Terms & Conditions of Business for Notarial Work
The service provided by me is that of a Notary Public carrying out all permitted notarial activities including, where appropriate, arranging legalisation of documents and sending them to their final destination. An essential part of a notary’s role is to maintain and keep records. You can view details of how I handle your data in Annex 2.
This document sets out the terms upon which I, Gregory Mappledoram, will act on your behalf as an independent Notary. My contact details are set out on my website www.notary.uk.com including my telephone number and my email address.
By instructing me on any notarial matter you expressly agree to these terms and conditions to the exclusion of all other terms and conditions, including if you are a corporate client, your own standard terms and conditions of doing business.
1. Service Information
Each notarial matter is different, and the requirements and timescales will vary according to whether the client is a private individual or a company and according to the processing times of third parties such as the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, legalisation agents, translating agencies and couriers, etc. Some of the typical key stages are likely to include:
- Receiving and reviewing the documents to be notarised together with any instructions you may have received.
- Liaising with your legal advisors or other bodies to obtain the necessary documentation to deal with the document (e.g. information from Companies House or foreign registries, powers of attorney etc).
- Checking the identity, capacity and authority of the person who is to sign the document.
- If a document is to be certified, checking with the issuing authorities that the document/award is genuine. In the case of academic awards, this would entail checking with the appropriate academic institutions.
- Meeting with the signatory to verify their identity and to ascertain that they understand what they are signing and that they are doing so of their own free will and ensuring that the document is executed correctly.
- Drafting and affixing or endorsing a notarial certificate to the document.
- Arranging for the legalisation of the document as appropriate.
- Arranging for the storage of copies of all notarised documents in accordance with the requirements of the Notarial Practice Rules 2019.
2. Instructions
You are asked to supply clear instructions, including all relevant background information and supporting documents, at the outset and as the matter continues. Companies should nominate one individual who is authorised to give instructions on the company’s behalf in relation to each matter.
It would be helpful and will save time, expenses, and mistakes if, as long before the appointment as possible, you can let me have by email the originals or photocopies of:
- The documents to be notarized;
- Any letter or other form of instruction which you have received about what has to be done with the documents;
- Your evidence of identification.
3. Signatures
The Notary should normally witness your signature. Please do not sign the document in advance of your appointment with me.
4. Identification
I will need you to produce by way of formal identification the original of (in preferred order):
- Your current passport (or, if not available);
- A current new driving licence (with photo) or national identity card
If neither of the above are available, then you will need to provide a current government or police issue certificate bearing a photo or other formal means of identification.
In addition, you will need to provide proof of your current residential address, i.e., in the form of a utility bill, credit card or bank statement showing your current address which should not be more than 3 months old or council tax bill.
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.
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 me as appropriate with Certificates of Birth, Marriage or Divorce Decree of Change of Name Deed showing all the different names that you use. If there has been a change of name, then I will need to see a copy of the Deed Poll or Statutory Declaration which dealt with it.
Independent ID verification. I may also in my absolute discretion ask you to complete an identity verification check with an independent third-party ID verification services provider. I will only use a third-party ID verification service provider that is authorised to provide such service and is listed in the UK Government’s Register of digital identity and attribute services.
For the purpose of these Terms, identity verification checks include but are not limited to: KYC document verification, electronic ID verification (including address checking), face biometrics, politically exposed persons and sanctions screening.
If you refuse to comply with a request to undertake additional ID verifications through a third-party ID verification services provider, I have the right to refuse to provide notarial services to you.
Annex 4 contains the name(s) of such independent ID verification service providers I use, the additional terms and data protection provisions relating to those service providers and which apply to you as my client and which form an integral part of these Terms.
5. Advice on the Document
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.
6. Companies, Partnerships etc.
If a document is to be signed by you on behalf of a company, a partnership, a charity, club or other incorporated body, there are further requirements on which I may have to insist. Please be prepared for these and telephone with any point of difficulty before attending on the appointment.
In each case please provide:
- Evidence of identity of the authorised signatory (as listed above).
- A copy of the current letterhead (showing the registered office if it is a company).
- A Letter of Authority, Minute, Resolution or Power of Attorney, authorising you to sign the document.
Additionally, companies: Certificate of Incorporation and of any Change of Name, A copy of the Memorandum and Articles of Association Details of Directors and Secretaries. In all instances I will be carrying out various company searches, which may have an effect on the level of fees charged.
Additionally, partnerships, clubs, etc.: A Partnership Agreement; or relevant Trust Deed; or Charter; or Constitution/Rules.
7. Written Translations & Oral Interpreter
It is essential that you understand what you are signing.
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.
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.”
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.
8. Fees
Fees are generally assessed on a fixed fee basis, but I reserve the right to assess any notarial work requested on a time spent basis depending on the nature of the notarial act and services required.
Fees that are levied by reference to the time spent on the matter will be on the basis of an hourly charging rate. Details of the hourly rates applicable to any particular matter are available on request. Rates are reviewed from time to time. Detailed records of all time spent on each matter are kept.
