Notary Service Term of Business

Notary Service Terms of Business

BACKGROUND

This agreement applies as between you, the Client and ACMA Legal Services Limited, a private company limited by shares, registered by the Registrar of Companies for England and Wales with the registration number 07800490 and with the registered address at 25 Wilton Road, London SW1V 1LW, United Kingdom.

Definitions and Interpretation

In this Agreement the following terms shall have the following meanings:

Account: means collectively the personal information, Payment Information and credentials used by Users to access Paid Content and / or any communications System on the Website;

Content: means any text, graphics, images, audio, video, software, data compilations and any other form of information capable of being stored in a computer that appears on or forms part of this Website;

Facilities: means collectively any online facilities, tools, services or information that ACMA Legal Services Limited makes available through the Website either now or in the future;

Services: means the services available to you through this Website, specifically apostille and embassy legalisation;

Payment Information: means any details required for the purchase of Services from this Website. This includes, but is not limited to, credit / debit card numbers, bank account numbers and sort codes;

Premises: Means Our place of business located at 25 Wilton Road, London SW1V 1LW;

System: means any online communications infrastructure that ACMA Legal Services Limited makes available through the Website either now or in the future. This includes, but is not limited to, web-based email, message boards and email links;

User

Users: means any third party that accesses the Website and is not employed by ACMA Legal Services Limited and acting in the course of their employment;

Website: means the website that you are currently using www.acmalegal.co.uk and unless expressly excluded by their own terms and conditions;

You: 1) The instructing party, and 2) the instructing party and other third party service provider(s) instructed by the instructing party

We/Us/Our: means ACMA Legal Services Limited, a company registered in England and Wales under 7800490 and whose registered office is at 25 Wilton Road, London SW1V 1LW.

These terms & conditions, together with the terms of any written quotation given to you, form your contract with the Us.
Please read these terms carefully before instructing Us. These terms outline important information about the notarial services We provide to You and responsibilities of both parties. Any questions about the contract can be directed to office@acmalegal.co.uk.
If You fail to agree in writing to the terms & conditions, but continue to instruct us, you will be deemed to have accepted these terms.
Our acceptance of your instruction will take place when we commence work on the services, at which point a contract will come into existence between You and Us. If We cannot accept your instruction after You have agreed to our Terms, We will inform You of this.
Process of Notarial Work

Why a notary? It is almost always the case that you have been asked to see a notary because you have a document that needs to be used abroad. Seeing a notary is never a mere rubber-stamping exercise. The international duty of a Notary involves a high standard of care. This is not only towards the client but also to anyone who may rely on the document and to Governments or officials of other countries. These people are entitled to assume that a Notary will ensure full compliance with the relevant requirements both here and abroad; and to rely on the Notary’s register and records. Great care is essential at every stage to minimise the risks of errors, omissions, alterations, fraud, forgery, money laundering, the use of false identity, and so on.

1) Signatures: The Notary should normally witness your signature. Please do not sign the document in advance of your appointment with Us.

2) Papers to be sent to Us in advance if possible or being requested: It will save time, expense and mistakes if, as long before the appointment as possible, You can let Us have the originals or photocopies of:

(a) The documents to be notarised;

(b) Any letter or other form of instruction which You have received about what has to be done with the documents;

3) Identification: We will need You to produce by way of formal identification the original of:

(a) Your current photographic ID (e.g. your current passport, full valid driving licence (with photo) or national identity care);

(b) Proof of Address (e.g. credit card or bank statement, council tax bill, utility bill, which should not be more than 3 months old)

You must also bring any other means of ID which may be referred to in the papers sent to you as being required such as a foreign Identity Card. I may also ask to see further evidence of identity such as marriage certificates etc and will advise you of this if necessary.

If You are an individual who sign on behalf of another individual, we will need to see a power of attorney that gives you authority to act on behalf of that individual.

For business clients, in addition to the above, we will need to establish the existence of your company. For UK companies we will complete our own checks via Companies House. For foreign companies You will need to provide the following documents including (but not limited to) certificate of incorporation, certificate of good standing or incumbency, or a company extract from the local company register). In addition to these basic identity checks, further checks may need to be carried out depending on the nature of the notarial service required. We will also need to see evidence of your authority to sign the document on behalf of the company. Your authority may be established in a number of ways including (but not limited to) the constitutional documents such as the articles of association, a company extract listing the directors/members, an authorised signatory list, a board resolution, minutes of a meeting and a power of attorney. If You are unsure about this, we are happy to assist further.

4) Proof of names: In a case 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. If there has been a change of name, then We will need to see a copy of the deed poll or statutory declaration which dealt with it.

