Terms of Business – Notarial Services

The following terms set out the basis on which my Notarial services are provided to clients. By instructing me to act, you
are accepting these Terms of Business including my Privacy Notice detailing how I will deal with my personal data. 
1 Regulation
1.1 My Notarial services are regulated by the Master of Faculties 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
1.2 I am are governed by the rules of conduct issued from time to time by the Master of Faculties.
2 Instructions
2.1 Instructions from clients are accepted or declined by me in accordance with the Notaries Practice Rules 2014. I
will only accept instructions that comply with the Notarial Oath given on appointment as a Notary Public. 
2.2 I reserve the right not to act on Notarial matters and may decline to do so where I have not received clear and
proper instructions, where there is a conflict of interest that prevents me from acting under the Notaries Practice
Rules 2014, where I have reason to believe that the matter involves illegality (including but not limited to fraud and
violence) or duress, or in any other circumstance where my independence or integrity is likely to be compromised.
2.3 Where I accept instructions, the retainer shall be with you and you alone, as my client.
2.4 Where a client instructing me does so on behalf of two or more persons, each of those persons shall be jointly
and severally liable to me in respect of the obligations imposed on the client by these terms of business. 
2.5 My Notarial work is provided solely for the purpose of the transaction specified in my instructions and may not,
without my prior written consent, be used for any other purpose.
3 My Work For You
3.1 I aim to offer all my clients a quality Notarial service, efficiently and at a fair cost, and I am confident that I will do
so in this case. 
3.2 Everything you tell me about your affairs will be kept confidential. 
3.3 If you are dissatisfied about the service you have received please do not hesitate to contact me. 
3.4 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.
3.5 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
3.6 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. 
3.7 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 6806 Wolverhampton   WV1 9WJ  
Tel: 0300 555 0333 
Email:   enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Website:   www.legalombudsman.org.uk
3.8 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.
3.9 I   am   required   to   maintain   professional   indemnity   insurance   in   accordance   with   the   Notaries   (Practising
Certificates) Rules 2012.  Details of my insurers and policy coverage are available for inspection upon request. 
4 Fees
4.1 Fees charged will be reasonable in all the circumstances of the work you have asked me to do and will be
charged at a rate to be agreed with you in advance. 
4.2 On a straightforward notarisation, wherever possible, I will charge a fixed fee for the work undertaken. 
4.3 If the scope of the work exceeds that of a basic Notarial act, fees will be calculated by reference to all relevant
matters, including time needed to carry out the work, the number of documents, the value and importance of the
work, complexity, degree of urgency, specialist skills or expertise required and whether I am acting for an
individual or a company. In this case, I will make every effort to provide you with an estimate of my likely fees for
the work I are engaged to do for you. This will be based on my requirements and the information available at the
time. This estimate is not final and binding and I will update it from time to time. Similarly, if the scope of the
instructions or the underlying facts changes significantly, I will update the estimate.  Any estimate is based upon
the assumption that the information and instructions are clear, concise, provided in good time and the key
individuals on whom you rely are available. If delays and problems occur beyond my control, this may also result
in a revised estimate.
4.4 I will charge you separately for any third party expenses incurred on your behalf. This may include fees paid to the
Foreign & Commonwealth Office, foreign embassies or consulates, third party agents, translators, or advisors on
foreign law. Other disbursements may include special postage costs, courier charges or travel expenses. 
4.5 In certain cases, I will charge an administration fee for additional work carried out on your behalf, for example
arranging a bank transfer or photocopying. Where an administration fee is likely to be incurred you will be notified
in advance and the administration fee for carrying out this work will be shown separately in my bill.  Photocopying
expenses may be charged if they are substantial. 
4.6 I reserve the right to ask for one or more payments on account of third party expenses both at the beginning and
during a matter. 
4.7 I will normally render a charge for all work carried out even if a matter does not complete, for example if you
terminate my instructions at any time prior to completion, for any reason other than through my own fault. Fees
will be payable for all work undertaken up to the time of termination and charges rendered for any third party
expenses incurred on your behalf. 
