TERMS OF BUSINESS

 

1. Basis of work

These conditions govern my relationship with you as a client. I contract only on the basis of these conditions. By instructing me to act you are accepting the following conditions.

 

2. Accepting and declining instructions

I will accept instructions from you in accordance with the Notaries Practice Rules 2019 and my oath of office. In some circumstances I may decline to accept instructions or conclude a matter if I have reason to believe that there is fraud, violence, illegality or lack of freewill involved in the matter. I may also cease to act if you cannot give clear or proper instructions on how I am to proceed, or you do not pay a bill I have rendered.

 

3. Verification of facts and Notarial Records

Part of the Notary’s role is to check the facts in documents, and this sometimes involves obtaining evidence or proof from sources independent of you. In this I need your full co-operation. If I have to add disclaimers to the document to make it clear that there are facts that I have not been able to verify the document may become useless or of less benefit to you. I will not accept liability if this is the case.

 I am required to keep notarial records. Data collected as part of those records is used solely for the purpose of meeting the professional legal responsibilities as a Notary Public. Please read my Data Protection Policy document attached.

 

4. Fees and Disbursements

Details of my charges are set out below:

 

Where my fees are based principally on the time taken for the whole matter, this is charged at the rate of £190 per hour. The time taken includes: making the appointment, travelling or waiting time, meetings with you and others, considering, preparing and working on papers and correspondence including faxes and electronic mail. All letters and telephone calls will be charged on a time basis and the time needed to make appropriate records.

I charge a minimum fee of £85. I do not charge VAT.

 

Although my charges take account of my ordinary business expenses such as normal postage and telephone charges, I reserve the right to charge you for any unusual expenses I incur such as printing, exceptional photocopying, overseas postage, special delivery postage and telephone calls My bill must be paid on presentation and documents will not be released until payment has been made in full.

 

I reserve the right to request payment on account of my professional fees and disbursements before work commences. I also reserve the right to cease acting in the event of a requested payment on account not being received.

 

Fees(Disbursements) may also be payable to third parties, for example fees payable to the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, Foreign Embassies, High Commissions or agents dealing with legalisation  of documents, Companies House, Land Registry, translators fees or courier charges. I reserve the right to request money to be paid in advance to me in relation to work where expenses charged by third parties are likely to be incurred on your behalf. I must receive payment in sufficient time to allow for bank clearance of funds.

 

I will give a cost quotation in advance: The quotation for the total cost of the agreed work is shown at the end of these Terms of Business

 

Occasionally unforeseen or unusual issues arise during the course of the matter which may result in a revision of my fee estimate. Examples of this could include where additional documents are required to be notarised, additional translations or legalisations are needed to meet the requirements of the receiving jurisdiction, and so on. I will notify you of any changes in the fee estimate as soon as possible. I reserve the right to request money to be paid in advance to me in relation to work where expenses charged by third parties are likely to be incurred on your behalf. I must receive payment in sufficient time to allow for bank clearance of funds.

 

Payment can be made by cash, cheque or bank transfer. I do not accept cards.  Payment of my fee and disbursements is due when the document has been prepared which I may retain pending payment in full

 

Late Payment or failed Payment

Legal ownership or title to any document or series of documents prepared by me will not pass to you or to the person or persons who have instructions to me or to the person or persons or organisations to whom I was directed to submit my bill until my bill and/or any disbursements has been paid in full. Similarly, I shall hold a lien over any such documents and all other working papers and items of value that have come into my possession directly or indirectly as a consequence of your instructions.

 

If a cheque/direct debit/standing order in respect of monies payable to me is dishonoured or stopped, a charge of £50 plus all and any bank charges incurred by me will be made and treated as compensation for all and any loss incurred by me as a result of your failure to ensure payment of monies due to me.

 

5. Client’s Money

I do not hold client money on your behalf. The only funds held by me are those monies (if any) to be applied for the payment of third party expenses in respect to the notarial act you have instructed me to carry out.

 

6. Limitation of Liability

If you bring a document to me for authorisation as a Notary, I will advise you as to the formalities required for completing it. However, I will not be attempting to advise you about the transaction itself and cannot be held responsible for the content of the document.

