NOTARY PUBLIC NORTH WEST LONDON

TERMS OF BUSINESS

These Terms of Business, together with our Data Protection Policy, AI Policy and Privacy Notice displayed on our Website (together referred to as “these Terms”), apply to all notarial and legal matters plus any ancillary and incidental services which we carry out. Your instructions or (as the case may be) your continuing instructions, will amount to your acceptance of these Terms.

1. Notary Services

Our  Notary Public Services, provided through Sharon Stone, Notary Public and Sharon Stone Notary Public Limited (herein together referred to as “we” or “us”)  cover all permitted notarial activities including, where appropriate, arranging Apostille and Consular Legalisation and despatch of documents to their final destination. A key role of a Notary is to maintain and keep records. Our Privacy Policy and Data Protection Policy Pages on our Website set out how we will handle your data.

2. Our Notarial Work for You

2.1 You/the Client will provide clear instructions and full and accurate information to enable us to carry out your instructions.

2.2 Indicative details of our charges are set out below. However, we always request sight of the documents where possible (together with any related instructions sent to you), before providing a specific quote.

2.3 Our aim is that your document(s), as executed and formalised, will be acceptable in the recipient country. However, we will not be liable if asked to follow particular instructions regarding the requirements of the recipient country, from external advisors or other professionals instructed by you directly or to whom you direct us.

2.4 Although we may be able to provide general guidance on likely requirements for the authentication of your document(s), we will not advise on foreign law, nor on your transaction or the contents or legal effect of the document(s) you sign. If you require legal advice on your document(s), you must consult your own legal adviser specialising in the law of the jurisdiction to which the document(s) will be sent.

2.5 If you ask us to draft a document for use abroad, we can give no warranty that the document will be accepted or effective in the receiving jurisdiction. We will, where possible, liaise with any foreign lawyer you have instructed and will rely on them to advise on the correct form of the document and on any formalities attaching to its execution.

2.6 We need to be satisfied as to your identity and residential address (See: “What identification is required when seeing a Notary Public?” on the FAQ's’ page of our Website), your legal capacity, your authority (eg when acting on behalf of a corporate body, an estate or trust or as an attorney under a Power of Attorney) and your understanding, approval of and intention to become bound by the document(s).

2.7 Proof of names: In cases where the name on the document is different from the name you are currently using, or there has been a variation in the form of spelling of the name over the years, please provide us, as appropriate, with Certificates of Birth, Marriage or Divorce Decree, or Change of Name Deed showing all the different names that you use.

2.8 We must be satisfied that you sign voluntarily, that no fraud or duress is involved, and that other required formalities either under English or foreign law, are observed.

2.9 Where you represent a Company, a Partnership, Trust or Association, we will need to check the existence, constitution and any registration of that body and your authority to represent it. For UK Companies or LLP’s, we can check the registration and directorship/membership online at Companies House. UK Companies with more than one director will need an authorising Board Resolution. In the case of foreign companies, we would generally need to see an up-to-date extract from the relevant Commercial Register. We will confirm what we need to see before you attend the appointment,

2.10 If we are not satisfied with regard to any of the above aspects, we may decline to undertake the matter, or issue a qualified certification.

2.11 Written Translations: If the document is in a foreign language which you or we don’t understand sufficiently, a translation may be required. If we obtained a formal translation, this would incur an additional fee and we would provide you with details of this. If you obtained a professional translation, the translator should add his/her name, address, relevant qualification, and a certificate stating: “Document X is a true and complete translation of document Y, to which this translation is attached.”

2.12 Oral Interpreter: If we cannot understand each other because of a language difficulty, we may have to arrange for a competent interpreter to be available at our meeting and this may involve a further fee.

3. Time Scale for the Work

3.1 Appointments generally take no more than one hour However, the time your matter takes from start to finish will depend on a number of variables, like the number of documents and signatories involved and whether you are a private individual or a company. Typical key stages of the work will include:

• Taking instructions;
• Receiving and reviewing the documents to be notarised, together with any instructions you may have received from the receiving country;
• Liaising with your legal advisors or other bodies to obtain the necessary documentation to deal with your document(s) (e.g. information from Companies House or foreign registries, powers of attorney
  etc);
• Checking the identity, capacity and authority of the person who is to sign the document;
• Where a document is to be certified, checking with the issuer that the document/award is genuine (re academic awards, the time taken will depend on the speed of response of the relevant academic institutions or the centralised system for degree verification, which couldtake about 3 weeks);
• Obtaining translations, if appropriate;
• Meeting with the signatory to verify their identity and understanding of the document(s), checking they sign of their own free will and ensuring that the document(s) is/are executed correctly;
• Drafting and affixing or endorsing a notarial certificate to the document(s) with signature, seal and stamp;
• Arranging for the legalisation of the document(s), as appropriate; Arranging for the electronic storage of copies of all notarised documents in accordance with the Notarial Practice Rules;
• Recording details of the documents and their requirements on my Notarial Register

3.2 Legalisation: Following notarisation, some documents will need to be ‘legalised’ (the process of confirming the authenticity of the English Notary’s signature and seal or of the signature of the Official who signed the document) in order to be accepted in the destination country. This is by way of an Apostille from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and sometimes also by specific Country Embassy Legalisation. We can assist with these processes through Legalisation Agents, subject to an appropriate handling fee. We will pass on their estimated timeframe for completion of the legalisation. Obtaining an Apostille through my Legalisation Agents currently takes 2 working days plus postage and delivery time. Applications made direct to the FCDO take longer.

