terms of engagement for notarial services

Scope, content and variation

These terms form the terms of engagement governing the work I do for you.
Any variations must be agreed in writing.

fees and disbursements

I will provide you with an estimate of my fees in advance of the work that I carry out for you. My fees are calculated by the number of documents, the complexity of the matter and the likely time that will be spent. If I provide an indication of my fees based on inaccurate information from you, I reserve the right to vary my fees and to notify you of any such change.
My fees are exclusive of value added tax.
The work of secretarial and administrative staff is not charged separately.
In many matters, I am likely to incur certain expenses (referred to as “Disbursements)” in addition to my fees. The Disbursements may include such incidental costs as:
- company search fees, registry search fees, travelling expenses, courier charges, Apostille and consulate’s fees, agent’s, expert’s and counsel’s fees;
- charges for photocopying, fax or telephone usage, bank fees and charges for BACS and CHAPS transfers, administrative and/or secretarial overtime attributable to your matter, printing and scanning for which I have either provided an estimate or have agreed a rate of charge with you.
My charges in respect of these Disbursements will be invoiced to you directly in conjunction with the fees for my work. Any Disbursements of a significant amount may be charged separately.
My fees are revised from time to time and will be notified to you in writing. The changed rates will apply to time spent by me after the date of notification to you.

payment of invoices and payments on account

My invoices should be settled within 7 days of the date on the invoice. If any invoice is not paid within this time, I reserve the right until payment is made:

to charge interest on the balance owing at the rate of 8% as from the expiry of the 7-day period;
to suspend further work on the matter;
to retain and withhold from you any papers, title deeds or documents or other items of property belonging to you that are in my possession (known as a lien); and
(in appropriate cases) to terminate my retainer and withdraw.

Upon termination of my retainer, I will invoice you for work already done at that date but not yet invoiced. You should note that in relation to the 7-day period, I regard time as being “of the essence”; that is to say you are not entitled to any period of grace after it has expired.
If a request for payment on account of fees or Disbursements are not met, I reserve the right to suspend any further work on the matter and (in appropriate cases) to terminate my retainer and withdraw. You should also be aware that unless I have specifically agreed to the contrary in writing, I will not pay any Disbursements on your behalf (other than routine Disbursements of small amounts) and therefore failure to provide the required funds in time, could result in your interests being prejudiced.
In cases where a third party is to be responsible for the payment of some or all of my fees and/or Disbursements, I only accept your instructions on the basis that you will, on demand, meet any liability for any such fees and/or Disbursements that have not been paid by the due date for payment.

client satisfaction

My notarial practice is regulated through the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury: The Faculty Office, 1, The Sanctuary, Westminster, London, SW1P 3JT. Tel: 020 7222 5381 Email: Faculty.office@1thesanctuary.comWebsite: facultyoffice.org.uk
Satisfying your requirements and expectations require not only a professional approach on my part, but also that I should be kept aware of any concerns that you have about my work or about the progress of your matter. I therefore hope that you will raise any such concerns promptly and frankly, and indeed tell me of any suggestions to improve my services.
Any complaint you may have in relation to my services, which may include a complaint about an invoice, should be raised in the first instance with me. I will attempt to resolve the issue to yours and my mutual satisfaction.
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, PO Box 1023, Ipswich IP1 9XB. Email: secretary@thenotariessociety.org.uk If you have any difficulty in making a complaint, 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, PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ. Tel: 0300 555 0333. Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk 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 for complaint.

timetable

My aim is to progress your work as quickly as circumstances allow, and I expect to review progress with you as an on-going part of my services.
It is frequently the case that meeting target dates will be outside my control. Often the pace of a matter will depend not only upon timely instructions from you and a prompt response from me, but also upon the degree of co-operation I receive from persons with whom you are dealing, those persons’ advisers and other third parties involved. Accordingly, unless I have specifically agreed to the contrary in writing, I do not accept any liability arising from failure to meet any target date(s) or to complete any part of your work within a proposed timescale, unless the failure is directly and exclusively caused by unreasonable delay on my part in providing my services.

email communications

In performing my services, I may wish to send messages and documents to you and to others by electronic mail (email). Like other means of communication, email is not entirely risk free and carries with it the possibility (among other things) of corruption, inadvertent misdirection, non-delivery of confidential material, inadvertent deletion or unauthorised access.
Nevertheless, I believe that the use of email can sometimes deliver worthwhile benefits in terms of the speed, accuracy and efficiency of communications, and I recommend that where practicable it should be used in relation to the provision of my services in your matter. Accordingly, I shall, unless you notify my to the contrary in writing, regard your acceptance of my terms of engagement as including your agreement to the use of email.
I endeavour to retain on disk or other electronic storage or in hard copy format copies of all emails which contain or refer to significant information, although others may often be deleted or destroyed. However, it is sometimes impractical or unjustifiably time consuming to retain all such materials, and therefore your file may not necessarily contain a copy of every email sent or received.

confidentiality and data protection

Except as explained below, I will maintain my professional and legal obligations of confidentiality in relation to the work I undertake for you and in relation to information which is confidential to you which comes into my possession in the course of undertaking that work. However, provided that any such disclosures are limited to a need-to-know basis, I may make disclosures of information which is confidential to you:

for the purpose of acting for you including, without limitation, disclosures to your other advisers or to third parties involved in the work I am undertaking for you;
to my auditors for the purposes of the audit of my accounts;
to my professional indemnity insurers if, in relation to your matter, it becomes necessary under the terms of my professional indemnity insurance to notify circumstances which may give rise to a claim against my (this may include communications which would ordinarily be protected by legal professional privilege);
as required by law or by any regulatory authority to which I am subject;
for the purposes of complying with my obligations under anti-money laundering or counter terrorist financing legislation for the time being in force.

As a controller under the Data Protection Act 2018 (registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office under number Z3610755), I use the information you provide (including personal data) primarily for the provision of my services to you, but also for related purposes including creating and maintaining notarial records, issuing invoices, collecting payments and debts, analysis for the purposes of practice management, statutory returns, insurance, legal and regulatory compliance. Please note that my work for you may require me to share information with third parties such as other advisors or with the management of the law firm of which I am a partner. You have a right of access to the personal data that I hold about you as well as other rights under the Data Protection Act 2018.
I retain your personal data for only so long as is necessary or as otherwise required by applicable law.
I may use third parties, including third parties located abroad, to perform certain support services on my behalf in relation to work that I do for you. This may include (without limitation) word processing, copying, printing, translation and other support services. The work that is outsourced may include special categories of personal data as defined in the Data Protection Act 2018.
Where third parties provide support and services as a processor, I will as controller take appropriate measures to maintain client confidentiality by ensuring that a Confidentiality Agreement and a Data Processor Agreement is executed with those third parties to enable me to comply with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 2018.

notice of right to cancel

If you are an individual to whom the Consumer Contract (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges (Regulations 2013)) then this gives you a right to cancel your retainer with me within 14 days without giving any reason. The cancellation period will expire after 14 days from the day of the conclusion of the contract. Your right to cancel under these regulations is in addition to and not in substitution for your general right to withdraw your instructions at any time;
My work begins immediately and if I complete my work within the aforementioned 14 days period you will lose your right to cancel;
If you decide to exercise your right to cancel, you must do so in writing (by post, fax or email) using my contact details.

liability and insurance

My professional liability is limited to the sum of £1,000,000 for which I carry professional indemnity insurance, a certificate of which is available on request.
I am a member of The Notaries Guarantee Limited.

governing law and jurisdiction

These terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English law, and you and I agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.