Notary Public Islington

notary public Islington

Terms of Business – Esther Ogun LLB, B.L (Lincoln’s Inn), Notary Public

These terms apply to all notarial services which I provide to you.
My fees

My fee is based on my time engaged and the minimum fee for up to twenty minutes of Notary time is £80 (no VAT). If the work required is more time-consuming then this rate is applied pro-rata.

Even the most apparently simple of documents will require an appointment of at least 20 minutes to ensure that the notary has complied with the identification requirements and most importantly so that the notary can establish that the appearer, whether an individual or a company, has fully understood what they are doing by signing the document.

I reserve the right to vary the rate, in respect of extremely urgent work or complex work, or work unavoidably undertaken outside ordinary office hours or at the weekend.

My responsibilities

I have to be satisfied as to your identity, your legal capacity, your authority and your understanding and approval. In certain instances I may insist on a translation. I shall try to ensure that the document, in the way it is signed, and its substance will achieve its purpose. I must be satisfied that it is your voluntary act and that no fraud or duress is involved and that other requirements either under English or foreign law are observed. If I am not satisfied about any of those things I can refuse to undertake the matter.  

The Notary’s duty extends to you as the client, and all to whom the notarised document may come, and there is an overriding duty to the transaction itself. Notarisation must therefore be scrupulously undertaken and reliable – in your own interest and in the interest of the recipient.

Legal advice

Unless you have expressly instructed me to do so in my capacity as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales it is not my responsibility to give you legal advice concerning the document. You are advised to seek first the advice of your own independent legal or other competent professional adviser who is competent in the law of the jurisdiction to which the document will be sent.

Attendance

Your personal attendance at my office at 12 Angel Gate, 326 City Road, London EC1V 2PT will usually be essential. Alternatively, arrangements can be made to meet at your own home or your office, however this will increase my fee.

Fixed fees

I may sometimes agree a fixed fee with you, if it is a straight forward matter. If however at the appointment the matter proves to be more complicated or there are more documents or people involved than you indicated or legalisation is required, I reserve the right to re-negotiate the fee or agree to charge you at my hourly rate.

Time charge

If fees are charged on a time basis, this will be for all work undertaken including, but not limited to, preliminary formalities and advice, preparation, attendances, drafting, travel time, telephone calls, correspondence including emails and faxes, copying documents and the completion of my register and protocol. Letters, emails and phone calls are charged at a minimum of six minute units or otherwise at the time taken.

Preparation

This includes checking and dealing with any documents presented by you, considering any instructions accompanying the documents, considering and drafting documents, attending to any amendments or completing any blanks in the documents, checking accuracy of names and addresses, obtaining verification of your identity, binding the documents securely and dealing with any special requirements or formalities of the foreign country.

VAT 

My notarial practice is not registered for VAT purposes.

Disbursements

You are responsible for all payments which I make on your behalf. Typical examples are legalisation fees paid to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and/or an Embassy, legalisation agents’ fees, Companies Registry fees, courier fees and special postage charges. However I shall not incur these charges without obtaining your consent to do so.
Payment

My charges are normally payable on the signing of the document or on the receipt of the notarised document. If I render a bill in respect of the work, payment will be due when you receive the bill.

Foreign & Commonwealth Office and/or Consular Legalisation

Some countries require a document to be legalised. This is the process by which a state agency confirms that my seal and signature are those of an English notary. The Foreign & Commonwealth Office attach an ‘apostille’ to the document to signify this. Sometimes the document has to go to the London Embassy for the country to which the document will be sent. The Embassy will then attach its own certificate to the document. Your lawyer or other professional adviser in that country will normally advise you of the need for legalisation but if not, you should ask him about it.
I am able to obtain the necessary legalisation and can discuss with you the time scale for this and the advantages of using legalisation agents or couriers if speed is required.

However, you can always deal with legalisation yourself if you prefer.

Register and Protocol

At the end of the matter, I make a formal entry of the main details in my register and I keep and store a copy of the notarised document and proof of identity in my protocol at no charge to you.

My Liability

Instructions are accepted on the basis that my liability to you for any type of loss shall not exceed £3,000,000 in respect of any one claim or series of related claims; it will normally be limited to 5 times the fees that I have charged you unless you are injured or die as a result of my negligence in which case my liability is without limit.

Data protection
Unless otherwise required by law, we will keep your personal details confidential. Please refer to my Data Protection Privacy Notice and Data Protection Policy, see www.notarypublicislington.co.uk

Law
These terms of business shall be governed by the laws of England and Wales.

Complaints procedure and regulation.

  1. My Notarial Practice is regulated by the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury at Faculty Office, 1 The Sanctuary, Westminster, London SW1 3JT. Tel: 0207 222 5381. Email: faculty.office@1thesanctuary.com. Website: www.facultyoffice.org.uk

  2. If you are dissatisfied about the service you have received please do not hesitate to contact me.

  3. If I am 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.

  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

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

  5. Finally, 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 eight weeks from the date you first notified them that you were dissatisfied, make your complaint direct to the Legal Ombudsman if you are not happy with the result: Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough SL1 0EH. Tel 0300 555 0333. Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk

  6. 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.