4. Hours of Business

We can be contacted by email, text or telephone at any time to arrange a convenient appointment, either during normal office hours (09:30 to 18:30 Monday to Friday) or outside these hours, if the matter is urgent (which would be reflected in our notarial fee). In appropriate cases we can arrange to see you away from our office. Travelling time plus the cost of travel will be charged in accordance clause 5.5 below.

5. Delivery of Our Services and Fees

5.1 Our Notary Services for private Individuals are provided by Sharon Stone through Sharon Stone Notary Public Limited and our notarial services for Businesses are provided by Sharon Stone Notary Public, as Sole Practitioner. Sharon Stone Notary Public is registered as sole practitioner with HMRC for VAT under VAT Registration No. 387 7968 09. VAT is therefore payable on services provided by Sharon Stone Notary Public at the current rate of 20%.

5.2 As stated above, we request sight of the documents where possible (together with any related instructions sent to you), before providing a specific written quote for notarial fees and disbursements. However, our minimum notarial fee (excluding disbursements) is normally £84 including  VAT, as applicable, for  a single, short, straightforward document signed by one person. Additional signatories may be charged at £30 including VAT as applicable, per additional person. Where there are multiple documents, we will consider a reduction. Identity documents are charged at £60 including VAT as applicable, and £42 including VAT, as applicable, for each additional identity document. Certificates of Life for overseas pensions are generally charged at £78 for the first visit then £54 for future visits for the same form of Life Certificate.

5.3 For all other types of documents, or where we are asked to draft your  document, we will either specify a fixed notarial fee, based upon the complexity of the matter and the total time we estimate it will take (including preliminary advice, making the appointment, drafting, preparation, correspondence, telephone calls, arranging legalisation, travelling or waiting time and the time needed to make our Notarial Record) or we will charge on the basis of our professional time spent, at the hourly rate of £306 including VAT, as applicable, plus disbursements.

5.4 We reserve the right to revise our fee estimate (including for disbursements) if due to unforeseen or unusual issues, we are  required to carry out additional work, the matter proves more difficult or complex than initially envisaged, or there is special urgency requiring us to drop other work to deal with yours, or if the work unavoidably has to be dealt with outside office hours. We will notify you in writing of any changes in our fee estimate as soon as possible.

5.5 A per hour or part of an hour disbursement of £84 including VAT, as applicable, will be charged for attending appointments outside our office within our local area and £90 including VAT, as applicable, for attending appointments outside our local area, but within Greater London or South Hertfordshire.

5.6 If our work is terminated before completion, we will charge you a fair and proportionate amount for any work actually carried out.

6. Disbursements
Miscellaneous costs such as Apostilles, Consular fees (see clause 3.2 above), Agents’ charges, Translators Fees, postage costs, Bank charges and substantive photocopying or printing costs will be passed on to you at cost. A handling fee will be charged for arranging legalisation. We may request such costs to be paid to us in advance.

7. Payment

7.1 All fees and disbursements must be discharged in full, by cash or online payment to our bank account by completion of the notarisation and prior to our releasing the completed documentation, unless we haveagreedforour feesto be paidfollowing submission of our Invoice.We will not accept cash payments in excess of £500.00.

7.2 Should all or part of an invoice remain unpaid, we reserve the right to charge interest at the interest rate prescribed by the Late Payments of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.

7.3 Even if another person has agreed to pay or is responsible for paying all or part of our fees and costs, we may address my invoices to you as the instructing party and you will, in all cases, be responsible for paying them. Irrespective of who pays our invoice, our duty of care is owed to you alone as the instructing party, unless we agree otherwise.

8. Records

At the end of the matter, we will make a formal entry of the main details of your matter in our Notarial Register and will keep copies of the notarised document(s) and proof of your identity, in accordance with the Notaries Regulations.

9. Data Protection

We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office. Your personal data is held securely and is not capable of being accessed externally. Data collected as part of notarial records is used solely for the purposes of meeting the Notary’s professional legal responsibilities. For full details of our Privacy Policy and data processing terms please our Privacy Policy and Data Protection Policy Pages on our Website.

10. Liability

10.1 Each of the persons instructing us on a matter will be jointly and severally liable for the obligations imposed by these Terms.