5 Responsibility for Fees
5.1 Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the client by whom I am retained is responsible for payment of my fees and
VAT and for reimbursing any expenses I incur on behalf of the client.
5.2 Directors of a company which instructs me may be asked to be personally responsible for the payment of my bills
so that I are then happy to advise, even if I know that the Company is in financial difficulties.
5.3 In the event of any fees, expenses not being paid, I reserve the right to decline to act any further in relation to any
or all of my cases.  
6 Payment of Fees
6.1 Unless otherwise agreed in writing, my bills are payable in full without any deduction, set off or counter claim. 
6.2 On a straightforward Notarial act, unless otherwise agreed, I require payment of my bill at the time of my initial
appointment with you. 
6.3 In all other cases, unless otherwise agreed, payment of each of my bills, including interim bills, is due when
received.  Where payment of the bill is received after the due date I am entitled to charge interest from the date of
the bill on the amount unpaid at the rate of 5% per annum above the Royal Bank of Scotland Group base rate
from time to time.  A bill will be deemed to have been received on the date of the bill.  I am entitled to retain any
property belonging to you (including documents and money), until payment has been made of any outstanding
bills, whether or not such property was acquired in connection with the Notarial matter for which the bills have
been rendered. In accordance with the Notaries Accounts Rules 1989 I may apply money held on your behalf
towards payment of any outstanding bills.  
6.4 Payments of fees and expenses up to £500 may be made in cash but greater amounts must be paid by cheque or
bank transfer from an account in the client's name held with a recognised bank.  You are responsible for any
charges in respect of any payment to me, for example, bank charges deducted by my bank from a bank transfer
to me.  If clients circumvent this policy by depositing cash direct with my bank, I reserve the right to charge for any
additional checks I deem necessary regarding the source of the funds.   
7 Client Money 
7.1 I do not hold client money on my behalf. The only funds held by me are those monies (if any) to be applied for the
payment of third party expenses in respect of the Notarial act you have instructed me to carry out.
8 Conflicts of Interest
8.1 I take conflict issues seriously.  I have procedures in place to ensure that conflict checks are carried out on every
matter as soon as practicable so that, if an issue arises, it can be discussed with you and dealt with as soon as
possible in compliance with the Notaries Practice Rules 2014. 
8.2 My conflict procedures help me fulfil my professional obligation not to act for one client in a matter where there is
an actual (or significant risk) of a conflict with the interests of another client for whom I am already acting. 
8.3 If at any time you become aware of an actual or potential conflict of interest, please raise it with me immediately.
8.4 Subject to my professional duties, I will always seek to resolve any conflict issues in the most advantageous way
to the clients concerned. 
8.5 Where my professional rules allow, you agree that after termination of my retainer, I may act or continue to act for
another client in circumstances where I hold information which is confidential to you and material to the
engagement with that other client.  I will not, however, disclose my confidential information to that other client. 
9 Money Laundering
9.1 For the protection of all my clients and, as required by law, I operate a money laundering reporting procedure.
This is because Notaries who deal with transactions on behalf of their clients can be used by criminals wishing to
launder money.
9.2 As part of my risk management procedures which include compliance with anti-money laundering regulations I
conduct client due diligence.  To do so I will require satisfactory evidence of your or a beneficial owner's identity. I
will always require you to provide documentary evidence. The following applies:
9.2.1 You will need to produce photographic identity (e.g. in the form of a driving licence or passport) together
with document or documents verifying your address (e.g. a utility bill)
9.2.2 Directors and officers of any company and partners in any firm instructing me will also be asked to produce
proof of identity (as above) as evidence of their authority to sign documents on behalf of the company or
firm (e.g. Articles of Association, Board Minutes etc.)
9.2.3 I may also undertake a search with a Credit Reference Agency for the purposes of verifying your identity.
The Credit Reference Agency may check the details you supply against any particulars on any database
(public or otherwise) to which they have access.  They may also use your details in the future to assist
other companies for verification purposes. A record of the search and the reason for it will be retained by
the Credit Reference Agency and by me.
9.3 Conducting client due diligence may take time and delay me progressing your matter.  I accept no liability arising
as a result of delays caused by me or third parties when complying with my statutory obligations. 
