Terms & Conditions

1. Interpretation

This contract shall be governed by the law of England and Wales and is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

2. Service

The service I provide is that of a Notary Public carrying out all permitted notarial activities including, where appropriate, arranging legalisation of documents and sending them to their final destination.

3. Data Protection

An essential part of a notary’s role is to maintain and keep records. When I carry out my work for you, I am required to make an entry in a formal register, which is kept by me as a permanent record. I will retain a copy of the notarised documentation with that record. My practice is a registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office. Personal data received from clients is held securely and not capable of being accessed externally. Data collected as part of notarial records is used solely for the purposes of meeting our professional legal responsibilities as Notaries Public. [See Our Data Protection Policy here]

4. Normal Basis of Charging

Unless otherwise agreed, fees will be assessed by reference to the time spent on the matter at a rate of £200 per hour, subject to a minimum charge of £75. Charges will include time spent advising you in advance of the meeting, time spent at the meeting and time spent on attending to further formalities such as legalisation. Time spent travelling to and from your premises or other location will also be charged at my hourly rate unless otherwise agreed. The notarial practice is not registered for VAT and fees and disbursements will be charged gross. Fees are due on completion of the work and prior to the release of the completed documents. Where it is agreed at your request that an invoice be submitted to a third party for payment you will become liable to pay that invoice immediately if it is not paid by the third party within seven days of the invoice being issued.

4.1 Remote notarisation and electronic signatures

In some cases it may be possible to do the notarisation by video conference rather than a face to face meeting and/or with the notary signing using an eIDAS compliant Qualified Electronic Signature, rather than a wet ink signature. Unless otherwise agreed, the hourly rate in such cases will be £300 per hour.

4.2 Taking Oaths and Declarations

A notary is authorised to exercise the powers of a Commissioner for Oaths in accordance with the Commissioners for Oaths Act 1889 where the oath or declaration is required for the purpose of any court or matter within England and Wales. The fees for doing so are laid down by statute and are currently £5 per declarant and £2 for each exhibit to the oath or declaration. Oaths and Declarations for use overseas or other parts of the UK or British Isles, will always be dealt with as a notary not a commissioner for oaths (notwithstanding that some common-law based jurisdictions also use the term “commissioner for oaths” to refer to officers who are so appointed or authorised under their own laws) and will be charged on the normal basis of charging outlined above.

5. Disbursements

You will also be charged for any payments that I make on your behalf, including, for example, Company Registry fees, translators’ and interpreters’ fees, legalisation fees and courier fees.

6. Payments on account

I reserve the right to ask for payments on account in respect of fees and disbursements or both.

7. Termination of retainer

You may terminate the retainer in writing at any time. I may decline to act further for you if payment of an invoice is not made, if a conflict of interest becomes apparent, or where the continuation of the retainer would involve me in a breach of the professional rules applicable to me; or where I do not receive from you the level of co-operation which I am reasonably entitled to expect. On termination of the retainer by either party a charge will be made for the work done to date.

Consumer Cooling Off Cancellation Period –Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 (“CCR”)
Where the CCR apply (typically where you are an individual consumer and my contract with you was concluded either at or following a meeting with you or by a form of distance communication) you have a cancellation period of 14 days after the date you sign my retainer letter or the date on which you continue to give me instructions, whichever is earlier.

You can cancel your contract within the cancellation period by giving me a clear statement and I will reimburse all payments received from you by the same method that you used, at no cost to you, without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which you inform me of the cancellation.If you ask me to begin work during the cancellation period, you can still cancel but you must pay me an amount in proportion to the work which I have performed and this proportion will not be reimbursed to you.

8. Redress

I am insured under a professional indemnity policy for at least £1,000,000.

9. Limitation of liability

Except so far as excluded by the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, liability for any loss, injury or damage of any nature, whether direct or consequential is limited to £750,000 in respect of any one claim or series of related claims. All liability arising out of legal actions instituted within the jurisdiction of the United States of America or Canada is excluded.

10. Regulation

My notarial practice is regulated through the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury:

The Faculty Office
1, The Sanctuary
Westminster
London
SW1P 3JT

Telephone 020 7222 5381
Email Faculty.office@1thesanctuary.com
Website www.facultyoffice.org.uk

11. Complaints

(1) If you are dissatisfied about the service you have received please do not hesitate to contact me.
(2) If we are unable to resolve the matter you may then complain to the Notaries Society of which I am a member, who have a Complaints Procedure which is approved by the Faculty Office. This procedure is free to use and is designed to provide a quick resolution to any dispute.
(3) In that case 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 1023
Ipswich IP1 9XB
Email secretary@thenotariessociety.org.uk

(4) If you have any difficulty in making a complaint in writing please do not hesitate to contact the Notaries Society/the Faculty Office for assistance.
(5) 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 8 weeks from the date you first notified me that you were dissatisfied, make your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, if you are not happy with the result :

Legal Ombudsman
P O Box 6806
Wolverhampton
WV1 9WJ
Tel : 0300 555 0333
Email : enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Website : www.legalombudsman.org.uk

(6) If you decide to make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, you must refer your matter to the Legal Ombudsman within one year from the act/omission or within one year from