Terms & Conditions
Applicability
In using my services, you agree to abide by the following terms and conditions. These terms and conditions apply to my notarial services.
Contractual Parties
All services are provided to you by Natalie J .A. Turner.
I will be required to identify you and obtain information on the purpose of the transaction in order to comply with my regulatory requirements.
I am only responsible for identifying the person(s) who appear before me. I am not responsible for identifying any other third parties and thus will not accept any liability whatsoever relating to the identities of third parties who do not appear before me.
Fees
We will normally agree a fixed fee in advance of any meeting. My standard fees are set out on the website and if the matter is non-standard you will be given a fixed fee quote in advance. If, at the appointment or during the process, the matter proves more complicated or protracted than expected or there are more documents or people involved than indicated (or legalisation turns out to be required), I reserve the right to renegotiate the fee or charge you at my hourly rate.
Disbursements
You are responsible for all payments which we make on your behalf. Typical examples for notarial acts are legalisation fees paid to a consulate, Companies House and couriers. I shall not incur these expenses without first obtaining your consent to do so. I have no obligation to pay these expenses unless you have provided me with the funds for that purpose. I reserve the right to invoice for disbursements prior to incurring them.
I will usually send all documents containing sensitive data by special delivery unless you request otherwise. This is charged at the standard rate and I will advise you of the cost when providing my quote for the service.
Payment
Payment is generally due on commencement of the service or as otherwise agreed, by cash, cheque or bank transfer. If I send you an invoice in respect of the work, payment is due within 7 days of the date of the invoice. Interest will be charged on late payments on a daily basis at 8% over the Bank of England base rate from time to time from the date payment was due. If you owe any money for the service, I reserve the right to retain your documents until payment has been made.
Conduct
You agree to provide me with true and accurate information when using my services. I am not responsible for any issues that arise through the provision to me by yourself (or any party instructed to act on your behalf) of incorrect information. You agree to notify me immediately of any unauthorised use of your identity or email that could affect my service to you. I will usually pursue our retainer to completion but I do reserve the right to terminate it if there are reasonable grounds to do so with reasonable notice given the circumstances of the situation.
I aim to respond to correspondence within 24 hours but do not accept any liability for loss caused by delay or alleged slow response. If I am out of office, I will put an out of office message on my email to inform you (unless unable to do so through accident or illness).
You can terminate our retainer at any time for any reason with no liability other than for my costs and any third party fees incurred. If a conflict of interest arises during the transaction I must cease acting for all parties and reserve the right to bill you for abortive costs and fees.
Any quote provided for notarial fees will remain valid for 14 days.
Notarial Documents
I have to be satisfied as to your identity, your legal capacity, your authority and your understanding and approval of the contents of any document to be notarised. If a document is in a language other than English I may require a translation. I must be satisfied that it is your voluntary act and that no fraud, violence or duress is involved and that other stipulated formalities under English and any relevant foreign law of which I am aware are observed. If I am not satisfied about any one of those things I can refuse to undertake the matter.
Certification
If I certify a document, I am obliged to state in my notarisation that I have not verified its authenticity unless you instruct me to verify it. Verification of authenticity involves contacting the issuing institution who may charge a fee and/or take some time to respond. Please let me know if you require me to verify any certified document.
Errors
I will not accept any liability whatsoever for mistakes in the document not caused by me, for example but not limited to where the person who drafted the document made an error in drafting, or where you fill in a document incorrectly or in the wrong place, or where you have erroneously or accidentally instructed me to write something in the document which later transpires to be incorrect. If the document requires me to complete certain information, I will use best endeavours to do so following any guidance or instructions you provide. If you are unsure about any substantive part of a document, I will always request that you check with the person who drafted the document. In the unlikely event that I make a mistake or error in my notarisation of the document my liability is limited to offering you a free replacement, unless the mistake was pursuant to erroneous instructions. I will always show you the notarised document to approve before you leave our appointment.
Legal Advice
It is not my responsibility to give you legal advice concerning a document for notarisation or advise on tax matters in any case, including without limitation advice on inheritance tax. When dealing with a document destined for a foreign jurisdiction, you are advised to seek first the advice of your own independent legal or other competent professional adviser who practises in, or is skilled in, the law of that jurisdiction.