Fees for work that are undertaken on a fixed fee basis will depend on the documents to be notarized and services required. Generally, my fee is charged on a per document basis, but I reserve the right to provide one fee for multiple documents.
In accordance with Notarial practice guidelines, (which stipulate that fees should be fair and reasonable having regard to all the circumstances of the case), my fees may also include an additional element reflecting other factors including value, importance, speed, complexity or special skills, assistance with obtaining legalisations and authentications.
Some documents require legalisation before they will be accepted for use in the receiving jurisdiction by obtaining an apostille through the UK Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and, for some countries, additional legalisation is required through the relevant embassy or consulate.
Where assistance is requested for obtaining the apostille or any consular legalisation, then an additional handling fee for attendance at the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office or any consulate will be applicable in addition to my notarial fees, including any expenses, fees or disbursements incurred in dealing with the matter.
If instructions are terminated for any reason, a charge will be made for all work carried out up to the date of termination.
Separate charges are made for any disbursements or expenses (including transaction fees) incurred on your behalf or as a result of carrying out any part of the instructions for you. In addition, you will be charged for any fees and expenses that I incur on your behalf, and these will be discussed with you prior to incurring the same, where possible. These may include but are not limited to: company search fees, verification fees, Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office fees, embassy fees, agent fees, transaction fees, courier fees, postal fees and translator’s fees etc. depending upon the nature of the work you ask me to carry out.
Costs may also be charged in relation to time spent on preliminary advice, preparatory and drafting work, correspondence, facilitating or obtaining any legalisation required (either at the FCDO or any Embassy) by myself or through the use of a third-party agency.
If an appointment is postponed more than twice then I reserve the right to levy a fee for wasted time and costs, and any additional appointment scheduled.
I am currently not registered for Value Added Tax (VAT) and expenses and disbursements will be charged gross.
My fees will cover advising you on the telephone or by email in advance of our meeting, time spent at the meeting itself and for attending to any further formalities that need to be observed to properly notarise and/or legalise your documents.
I reserve the right to ask for money to be paid in advance of disbursements to be made or expenses to be incurred.
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, third party fees are adjusted to reflect external factors such as agent fees and price changes and so on. I will notify you of any changes in the fee estimate as soon as possible.
My fees can be paid by credit or debit card, QR Payment or BACS payment. Currently I accept any credit or debit card that displays a Visa, VPay, MasterCard, Maestro or American Express logo.
All card payments are processed by SumUp. SumUp is an authorized payment institution regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. There is a 1.69% charge per card transaction which applies to all transactions placed through your Visa, VPay, MasterCard, Maestro or American Express card. Unless otherwise stated my fee includes this transaction fee.
9. Estimates
Except in the most routine cases, it is difficult to estimate how many hours of work will be required to complete a matter, bearing in mind the variety of circumstances that may arise. However, guidance as to likely costs will be given, where possible, on request. Any estimates given will be based on the information available at the time and, although given in good faith, will not be binding. Variations in the instructions given, including requests for additional work or unexpected developments and/or inexperience, incompetence, or lack of co-operation on the part of other parties or their advisers may increase costs.
10. Invoices
Fees are always due for settlement on completion of work and prior to release of completed documentation, or simultaneously on release of documentation, unless agreed otherwise with me. Invoices are delivered for all work carried out, expenses incurred and disbursements made during the conduct of a matter.
Invoices must be settled immediately on presentation of my invoice.
By agreement corporate clients must settle their invoices within thirty (30) days of presentation of my invoice.
Any queries concerning an invoice should be raised immediately upon receipt and in any event no later than three (3) working days after receipt, failing which the invoice is deemed accepted by you. In the event of payment not being made as requested, I reserve the right to decline to act any further on behalf of you and/or to exercise a lien on any papers or documents of yours which are in my possession, until payment has been made in full.
Where by prior arrangement invoices are not to be settled immediately on presentation the invoices must be settled within seven (7) days, or if corporate clients within thirty (30) days or, if requested, immediately if further work on the matter is required.
Unpaid overdue invoices shall attract statutory interest in accordance with commercial late payment terms under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 (“LPCDI Act”). The reference rate under the LPCDI Act is the prevailing Bank of England base rate at the time the debt becomes due.
In addition to the application of statutory interest on overdue invoices, all reasonable debt recovery costs incurred in recovering the amount due under an outstanding invoice, including any statutory compensation, will be added to the debt due for that invoice. For multiple overdue invoices, each invoice is treated separately for compensation purposes.
You agree that the terms implied by the LPCDI Act shall apply after any judgment as well as before any judgment.
If for any reason the LPCDI Act does not apply, interest shall be payable on overdue amounts at 8% over the Bank of England Base Rate from time to time.
Any reference to the LPCDI Act is also a reference to any amendment, modification, or re-enactment of it.
Where an invoice is outstanding for more than thirty (30) days from issue I reserve the right to assign the invoice to a debt collection agency for recovery of the outstanding fees, including accruing interest, compensation and recovery costs.