5) Advice on the document: When You instruct Us on notarial service, We do not act as lawyer for You. We are only public certifying officer who do not give any legal advice. We may advise You as to the formalities required for completing it. However, We will not be attempting to advise You about the transaction itself. We do offer legal advice, however, such legal advice is subject to different terms and conditions.

6) Documents in Foreign language

(1) Written Translations: It is essential that You understand what you are signing.

(2) If the If the document is in a foreign language which you do not understand sufficiently, I may have to insist that a translation be obtained. If I arrange for a translation, a further fee will be payable and I will provide you with details of this.

(3) If you arrange for 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.”

(4) Oral Interpreter: If you and I cannot understand each other because of a language difficulty, we may have to make arrangements for a competent interpreter to be available at our interview and this may involve a further fee.

Legalisation

Legalisation is referred to submitting applications for legalising document with apostille to UK FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office) and / or to some consular offices in London. All applications to FCDO are completed within 2-3 working days as We are FCDO registered business that can use the facilities of business drop off service. For further legalisation at consular offices the processing time varies, which will be advised to You at the outset of the instruction.

Notarial Charges and Expenses

Details of my charges are set out below. Please note that if I have to make payments on your behalf such as legalisation fees, translator or interpreter fees, or other costs such as travelling expenses, your approval to these will be obtained and you are normally required to make payment in advance of any such amounts.

Charges:

If the matter is simple we will endeavour to charge a fixed fee to include disbursements such as legalisation fees, postage, consular agent fees, courier fees, travelling expenses, translating costs and so on. VAT is payable on our fees. The rate is 20% of the total price. Our VAT registration number is 272760296.

For more complicated or time-consuming matters the fee will be based on the notaries’ hourly rate of £250.00 for the first hour and thereafter £250.00 for each hour involved that may include time spent on preliminary advice, drafting and preparation time, making and receiving telephone calls, travelling, correspondence written and received in all formats, arranging legalisation and record keeping.

Disbursements: Some documents require legalisation before they will be accepted for use in the receiving jurisdiction by obtaining an apostille through FCDO and, for some countries, additional legalisation is required through the relevant embassy or consulate. The cost of legalisation in this matter, including agent’s fees and postage to and from the legalising authority, is listed on this website depending on the options selected during the ordering process online or you will information when we receive your instructions by phone, email or in person. You will also be informed about the cost of posting the documents to you/another person by Royal Mail Signed For, Next Day delivery for UK addresses or DHL for non-UK addresses.

Payment can be made by cash, bank transfer, online or invoice. In case of by invoice, we will send you the invoice electronically where a payment link is included for you to complete the payment before the payment commences. Please note that the payment of our fee and disbursements are due when the instruction is accepted and the work has commenced.

We do not issue refunds once the work has been commenced. If you request us to stop the work whilst the instruction is on-going you will be required to pay a cancellation fee amounting to 50% of the agreed quote for our fees, and the cost of any disbursements incurred by us. Once the work has been completed, you will be required to pay the full agreed price. We may retain the work until the payment is received in full.

Occasionally unforeseen or unusual issues arise during the course of the matter which may result in a revision of our 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, third party fees are adjusted to reflect external factors such as fuel price changes and so on. We will notify you of any changes in the fee estimate as soon as possible.

Termination

(1) You may terminate this contract in writing by giving us not less than 7 days’ notice.

(2) If we are unable to deliver the service or in any forms of breach of the contract, you may terminate this contract on notice in writing with immediate effect.

(3) We reserve the right to suspend acting for you for good cause, determined at our sole discretion. We will notify you in writing of any such decision.

(4) If you end the contract pursuant to 9(1) or (2) above, we will refund any money you have paid in advance for services we have not provided as soon as reasonably possible. If we terminate the contract we will refund any money you have paid in advance for services we have not provided.

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 we 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 we have performed and this proportion will not be reimbursed to you.

Termination of this contract shall not affect any rights, remedies, obligations or liabilities of the parties that have accrued up to the date of termination.

Redress Information

We maintain professional indemnity liability cover with a level of up to £1 million, ensuring protection for all notarial acts we undertake.

Complaints

Our 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 :-

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 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

P O Box 6167

Slough SL1 0EH

Tel : 0300 555 0333

Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

Website: www.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.

Use of technology, devices and Artificial Intelligence:

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.

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.

Email correspondence

We use e-mail wherever possible. Where you have provided us with an e-mail address, e.g., by sending an e-mail, we will assume that we may use that address for the sending of unencrypted, sensitive or confidential correspondence or documents to you. 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 me and attachments thereto should be scanned for viruses by the recipient.

Governing Law

The terms and conditions of our arrangement and the provision of these Terms of Business shall be governed by English law and shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts in the case of any dispute. If any provision of these terms is held by any court or other competent authority to be void or unenforceable in whole or part, these terms shall continue to be valid as to the other provisions thereof and the remainder of the affected provision.