, vacates, cancels or relists the hearing 14 calendar days or less before the scheduled hearing date, the full agreed court attendance fee will normally remain payable where the reserved date cannot reasonably be reallocated to other paid work.

This applies even though Guiding Stars UK is no longer required to attend court on that date, because the date was reserved specifically for the client's case and Guiding Stars UK may have declined other hearings, meetings or client work in order to remain available. Where Guiding Stars UK is informed of the adjournment, cancellation or relisting on the hearing date, after travel has commenced, or after attendance at court has begun, the full agreed court attendance fee will normally remain payable, together with any agreed and reasonably incurred travel or other expenses.

 

Any preparation, document review, conferences, meetings or other work already undertaken also remains chargeable.

Where the court adjourns, cancels, vacates or relists the hearing more than 14 calendar days before the scheduled date, any amount payable or refundable will be determined after taking account of:

• work and preparation already undertaken;

• services already provided;

• reasonable expenses already incurred; and

• any reasonable financial loss resulting from the reserved date which cannot reasonably be avoided.

 

Guiding Stars UK will take reasonable steps to minimise avoidable losses. If the original hearing date is successfully reallocated to other paid work, this will be taken into account when determining whether any refund or credit is due.

A relisted or adjourned hearing date is not automatically included in the original booking. Attendance at a new hearing date is subject to Guiding Stars UK's availability and a new booking being agreed. Any appropriate transfer or credit from the original booking will be considered having regard to the circumstances and any loss already incurred.

Nothing in this section affects the client's statutory consumer rights.

 

If Guiding Stars UK Cancels

 

If Guiding Stars UK is unable to provide a booked service because of illness, emergency or another unforeseen circumstance, you will be informed as soon as reasonably possible.

Where appropriate, you will be offered:

• an alternative McKenzie Friend, where one is available and acceptable to you

• a transfer to another suitable date; or

• a refund of Guiding Stars UK service fees paid for services which have not been provided

This does not affect your statutory rights.

 

Travel, Accommodation and Other Expenses

Travel, accommodation, parking, public transport and other reasonable expenses required for court attendance are separate from the court attendance fee unless expressly stated otherwise.

Where these costs have already been reasonably incurred for the booked hearing, they remain payable even if the client cancels or the court adjourns, vacates, cancels or relists the hearing.

This may include, where applicable:

• train or other public transport tickets

• accommodation costs

• parking charges

• other agreed travel expenses

• mileage already incurred where travel has commenced

Where a third-party booking, such as a train ticket or hotel reservation, can be cancelled or refunded, Guiding Stars UK will take reasonable steps to recover the cost. Any refund or credit actually recovered from the third-party provider will be taken into account and passed back to the client where appropriate.

Where a cost is non-refundable or cannot reasonably be recovered, the client remains responsible for that expense.

If Guiding Stars UK has already commenced travel when notice of cancellation, adjournment or relisting is received, reasonable travel costs already incurred remain payable.

 

10. Consumer Cancellation Rights and 14-Day Cooling-Off Period

 

Where applicable, if you enter into a contract with Guiding Stars UK at a distance, such as online, by email or by telephone, you may have a statutory right to cancel the contract within 14 days without giving a reason.

For Guiding Stars UK services, the contract is entered into when the Client Engagement Letter has been agreed and signed.

The statutory cancellation period begins on the day after the Client Engagement Letter is entered into and runs for 14 calendar days.

 

Starting Work During the Cooling-Off Period

 

You may ask Guiding Stars UK to begin providing services before the 14-day cancellation period has ended.

Where you expressly request that work begins during this period and later exercise your statutory right to cancel before the service has been completed, you may be required to pay a proportionate amount for services provided up to the point at which you tell us that you wish to cancel. Where you expressly request that a service is fully performed during the cancellation period and acknowledge that your statutory cancellation right will be lost once the service has been fully performed, your cancellation right may end once that service has been completed in full.

Nothing in these Terms and Conditions removes or reduces any statutory cancellation rights available to you.

To exercise a statutory cancellation right, you should contact Guiding Stars UK with a clear statement confirming that you wish to cancel.

11. Suspension and Termination of Services

Guiding Stars UK may suspend or terminate services where there is a reasonable reason to do so, including where:

• payment is not made when due

• required information is repeatedly not provided

• continuing to provide the service would place Guiding Stars UK outside the proper scope of the McKenzie Friend role

• there has been a serious breakdown in the working relationship

• behaviour towards Guiding Stars UK or a member of our team is abusive, threatening or seriously inappropriate

• a client asks Guiding Stars UK to mislead the court, act dishonestly or participate in unlawful conduct

• continuing the service would create a serious safeguarding, professional or legal concern

Where reasonably possible, we will explain the reason and provide appropriate notice.

