Terms of Business
We would suggest that you should read the information given below prior to your attendance at my office. It ensures that you understand what will happen generally in relation to your instructions, likely costs and disbursements, complaints procedures, the scope and extent of the instructions given. If you have any queries in relation to the contents of this letter, please let me know prior to you arranging an appointment to see me. Unless otherwise agreed, these Terms of Business will apply to all future instructions you give us on this or any other matter.
Our notarial practice is regulated by the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the address is The Sanctuary, Westminster, London SW1P 3JT, Telephone 020 7222 5381, Email Faculty.office@1thesanctuary.com, Website www.facultyoffice.org.
We will provide you with an estimate of costs in relation to the work to be carried out. We will ensure that the work is carried out with a high degree of care. However, If you are dissatisfied about the service, you have received please do not hesitate to contact me. 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.
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.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.
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.
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 when you should reasonably have known there was cause of complaint.
NOTICE (on signing of any documents- Power of Attorney, Affidavit etc)
I am not your legal adviser. I have not given any advice in relation to the documents that you will be signing. I have only verified either (or both) your signature, Authority or Capacity on the basis of ID documents provided. If you are signing any documents, you confirm that you have taken independent legal advice after knowing all implications of the document. The Notary is only a witness and you give permission to keep copies of notarial acts, ID, proof of address.
It will save time, expense and mistakes if, as long before the appointment as possible, you can let me have the originals or photocopies of: (a) The documents to be notarised; (b) Any letter or other form of instruction which you have received about what has to be done with the documents. (c) Your evidence of identification. If a document is to be signed by you on behalf of a company, a partnership, a charity, club or other incorporated body, there are further requirements on which I may have to insist such as Letter of Authority, Minute, Resolution or Power of Attorney, authorising you to sign the document
FEES
At present, we charge a minimum fee of £40.00 and my hourly rate is £195.00. If you do not wish to instruct me on the basis of a fixed fee arrangement, then my fee will be charged on an hourly basis. The basis of calculation of my fees will depend on the value, importance, speed, complexity or special skills required to carry out the transaction. Estimate of costs will be based on the information available at the time of instructions. Variations in the instructions given, including requests for additional work or unexpected developments may increase costs. I shall only carry out your instructions once the fee and disbursements, if any, are agreed. if you need a home or office visit or if services are being provided out of hours or on an urgent basis, then the fee will need to reflect this plus additional time spent travelling and waiting. Charges may also be payable to third parties; for example, fees payable for legalisation of documents, translation fees, courier charges Companies House search fees etc. You will be notified of any such charges in advance when we provide you with an estimate of costs.
PROFESSIONAL INDEMNITY INSURANCE
Our maximum aggregate liability to you in this matter shall be £1 million including interest and costs unless we expressly state a different figure in our letter confirming your instructions. We are not liable for(a) losses that were not foreseeable to you and us when this contract was formed (b) losses not caused by any breach on our part and (c)business losses, including losses sustained by any individual not acting for purposes of their trade, business, craft or profession.
STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL OF FILES
Your file will be stored for 12 years and public form documents shall be stored permanently. We shall charge you a minimum fee of £40.00 to retrieve your file from storage.
ANTI MONEY LAUNDERING (AML)
We are required by law to confirm satisfactory evidence of the identity of our clients and, sometimes, people related to them. Any personal data received from you shall be processed with your consent, or as permitted by or under another enactment. We may have to report to National Crime Agency where they know or suspect that a transaction may involve money laundering or terrorist financing. If we make a disclosure in relation to your matter, we may not be able to tell you that a disclosure has been made.
PROTECTION OF PRIVACY NOTICE
The business of S THOMAS NOTARY PUBLIC LIMITED (“the Business”) is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) under number Z30977X. By signing this Terms of Business, you confirm that you have read Data protection privacy notice (“Notice”) published in the Business website www.sthomasnotarypublic.com. By signing this document, you confirm that you have read the Privacy notice published on the website. The Business will process your and third parties’ personal data, as further explained below, in the course of providing you with notarial and associated services including access to our website and online features (“Services”).
External firms or organisations may conduct audit or quality checks on our practice from time to time. It is a specific requirement imposed by us that these external firms or organisations fully maintain confidentiality in relation to any files and papers which are audited, or quality checked. We also use external agents for related services such as Legalisation, Translation etc, where your information will be shared strictly protecting your confidentiality.
APOSTILLE AND LEGALISATION
We use external agents to carry out Apostille and Legalisation. We shall provide you with a quote for apostille/ legalization fees in advance and also estimated turnaround time. We shall not be responsible for any delay in turnaround due to unforeseeable factors not limited to postal delay, holidays etc. If you require urgent FCO Apostille we recommend using Premium service with a turnaround of 1-2 days. The duration for Legalization (no- Hague countries) varies for each country. You accept all risks in relation to the documents sent to the agents for legislation. In case of loss of documents, we shall reimburse the notarial fee, legalization fee and a sum limited to £50 for any inconvenience caused.