 

I maintain professional indemnity insurance in the sum of £1,000,000. Save as provided under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, my liability to the client for any loss, injury or damage of any nature whatever whether direct or consequential, including, without limitation, in respect of negligence or breach of my duty to the client, is hereby limited to such in respect of any one claim or series of related claims (save in the case of fraud, where no such limit shall apply).

 

All liabilities arising out of legal actions instituted within the jurisdictions of the United States of America and Canada are excluded.

 

Unless specifically agreed, I accept no liability for the rights of third parties resulting for any notarial act.

 

7. Legalisation at Foreign ,Commonwealth and Development Office and other Foreign Embassies and Consulates

Whilst every care is taken to preserve any document entrusted to me I cannot accept any responsibility for any loss or damage that occurs if any document or documents are delayed lost or damaged or destroyed whilst in transit either through Royal Mail or such similar organisation or the Document Exchange System.

 

8. Items Posted or Sent Abroad

I cannot accept responsibility for any item sent or posted abroad on your behalf or at your request under any circumstances whatsoever.

 

9. Email

While I use standard virus checking software, I cannot accept any responsibility for viruses or anything similar in any e-mails or attachments originating from me. I also do not accept any responsibility for any changes to, or interception of, any e-mail or attachment after it leaves my information system.

 

10. Storage Of Documents

I will store, without charge to you, the original of any notarial act in the “Public Form” as a permanent record.  I will keep a copy of every act in private form for twelve years. I will not always keep a full copy of the client’s own document or documents but I reserve the right to do so.

I also reserve the right to charge for any additional copies of documents that may be requested or required.

 

11. Foreign Languages and Communication

 

In the case of a document that is in a foreign language and in the English language the Notary will rely upon the English translation unless it is not reasonable to do so in which case the Notary may insist on a further translation being provided. It may be possible for the Notary to arrange a translation but this will be at the client’s cost.

 

12. Termination and cancellation

 

You may terminate your instructions to me at any time by giving me reasonable written notice. All fees and disbursements incurred up to the date of termination will be charged.  I reserve the right to terminate my engagement by you if I have good reason to do so, for example, if you do not pay a bill or comply with my request for a payment on account or you fail to give me the co-operation which I am reasonably entitled to expect.

 

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 us 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

 

13. Regulation and Compliance

Please note that my notarial practice is independent and has no connection whatsoever with my previous practice as a solicitor.

 

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

 

 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:-

 

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/ 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 the procedure or after a period of eight weeks from the date you first notified me that you were dissatisfied, make your complaint direct to the Legal Ombudsman (whose direct contact details are set out below) if you are not happy with the result:

Legal Ombudsman

P O Box 6167

Slough

SL1 0EH

Tel: 0300 555 0333  Or enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk    Website www.legalombudsman.org.uk

If you decide to make a complaint to the Legal Mmbudsman you must refer your matter to the Legal Ombudsman within one year from the Act/omission or withing one year from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint

 

13. Law and Jurisdiction

The formal and material validity, performance and construction of these conditions and any agreement made, whether any agreement is made subject to them, shall be governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales.

 

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DATA PROTECTION PRIVACY NOTICE

 

1. The business of Christine Ann Chater, Notary Public of Hadleigh House, Hinksey Hill, Oxford, OX1 5BE (“Business”, “we”, “us”, “our”). The Business is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) under number Z1277404.

 

1. If you have any questions about this privacy notice (“Notice”), please contact us by email .My email address is: notary@christinechater.co.uk.

 

1. 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”).

 

1. We will let you know, by posting on our website or otherwise, if we make any changes to this Notice from time to time. Your continued use of the Services after notifying such changes will amount to your acknowledgement of the amended Notice.

 

1. PLEASE NOTE: You shall and you hereby agree to indemnify the Business and its affiliates and their officers, employees, agents and subcontractors (each an “Indemnified Party”) from and against any claims, losses, demands, actions, liabilities, fines, penalties, reasonable expenses, damages and settlement amounts (including reasonable legal fees and costs) incurred by any Indemnified Party arising out of or in connection with any breach by you of the warranties included in paragraph 8.