Services may be terminated immediately where the circumstances are sufficiently serious.

You remain responsible for paying for services properly provided and reasonable costs incurred before termination.

Any unused client credit or payment relating to services which have not been provided will be dealt with in accordance with these Terms and applicable consumer law.

 

12. Communication and Contact Policy

 

Brief administrative communication, such as arranging appointments or confirming receipt of documents, will not normally be charged.

Brief calls, emails or messages which take less than five minutes in total will not normally be charged.

Substantive case-related communication is chargeable at the applicable hourly rate and may be billed in 15-minute units.

At the current standard hourly rate of £90 per hour, a 15-minute unit is £22.50.

Chargeable communication may include:

• substantive telephone or video calls

• substantive case-related emails

• substantive messages

• reviewing documents or information sent between appointments

• providing detailed written responses

• other case-related work undertaken outside a separately booked appointment

No significant chargeable communication will normally be undertaken without sufficient client credit or another agreed payment arrangement.

 

13. Complaints

 

If you are unhappy with any aspect of the service provided by Guiding Stars UK, please raise your concern with us as soon as reasonably possible.

We will aim to consider concerns fairly and respond within a reasonable period.

Where appropriate, we may ask you to provide details of your concern in writing so that it can be properly reviewed.

Raising a complaint does not affect any statutory rights available to you.

You may also obtain independent advice about your consumer rights where appropriate.

 

14. Referral Thank You Scheme

 

Guiding Stars UK operates a referral thank-you scheme for existing clients.

A referral will qualify where:

• the new client confirms the referring client's name before making their first payment; and

• the new client books and makes payment for a minimum of one hour of services

The current referral thank-you payment is £40.

The payment will be issued once the new client's qualifying payment has been received and any applicable statutory cancellation period has passed or the qualifying service has otherwise been completed.

Only one referral payment will be made in relation to each new client.

Guiding Stars UK may amend, suspend or withdraw the referral scheme for future referrals.

Any referral which has already fully qualified before a change to the scheme will be dealt with under the terms applying when it qualified.

 

15. Fee Schedule

 

Guiding Stars UK maintains a current Fee Schedule / Price List setting out the charges applicable to our services.

The current Fee Schedule will be made available before you make a booking or payment.

Our current standard hourly rate is:

£90 per hour

Where communication is charged in 15-minute units, the current charge is:

£22.50 per 15 minutes

Court attendance, fixed-fee services and any other separately priced services are charged at the rates shown in the current Fee Schedule / Price List provided before booking.

Where travel, accommodation, mileage, parking or public transport expenses are applicable, these will be explained and agreed with you in advance wherever reasonably possible.

The total price of the service, or the basis on which the total price will be calculated where it cannot reasonably be determined in advance, will be made clear before you enter into a booking.

 

16. Changes to These Terms

 

Guiding Stars UK may update these Terms and Conditions where reasonably necessary, including to reflect changes to:

• our services

• our business practices

• applicable law

• court guidance

• consumer requirements

Updated Terms will apply to new bookings made after the revised Terms are published or provided to the client.

Changes will not retrospectively alter the agreed terms of an existing confirmed booking unless:

• the change is required by law; or

• the client and Guiding Stars UK agree to the change

Changes to prices are dealt with separately under Section 7 and the current Fee Schedule.

 

17. Governing Law

 

These Terms and Conditions are governed by the law of England and Wales.

Any dispute relating to these Terms will be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales, subject to any mandatory rights available to consumers.

Nothing in these Terms affects any statutory consumer rights or protections available under applicable law.

 

18. General

​

These Terms and Conditions should be read alongside:

• your Client Engagement Letter

• our Privacy Policy

• our current Fee Schedule / Price List

• any booking confirmation

• any written agreement relating to a specific service

If there is any inconsistency between these Terms and a specific written agreement with you, the specific written agreement will take priority to the extent of that inconsistency. If any provision of these Terms is found to be unlawful or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue to apply so far as legally possible. If Guiding Stars UK does not enforce a provision on one occasion, this does not prevent that provision from being relied upon on another occasion where appropriate.

If you have any questions about these Terms and Conditions before entering into an agreement with Guiding Stars UK, please contact us.