Definitions
The person for whom Notarial work is carried out is referred to herein as ‘you’; ‘your’; ‘the client’
The person by whom Notarial work is carried out is referred to herein as ‘I’; ‘me’; ‘we; ‘the Notary Public’
‘Costs’ includes the fees charged by the Notary Public and Disbursements charged by third parties such as postage, courier fees, agency fees, Embassy fees and translation fees.
1. Costs Estimates
1.1 There is a minimum fee of £100.00.
1.2 An estimate of fees and disbursements will be given before any work is carried out and usually during the first client contact. In complex matters relevant documentation may need to be examined before an estimate can be given.
1.3 Value Added Tax will not be added to your costs.
2. Fees
2.1 Fees are calculated at the hourly rate of £255.00 and according to: the complexity or value of the work to be done; time involved; urgency; number of documents to be notarised; nature of the documents; whether the documents have to be drafted by the Notary; number of persons appearing before the Notary; 25% uplift for work done out of hours.
2.2 The hourly rate includes telephone and personal attendance upon you including arranging initial appointment; advice; preparation of documents and Notarial acts; telephone calls; e-mails; photocopying; storage and completion of Notarial register and protocol.
2.3 Notary payments are required to be made in advance if your documents are notarised and returned to you on the day of your appointment; or, if the Notary Public is required to make payment of Foreign & Commonwealth Office and/or legalisation fees or courier, agency or any other fees as part of the work carried out on your behalf.
3. Disbursements
3.1 In some circumstances there may be additional charges such as: Legalisation or Apostille fees; Legalisation Agent’s fees; Courier’s fees; Special Postage; Translation fees; Companies House fees; Travel; Premises charges. Disbursements will be notified to you in advance and must be paid by you in advance of completion of the work.
3.2 All fees and disbursements are payable in sterling (GBP£) and immediately upon completion of the work or in the case of advance payment upon receipt of the bill.
3.3 Notarised documents will remain the property of the Notary and may not be released to you until payment of fees and disbursements has been made in full.
4. Legal Advice
4.1 The Notary’s role is to identify you and to ensure your understanding of the nature of the documents to be notarised and intention to be bound by them and to carry out the Notarial act.
4.2 Legal advice will not be given by the Notary and must be obtained from an independent legal adviser. It is not the duty of the Notary Public to provide you with legal advice on your documents. It is your responsibility to ensure that prior to signing any document you have obtained independent legal advice on the content and implications of the document.
5. Notary’s Responsibilities
5.1 To identify the client’s individual and corporate identity by examining original identity documents and conducting relevant searches in accordance with Notarial and Money Laundering regulations
5.2 To ensure that the client understands the nature of the documents to be notarised and intends to be bound by them
5.3 To verify the facts stated in the documents to be notarised • To maintain professional indemnity insurance
5.4 To maintain records and protocol and hold client’s monies in accordance with the relevant Notaries’ Practice and Accounts Rules
5.5 The Notary Public does not assume any liability for the conduct of third parties such as couriers, the foreign and commonwealth office and foreign embassies in their dealings with documents as this is out of my control.
6. Your Responsibilities
6.1 To fully cooperate and provide upon request all information necessary to verify relevant individual identity and proof of residence and corporate identity where relevant together with details of the country in which the Notarial act is intended to be used and details of the end user of the Notarial act and copies of any instructions received from third parties in respect of the Notarial act.
6.2 To authorise the provision of relevant information by third parties
6.3 To provide full details of the source and destination of funds upon request
6.4 To produce original evidence of your appointment as attorney or other authority to represent a corporate entity or individual
6.5 Where possible to provide copies of all documents to be notarised and related correspondence in advance of the first meeting
6.6 Unless you are a native speaker or fluent in the language a document is written in, the translation of the document by a qualified translator will be required. It is the Notary’s duty to the end user of the document to ensure that you fully understand the document and for that reason a professional translation will be required which must be accompanied by the translator’s original affidavit confirming that they are a professional qualified translator and that the document has been translated by them.