What is Personal Data?

 

1. “Personal data” means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person, known as ‘data subject’, who can be identified directly or indirectly; it may include name, address, email address, phone number, IP address, location data, cookies and similar information. It may also include “special categories of personal data” such as racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, and the processing of genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a data subject, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person's sex life or sexual orientation.

 

1. The Business may process personal data and special categories of personal data which you provide in connection with the Services about yourself and other data subjects, e.g. individuals whose details are included in any materials provided by you to the Business. The Business may obtain information about you and other data subjects from third party service providers, such as due diligence platforms. If you use our online Services, the Business may collect information about your devices including clickstream data.

 

1. The provision of certain personal data is mandatory in order for the Business to comply with mandatory client due diligence requirements and consequently to provide the Services. You warrant on a continuous basis that such personal data is accurate, complete and up to date. Failure to comply may result in documents being rejected by the relevant certification authorities, held invalid in the destination country or other difficulty to successfully completing the Services.

 

1. In relation to personal data of data subjects you warrant to the Business on a continuous basis that:

 

1. where applicable, you are authorised to share such personal data with the Business in connection with the Services and that wherever another data subject is referred to, you have obtained the explicit and demonstrable consent from all relevant data subjects to the inclusion and use of any personal data concerning them;

2. to the extent this is required in connection with the Services, such personal data is accurate, complete and up to date; and

3. either you provide your explicit consent and warrant that each data subject has provided explicit consent for the transfer of personal data to foreign organisations in connection with the Services as set out at paragraph 12, or that an alternative legal gateway for such transfer (such as transfer necessary for the conclusion or performance of a contract concluded in the interest of the data subject) has been satisfied.

 

How do we use your personal data?

 

1. The Business will only process personal data, in accordance with applicable law, for the following purposes:

 

1. responding to your queries, requests and other communications;

2. providing the Services, including, where applicable, procuring acts from foreign organisations;

3. enabling suppliers and service providers to carry out certain functions on behalf of the Business in order to provide the Services, including webhosting, data storage, identity verification, technical, logistical, courier or other functions, as applicable;

4. allowing you to use features on our website, when you choose to do so

5. ensuring the security of the Business and preventing or detecting fraud;

6. administering our Business, including complaints resolution, troubleshooting of our website, data analysis, testing of new features, research, statistical and survey purposes;

7. developing and improving our Services;

8. complying with applicable law, including Notary Practice Rules, guidelines and regulations or in response to a lawful request from a court or regulatory body.

 

The legal basis for our processing of personal data for the purposes described above will typically include: 

 

• processing necessary to fulfil a contract that we have in place with you or other data subjects, such as  processing for the purposes set out in paragraphs (a), (b), (b) and (d);

• your consent, such as  processing for the purposes set out above and in my terms of business;

• processing necessary for our or a third party’s legitimate interests, such as  processing for the purposes set out in paragraphs (a), (b), (b), (e), (f) and (g), which is carried out on the basis of the legitimate interests of the Business to ensure that Services are properly provided, the security of the Business and its clients and the proper administration of the Business; and

• processing necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, such as  processing for the purposes set out in paragraph (h).and

• any other applicable legal grounds for processing from time to time.

 

Disclosure of personal data

 

1. There are circumstances where the Business may wish to disclose or is compelled to disclose your personal data to third parties. These scenarios include disclosure to:

 

• our subsidiaries or associated offices;

• our suppliers and service providers to facilitate the provision of the Services, including  couriers, translators, IT consultants and legalisation and other handling agents, webhosting providers, identity verification partners (in order to verify your identity against public databases), consultants, for example, in order to protect the security or integrity of our business, including our databases and systems and for business continuity reasons;

• public authorities to carry out acts which are necessary in connection with the Services, such as the Foreign Office;

• foreign organisations to carry out acts which are necessary in connection with the Services, such as Embassies, Consulates and High Commissions;

• professional organisations exercising certain public, governance and archiving functions in relation to the notaries profession, such as Chambers of Commerce, The Notaries Society and the Faculty Office;

• successor or partner legal entities, on a temporary or permanent basis, for the purposes of a joint venture, collaboration, financing, sale, merger, reorganisation, change of legal form, dissolution or similar event relating to a Business. In the case of a merger or sale, your personal data will be permanently transferred to a successor company;

• public authorities where we are required by law to do so; and

• any other third party where you have provided your consent.