Drafting
I strongly advise that documents for use in foreign jurisdictions are drawn up by lawyers from that jurisdiction. If I draft a document at your request, I provide no guarantee that it will work or contain everything required for its intended purpose in a foreign jurisdiction. My advice is always to use a qualified lawyer from that jurisdiction to draft the document for you where possible.
Tax
I am not authorised to provide any tax advice whatsoever.
Data Protection
It is your responsibility to make sure you retain control of all communication methods you have previously identified to me, including your postal address, email address and telephone number. I will treat all instructions received from these sources as genuine. If you lose control of any of these resources you must inform me immediately. I do not accept instructions via text message, messaging platform or videoconference software unless stated otherwise in writing. Instructions are accepted only via email, personal attendance, post and telephone call. Any important instructions provided orally must be confirmed in writing.
I will in most cases keep an entry of the details of the service and copies of any documents you provide including, but not limited to, your proof of identity. This is a professional requirement. You agree to me retaining relevant information about yourself and the matter dealt with. This may include your name, contact details, correspondence records and copies of documentation received. I will take appropriate measures to keep this information confidential and within the United Kingdom or a country with similar data protection measures in place. I may retain information in perpetuity. However, you have a right to request its deletion after 12 years unless the law or regulatory requirements require ne to retain it for longer. I may use this for the purposes of complying with legal and regulatory requirements, to carry out credit checks, to detect, investigate and prevent fraud, for internal analysis and research. You can request a copy of any data I hold on you or request an update or correction to it by writing to my address as shown on my website.
I will not pass your details on to third parties without your consent unless required to do so by law. If I have reasonable suspicion a money laundering offence is being committed I may have to make a report to the regulatory authorities to request their clearance to proceed. This is exceptionally rare but I am not liable for any loss caused by any delay when awaiting clearance to proceed.
Storage
I scan original documents and normally return them to you at the appointment. If an original document has to be retained or is posted to me for subsequent return to you, I will return it to you by special delivery at your own cost. If you require a different return service please let me know when you deliver the document to me. I do not retain original hard copy documents and will endeavour to return them to you. If you do not accept your documents from me or do not pay my fees and costs I reserve the right to exercise a lien and to destroy them, or charge you at my standard rate for storage as appropriate. I reserve the right to charge for the retrieval of electronic and paper documents following completion of the matter. I do not accept any liability whatsoever for loss or damage to your documents if you choose to send these to any third party.
Insurance
I carry professional indemnity cover of £1,000,000 and fidelity liability cover of £2,000,000. I therefore limit the level of my liability to you to the level of my insurance cover, except as a result of death or personal injury. This limit is considered to be fair and reasonable and reflects the level of professional indemnity insurance I hold. The limit shall apply to any and all causes of action against me in respect of, or arising from, or in any way connected with my engagement by you. If you require a higher limit of liability please contact me to discuss this. I may be able to make alternative arrangements or advise you of an alternative notary public. Where in relation to any loss you also have a cause of action against any third party, I shall only be liable to you for my share of the responsibility but not more than the limit on liability mentioned in this paragraph.
Amendment
I reserve the right to amend these terms & conditions at any time by posting an amended version to the website. The updated terms & conditions shall apply to all services rendered since the update.
Complaints
My notarial practice is regulated by the Master of Faculties 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
2.In the unlikely event you are dissatisfied about the service you have received please do not hesitate to contact me and I will endeavour to resolve matters with you.
3. If I am unable to resolve the matter to your satisfaction, 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 this event, 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 call the Notaries Society/the Faculty Office for assistance.
4. 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, put your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, if you are not happy with the result :
Legal Ombudsman
P O Box 6167
Slough SL1 0EH
Tel : 0300 555 0333
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
5. 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 for complaint.
Governing Law and Jurisdiction
The laws governing our agreement are the laws of England, and the courts of England have exclusive jurisdiction over any proceedings that arise from our dealings.
Queries
I hope that you will be satisfied with the service I provide but if you have any queries or need my literature provided in a different format please do not hesitate to contact me. I aim to provide the a first class service to the highest standards of practice while ensuring good value to my clients. Thank you for your valued custom and I hope you will return to use my services again in the future.