6.7 It is not the duty of the Notary Public to provide you with legal advice on your documents. It is your responsibility to ensure that prior to signing any document you have obtained independent legal advice on the content and implications of the document.
7. Data Protection
7.1 Details of clients and client transactions will be stored in computerised and manual records and may be inspected by regulatory authorities. From time to time your data may be shared or third parties outside the EEA may be used for the storage of data and by acceptance of these terms and conditions you consent to such use.
7.2 If you instruct me to communicate with you or with third parties by email you accept the inherent risk that third parties could access or intercept e-mail messages containing your data.
7.3 Your instruction to me to notarise a document will constitute your consent to my disclosing such of your personal data as may be required to an agent, courier, postal service, Embassy or other institution in order to deal with documents on your behalf by instructing agents, obtaining an Apostille or Embassy legalisation, verification, post or courier.
7.4 I assume no liability for the loss of documents and/or any consequential loss incurred by you as a result of any failure on the part of any third party including the Foreign & Commonwealth Office or any Embassy, agent, courier or postal service.
8. Identification requirements
8.1 Notarial work will not be carried out unless original documents evidencing your identity and residence in accordance with the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 and the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (as amended from time to time) are produced at your first appointment and deemed acceptable by the Notary.
8.2 Individual identification of each person appearing before the Notary will be made by inspection by the Notary of the individual appearer’s current passport; driving or firearms licence or armed forces pass (with photograph); together with a bank statement or utility bill as proof of residence. Corporate identification will usually be by inspection of original Partnership Agreement or Certificates of Good Standing and Incorporation, statutory books and a copy of the latest filed annual return and on-line search of records held at Companies House.
9. Email
9.1 Emails are sent in strict confidence for the addressee only and may be
subject to legal professional privilege or copyright protection.
9.2 The unauthorised use, publication, copying, dissemination or distribution of email communication is strictly prohibited. If email communication is received by you in error, please notify me immediately by telephone and delete all copies.
9.3 You are responsible for virus checking and should perform your own virus checks before opening any attachments. I do not warrant that emails and any attachments sent from me are virus free and I cannot accept liability for any damage you may sustain. Communications via the Internet are not secure and may be accessed by third parties. I am not responsible for personal data sent by email and am not able to protect it from access by third parties.
10. Jurisdiction
10.1 English Law applies to the notarial services carried out on your behalf and the Courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction
11. Cancellation
11.1 You have the right to cancel under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 If you instruct me to start work prior to or during the cancellation period set out in the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 you will be charged for any work completed and any disbursements incurred on your behalf up to the point at which I receive your cancellation notice.
12. Complaints Procedure
12.1 My notarial practice is regulated by the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury:
The Faculty Office at 1, The Sanctuary, Westminster. London SW1P 3JT
Website www.facultyoffice.org.uk
12.2 If you have complaints about my work please do not hesitate to contact me, and if the matter cannot be immediately resolved I will refer your complaint to the Notaries Society of which I am a member, who have a Complaints Procedure which is approved by the Faculty Office.
Alternatively, you can complain to the Notaries Society direct. Please write (but do not enclose any original documents) with full details of your complaint to:-
The Secretary of The Notaries Society
P O Box 7655
Milton Keynes MK11 9NR
Tel : 01908 803527
Finally, even if you have your complaint considered under the Notaries Society Approved Complaints Procedure, you may at the end of that procedure or after a period of eight weeks from the date of making the complaint to me, make your complaint direct to the Legal Ombudsman(whose contact details are set out below) if the matter has not been resolved to your satisfaction:
Legal Ombudsman
P O Box 6806
Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ
Tel : 0300 555 0333 or
Website www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Liability:
I have professional indemnity liability cover of £1,000,000 in accordance with the specifications of my regulator and the level of my professional liability towards you is therefore limited to £1,000,000.