9.4 If I do not obtain satisfactory evidence of identity I will not be able to proceed with my work.
9.5 Anti-money laundering legislation places Notaries under a legal duty in certain circumstances to disclose
information to the National Crime Agency.  Where a Notary suspects that a transaction on behalf of a client
involves money laundering, the Notary may be required to make a money laundering disclosure and will not
usually be at liberty to tell you that this has been done.   
9.6 If, while I are acting for you it becomes necessary to make a money laundering disclosure, I may not be able to
inform you that a disclosure has been made or the reasons for it.  When the law permits me to do so I will tell you
about any potential money laundering problem and explain what action I may need to take.
9.7 In accordance with my legal obligations, I may provide the National Crime Agency with evidence of my client due
diligence, including proof of identity, where required to do so. 
10 Storage of Papers
10.1 Following the completion of my work for you I will permanently store copies of any Notarised public acts and
documentary evidence of your identity.
10.2 Other documents will be stored for 12 years.
10.3 I reserve the right to make an administration charge based on time spent retrieving papers that are subsequently
requested by you and other work necessary to comply with my instructions in relation to the retrieved papers.
11 Communication by E-mail and Fax
11.1 I will aim to communicate with you by such method as you request.  Unless you notify me otherwise, I may 
communicate with you and others in connection with my matter by e-mail or fax. I may utilise appropriate 
technological measures to minimise the risk of communications being sent to incorrect recipients and of incorrect 
attachments being included with communications. I may also utilise appropriate technological measures to 
transmit large or sensitive documents or data to clients and other parties. However, I cannot be held responsible 
for the security of correspondence sent by e-mail or fax.
11.2 I shall be entitled to rely (without any enquiry whatsoever) on any instruction in writing (including received by
email or fax) that appears on its face to be signed or sent on my behalf that affects the matters described in these
terms. 
12 Data Protection
I am committed to respecting the privacy of all of my clients.
12.1 What information do I process? In the course of my Notarial work, I will ask you to provide certain  information
about yourself including name, title, postal address, telephone number and/or email address. I will also need
information about your matter and circumstances as well as contact information for you. The information that I
need may include both personal data and, on rare occasions, special categories of data (see paragraph 12.4). 
You may also provide me with additional information that you consider relevant as part of your instruction.
12.2 How do I use this information?  I will use your information for the specific purpose(s) for which it has been
provided to or collected by me e.g.:
 to provide information that you may request regarding the services that I offer;
 to comply with my statutory and regulatory requirements;
 to verify your identity and check any relevant background circumstances for anti-money laundering and 'know your client' purposes;
 to deal with your feedback, query or complaint; or
 to contact you for your views on my services,
 and also, to administer, support, improve and develop my business generally and enforce my legal rights. 

12.3 I must have a lawful basis for processing my information; this will vary on the circumstances of how and why I
have my information but typical examples include:
 carrying out necessary steps in relation to my work for you to provide notarial services for you;
 the processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which I am subject e.g. for me to certify your identity under my anti-money laundering requirements including carrying out electronic ID checks; or
 to protect my vital interests e.g. if you are unfortunate enough to fall ill or suffer an injury on my premises.  

12.4 If I process any special categories of information i.e. information revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions,
religion or philosophical beliefs or trade union membership, genetic data, processing of biometric data for the
purpose of uniquely identifying individuals, health data, or data concerning your sex life or sexual orientation, I
must have a further lawful basis for the processing. This may include:
 where you have given me my explicit consent to do so where the processing is necessary to protect my vital interests or someone else's vital interests
 you have made the information public
 the processing being necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims
 the processing being necessary for reasons of substantial public interest e.g. to undertake activities in relation to the prevention or detection of fraud or other unlawful or dishonest activities.
12.5 If I process any information relating to my criminal convictions or offences, I will typically rely on one of the
following lawful bases:
 preventing or detecting unlawful acts;
 complying with my regulatory requirements in relation to unlawful acts or dishonesty;
 dealing with suspicions of terrorist financing or money laundering; or
 where it is necessary for me to obtain legal advice or establish, exercise or defend legal rights. 