10.2 No liability for loss (including, but not limited to, damages, costs and interest) to you or other parties, whether in contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise, is (except in relation to personal injury or death) accepted by us in relation to any matter in excess of our professional indemnity insurance cover, which is currently £1,000,000.

10.3 No liability for losses or delays is accepted as a result of using the services of third parties.

10.4 Where we agree to send documents to third parties on your behalf, we or our Agents will use either first class, special or recorded post or an international courier, as may be agreed with you. We are not liable for any delay or the failure to deliver or mis-delivery by any postal service or courier company. We cannot pursue postal or courier services for delayed delivery. Any assistance in the case of lost documents will be at our discretion.

10.5 If you are a Consumer, your rights as defined in the Consumer Rights Act 2015 shall not be adversely affected by these Terms, to the extent prohibited by that Act.

11. Email Correspondence

We use e-mail wherever possible, but please note that due to the nature of e-mail, we cannot guarantee its confidentiality. If you use e-mail to contact us or if you inform us of your e-mail address, we will assume that you accept this risk and you impliedly allow us to communicate with you by e-mail for the sending of unencrypted, sensitive or confidential correspondence or documents. We may also, during the course of a matter, send unencrypted, sensitive or confidential information to other persons involved, unless specifically requested by them or you not to do so. All e-mails sent by us and attachments thereto should be scanned for viruses by the recipient.

12. Whatsapp

We prefer not to message by Whatsapp as a professional record needs to be kept of my correspondence. In addition, if you are not a name on Sharon Stone’s Contact List, your message  might not be seen . Please therefore use our dedicated Notary email address at: sharonstonenotary@outlook.com.

13, Use of technology, devices and Artificial Intelligence

13.1 To the extent that we use any automated decision-making technology, including artificial intelligence, in the course of our services, we do not rely upon the same without human intervention.

13.2 Before using any new technology including artificial intelligence, we carry out an appropriate risk assessment to ensure that your rights are not adversely affected by the same.

14. Regulation and Complaints

14.1 Our notarial practice is regulated through the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury (“the Faculty Office”):
The Faculty Office, 1, The Sanctuary, Westminster, London SW1P 3JT
Telephone: 020 7222 5381
Email: Faculty.office@1thesanctuary.com
Website: www.facultyoffice.org.uk

14.2 We aim to provide all clients with an efficient and high standard of service. However, if you are dissatisfied about the service you have received, please do not hesitate to contact us.

14.3 If we are unable to resolve the matter, you may then complain to the Notaries Society of which Sharon Stone is  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.

14.4 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,
PO Box 1023, Ipswich IP1 9XB,
Email: secretary@thenotariessociety.org.uk

14.5 If you have any difficulty in making a complaint in writing, please do not hesitate to call us/ the Notaries Society/the Faculty Office for assistance.

14.6 Finally, even if you have your complaint considered under 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 us that you were dissatisfied, make your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman [1] if you are not happy with the result:

Legal Ombudsman,
PO Box 6167  
Slough SL1 0EH
Telephone: 0300 555 0333
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk

14.7 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.

15. Confidentiality

Your affairs will be dealt with in strict confidence. However, the Faculty Office has rights of inspection to ensure good practice and conduct. In addition, under the Notarial Practice Rules, any person with sufficient interest may request and be supplied with a copy of any notarial act. We may also disclose confidential information if required to do so by law or regulation.

16. Termination by you/Cancellation Rights for Consumers

16.1 If you are a consumer as defined in theConsumer Contract (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013(typically where you are an individual consumer and my contract with you was concluded with you or by a form of distance communication), you have the right to cancel this contract within 14 days from the day you instruct us, without giving any reason. To exercise the right to cancel within this period, you must inform us in writing of your decision to cancel this contract. You may use the attached form below, but it is not obligatory.

16.2 If you cancel this contract, we will, not later than 14 days after the day on which you inform us of the cancellation, reimburse to you all payments received from you.

16.3 If you requested us to begin performing services during the cancellation period, you can still cancel, but you must pay us an amount in proportion to the work which we have performed, and this proportion will not be reimbursed to you.

To: Sharon Stone, 25 Dorset Drive, Edgware, Middlesex, HA8 7NT.
I/We hereby give notice that I/we cancel my/our contract for notarial services,
Instructed on …………………………….
Name ………………………………………..
Address………………………………………….
Signature………………………………………
Date……………………………………………..

17. Termination by Us

We reserve the right to terminate my engagement by you if we have good reason to do so, for example, if your instructions are unclear, if you do not pay a bill or you fail to give us the co-operation which we are reasonably entitled to expect.

18. Law and Jurisdiction

The law which governs our contract with you is English Law and it is agreed that any dispute relating to our services shall be resolved exclusively by the English courts.

[1] certain kinds of commercial entities are not eligible to make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman – please refer to the Legal Ombudsman Scheme Rules or consult the Faculty Office.