 

International transfer of your personal data

 

1. We may transfer your personal data to a third party in countries outside the country in which it was originally collected for further processing in accordance with the purposes set out above. In particular, your personal data may be transferred to foreign organisations such as foreign Embassies located in the UK or abroad. Such organisations will process personal data in accordance with the laws to which they are subject and international treaties over which the Business has no control.

 

1. If the Business transfers personal data to private organisations abroad, such as subcontractors, it will, as required by applicable law, ensure that your privacy rights are adequately protected by appropriate technical, organisation, contractual or other lawful means. You may contact us for a copy of such safeguards in these circumstances.

 

Retention of personal data

 

1. Your personal data will be retained for as long as is reasonably necessary for the purposes listed above or as required by the law. For example, the Notaries Practice Rules require that notarial acts in the public form shall be preserved permanently. Records of acts not in public form shall be preserved for a minimum period of 12 years. Please contact us for further details of applicable retention periods. Personal data may for reasons of security and convenience be stored on remote data facilities but in an encrypted form.

 

1. We may keep an anonymized form of your personal data, which will no longer refer to you, for statistical purposes without time limits, to the extent that we have a legitimate and lawful interest in doing so.

 

Security of personal data

 

1. The Business will implement technical and organisational security measures in order to prevent unauthorised access to your personal data.

 

1. However, please be aware that the transmission of information via the internet is never completely secure. Whilst we can do our best to keep our own systems secure, we do not have full control over all processes involved in, for example, your use of our website or sending confidential materials to us via email, and we cannot therefore guarantee the security of your information transmitted to us on the web.

 

Data subject rights

 

1. Data subjects have numerous rights in relation to their personal data. For further information about your data protection rights please visit the ICO website.(ico.org.uk)

 

• Right to make a subject access request (SAR). Data subjects may request in writing copies of their personal data. However, compliance with such requests is subject to certain limitations and exemptions and the rights of other data subjects. Each request should make clear that a SAR is being made. You may also be required to submit a proof of your identity and payment, where applicable.

• Right to rectification. Data subjects may request that we rectify any inaccurate or incomplete personal data. 

• Right to withdraw consent. Data subjects may at any time withdraw their consent to the processing of their personal data carried out by the Business on the basis of previous consent. Such withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on previous consent.

• Right to object to processing, including automated processing and profiling. The Business does not make automated decisions. Profiling may be carried out for Business administration purposes, such as monitoring trends in user visits of our website, and in order to deliver targeted ads. The Business may use third party due diligence platforms which provide recommendations about data subjects by automated means. We will comply with any data subject’s objection to processing unless we have a compelling overriding legitimate ground for the processing, the processing is for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims or we have another lawful reason to refuse such request. We will comply with each valid opt-out request in relation to marketing communications.

• Right to erasure. Data subjects may request that we erase their personal data. We will comply, unless there is a lawful reason for not doing so. For example, there may be an overriding legitimate ground for keeping the personal data, such as, our archiving obligations that we have to comply with.

• Restriction. Data subjects may request that we restrict our processing of their personal data in various circumstances. We will comply, unless there is a lawful reason for not doing so, such as, a legal obligation to continue processing your personal data in a certain way.

• Right to data portability. In certain circumstances, data subjects may request the controller to provide a copy of their personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format and have it transferred to another provider of the same or similar services. To the extent such right applies to the Services, we will comply with such transfer request. Please note that a transfer to another provider does not imply erasure of the data subject’s personal data which may still be required for legitimate and lawful purposes.

• Right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority. We suggest that data subjects contact us about any questions or complaints in relation to how we process personal data. However, each data subject has the right to contact the relevant supervisory authority directly.