12.6 CCTV surveillance  - CCTV systems are installed at my Southampton premises. I am responsible for the CCTV
systems at my Southampton office.  All internal and external CCTV cameras are clearly labelled or otherwise
notified to visitors and are visible.  Typically, they are positioned on the exterior of the building, the car park and
the reception area, but may be repositioned from time to time to ensure their effective use. Images are recorded
and retained for the period of time set out in my destruction dates policy which is available from me on request.
This is primarily to assist with security and safety of visitors to my site, although in rare cases I may use CCTV
footage in investigations.

12.7 Automated Processing/Profiling  - I may use certain external checking systems in order to verify your identity
and carry out anti-money laundering and 'know my client' checks.
12.8 Disclosure of my information  - Some of the information you provide to me will be held on my computer in the
UK and will only be accessed by or given to Notaries (Some of the information you provide to me may be
transferred to, stored and processed by third party organisations which process data for me and on my behalf.
These third parties may be based (or store or process information) in the UK or elsewhere including outside of the
EEA for example "Notarysafe". 
12.9 I may also transfer my information to other organisations or professional advisers with whom I are working on my
matter or to whom I are referring you for additional or separate advice. 
12.10 I may also be obliged to disclose data under certain laws or by order of court or other competent regulatory body
or may be permitted to disclose it under applicable data protection laws.
12.11 If I merge with another business entity or divest a part of my business or carry out internal corporate restructuring,
my information may be disclosed and transferred to my new business partners or owners or the new corporate
entities.
I will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that my data is treated securely and in accordance with these
terms of business. 
12.12 Protection of my information   - I have in place administrative, technical and physical measures internally
designed to guard against and minimise the risk of loss, misuse or unauthorised processing or disclosure of the
personal information that I hold.
12.13 Where I transfer information to third parties to enable them to process it on my behalf, I ensure that the providers
meet or exceed the relevant legal or regulatory requirements for transferring data to them and keeping it secure.
12.14 I will also ensure that where information is transferred to a country or international organisation outside of the UK /
EEA, I will comply with the relevant legal rules governing such transfers.
I keep my personal information no longer than is necessary for the purpose for which it was collected. 
Details on how I keep secure personal data received from clients are set out in section 13 below.
12.15 My rights  - You have certain rights in relation to my personal information, although those rights will not apply in
all cases or to all information that I hold about. For example, I may need to continue to hold and process
information to establish, exercise or defend my legal rights. I will tell you if this is the case when you contact me.
12.16 You have the right to request that I:
 Provide you with a copy of my personal information that I hold;
 Update my personal information where it is out-of-date or incorrect;
 Delete personal information that I hold;
 Restrict the way in which I process your information;
 Consider any valid objections to my processing of your personal information; and
 Provide information you have given to me to a third party provider of services (where my lawful basis for processing is consent or contract and where processing is automated)
12.17 I will respond to my request (including providing information on whether the rights apply in the particular
circumstances) within the applicable statutory time period. If I am not sure of your identity, I may require you to
provide further information in order for me to confirm who you are. If you are requesting information about a third
party, I will not be able to provide this to you unless I have received signed written consent from the individual
about whom you are requesting information and I am satisfied that such consent is valid.
12.18 Changes  - I may make changes to my processing of personal data from time to time. I will not make any use of
my personal information that is inconsistent with the original purpose(s) for which it was collected or obtained (if I
intend to do so, I will notify you in advance wherever possible) or otherwise than is permitted by applicable law. 
12.19 How to contact me  - If you would like to get in touch to discuss how I use your personal information, to exercise
your rights or to provide feedback or make a complaint about use of your information, please contact me at  New
Kings Court, Tollgate, Chandler's Ford, Eastleigh, Hampshire, SO53 3LG
You can also contact the Information Commissioner's Office via  https://ico.org.uk/  or information, advice or to 
make a complaint.
13 Confidentiality and Use of Information
13.1 I am required for regulatory and insurance purposes to retain permanent records of any work I carry out for you in
relation to a Notarial act.
13.2 In accordance with my professional and legal obligations, I will keep confidential your personal data and any
information which I acquire about your business and affairs, to be used in connection with the provision of Notarial
services to you and for other related purposes, unless I am required to disclose any such information:
 To my regulators, the Legal Ombudsman, my auditors, external assessors or other advisors or for the purposes of my professional indemnity insurers who are required to maintain confidentiality in relation to my files; or by law or other regulatory authority to which I am subject.  

13.3 If you or I engage other professional advisers to assist with a matter I will assume, unless you notify me otherwise, that I may disclose any such information to such other advisers as necessary.
13.4 Where possible I will disclose to you all information which is material to your affairs and business regardless of
the source of that information.  However, I will not disclose to you any confidential information about the business
and affairs of any other existing or former client, or any information in respect of which I owe a duty of
confidentiality to a third party. 
13.5 If at any time a third party requests access to documents held by me in connection with the services I have
provided, I may be required as a matter of law to comply with their request. 
13.6 I may also outsource  administrative and support services  work to assist with your matter as well  as using third
party IT platforms (including cloud based platforms) and suppliers of other specialist products .   In these
circumstances I will obtain a confidentiality agreement where appropriate with the third party along with complying
with all necessary data protection legislation where any personal data is processed by a third party on my behalf.
14 Limitation of Liability
14.1 I reserve the right, so far as is permitted by law, to agree a reasonable limitation on my liability to you arising from
my professional Notarial services.
14.2 All claims arising from the same alleged act or omission, or from a series of related acts or omissions alleged,
shall be regarded as one claim. 
14.3 I shall not be personally liable for any alleged act or omission in the conduct of a Notarial matter.
14.4 Except to the extent excluded by law, my liability for loss or damage of any nature whatsoever relating to any
claim, or series of claims, in negligence or for breach of contract or in any other way arising from my Notarial
services shall not exceed One million pounds (£1,000,000) in respect of each separate Notarial act.
14.5 The extent to which any loss or damage is recoverable shall be limited so as to be in proportion to my contribution
to the overall fault for such loss or damage, taking into account any contributory negligence by you and
negligence by any third party. 
14.6 I shall not accept liability for indirect, economic or consequential loss or damage arising out of or in connection
with Notarial services provided by me or for loss of revenue, loss of profit, loss of business, loss of data, depletion
of goodwill or any other loss occurring in the normal course of business. 
14.7 No liability whatsoever shall be accepted on my part where such liability arises from instructions or information
provided by you being incomplete, inaccurate or incorrect.
14.8 I shall not be liable for loss or damage arising from the direct or indirect cause of the supply of my Notarial
services being prevented, hindered, delayed or rendered uneconomical due to circumstances beyond my control,
including, but not limited to, Acts of God, war, riot, strike, lock out, trade dispute, labour disturbance, accident,
breakdown of machinery, fire, flood or storm. 
14.9 No liability whatsoever shall be accepted by me for loss of documents, or any other loss suffered as a result of
documents going missing or being delayed in transit, due to the actions or omissions of others, including, but not
limited to, postal and courier services. 
15 Termination
15.1 You may terminate my instructions at any time for any reason. No notice period is necessary. Please inform me
and, if requested, confirm the fact in writing.
15.2 I may terminate my agreement to provide services to you in writing, for good reason and on reasonable notice.
Good reason includes where, you fail to give me proper instructions, where continuing to provide my services
would be impractical, unethical or unlawful or you fail to pay my invoices (including any interim invoices) in
accordance with these terms or there has been a breakdown in the trust and confidence necessary in the
relationship between a notary and client.
16 Equality and Diversity
I am committed to promoting equality and diversity in all of my dealings with clients, third parties and employees.
17 Law and Jurisdiction
The validity, construction and performance of these terms of business are governed by the laws of England and
Wales.  By instructing me you agree that any dispute arising in connection with these terms or my services shall
be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales.
18 General
18.1 My Notarial practice and the Solicitors' practice of Blake Morgan are entirely separate and independent of each
other.
18.2 Any client referred by my Notarial practice to the solicitors' practice will not have any of the protection attaching to
the client of a Notary.
18.3 I may vary these terms of business from time to time by giving you reasonable written notice.
1 April 2023.