Without prejudice to my right to claim costs under the LPCDI Act, if for any reason any payment is not made when due I reserve the right to be paid on an indemnity basis any costs I incur in recovering any money due under these contractual terms and conditions (and the costs of recovering such costs) including my administrative costs and any costs incurred with lawyers or debt collection agencies. My administrative costs may include my costs or the costs of employing the staff concerned and the overheads attributable to them for the time spent. In calculating my administrative costs credit will be given for any compensation due under the LPCDI Act.
11. Liability for payment of fees
Where you request that an invoice is to be paid by a third party on your behalf (and such third party has provided confirmation of their willingness to pay my notarial fees) and such third party does not pay the invoice within seven (7) days of issue of the invoice, you as the instructing client will immediately become liable to discharge that invoice.
Where I accept instructions from a limited company, I may require personal guarantees in relation to its fees and disbursements from appropriate directors or shareholders (or other individuals or companies) at any stage in the transaction.
Where the person instructing me does so on behalf of two or more persons, each of those persons shall be jointly and severally liable to me for the obligations imposed by these terms.
Where an appointment has been arranged with me and you fail to attend the appointment at the designated date and time, you as the instructing client will be charged for any expenses incurred and a fee equal to an hour of my professional time in addition to my fees for any work undertaken on your matter up to the date of the appointment, based on my hourly rate.
12. Termination of instructions / retainer
Termination / Your Right to Cancel: You may terminate your instructions to me in writing at any time by giving me reasonable written notice, but you will be charged for any costs and disbursements incurred and my fees for any work undertaken on your matter, up to the date of the termination, based on my hourly rate.
In the event of payment not being made for an invoice or on account as requested, or in the event of your insolvency or if a conflict of interest becomes apparent or if you fail to instruct me properly, I may decline to act any further on your behalf.
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.
Termination by me: 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.
13. Quality of service and complaints
It is my aim to provide a good service to everyone. If you have cause for dissatisfaction or complaint you should notify me immediately in writing by email to gregory@notary.uk.com. If you are not satisfied that I have adequately dealt with your complaint, then the matter can be raised with the Notaries Society. The Notaries Society complaints procedure is set out in Annex 1 to these Terms of Business and can be found on the back of your invoice and on my website www.notary.uk.com. An additional copy can be provided on request.
14. Anti- Money Laundering & KYC compliance
I operate money laundering reporting procedures as required by law whereby, in the event of any suspicion of money laundering, information will be revealed to the appropriate authorities.
I am also required to satisfy KYC regulations and as such at each meeting you will be asked to produce a current valid passport or other recognised photo identification to confirm your identity as well as evidence of your residential address (utility bill or bank statement will serve for this purpose). If you are signing the document in your capacity as a director, company secretary or other representative of a company, I will require evidence of your status and authority to act. This can be achieved either by my undertaking a company search (for which you may be charged a reasonable fee) or by you providing a copy of the company’s authorised signatory book, or statutory books and a copy of the latest filed annual return.
15. Professional Indemnity and Limitations on Liability
I accept no liability for any loss (including, but not limited to, damages, costs and interest) to you or any other parties, whether in contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise, in relation to any matter in the absence of specific written agreement by me to the contrary referring to these terms and signed by myself. My total aggregate liability to you for the services provided, including for utilisation of any independent ID verification services, shall in no way exceed the invoiced or invoiceable amount for those services provided. In the event of any claim for professional negligence, I shall in no way be liable to you in excess of the amount of my professional indemnity insurance cover in place from time to time. The present mandated cover is limited to an amount of £1,000,000. Specific cover for higher limits may be obtainable in certain circumstances at your expense.
The amount of any liability is to be reduced so far as may be appropriate to take account of the degree of responsibility of any other third party service provider, professional, or other advisers whom you have consulted in relation to the matter as if I had successfully claimed contribution from them under the Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978 taking no regard for any limitation agreed between you and such advisor, and they had the resources to meet the same, provided that I shall not be obliged to make or pursue any such claim for contribution.
No liability whatsoever will be accepted on my part in relation to any loss, damage or liability whatsoever caused directly or indirectly to any party other than the person/organisation for whom I have agreed to act in connection with the relevant matter. No third party shall have any right to enforce any contract by me to provide advice or services or to rely upon any advice given or opinion expressed by or on behalf of me. The application of any legislation conferring on third parties contractual or other rights, including the Contract (Rights of Third Parties Act 1999) shall be excluded insofar as permitted by law.
In any event, no liability whatsoever will be accepted on my part where such liability either arises from any instructions or information given by you, or by any third party, being false, fraudulent, incomplete, misleading, inaccurate or incorrect; or where such liability is for any indirect, economic or consequential loss or damage, costs, expenses or other claims for consequential compensation whatsoever or howsoever caused which arise out of or in connection with the services provided by me or any service provider appointed by me, or for loss of profit, loss of business, loss of data, depletion of goodwill or loss occurring in the normal course of business or otherwise.
All searches of any applicable Register of Companies carried out by me are affected using the corresponding Registrar of Companies’ on-line services. To the extent that the Registrar or other provider does not accept responsibility for any inaccuracies or omissions arising from use of the on-line services, I accept no responsibility or liability arising from reliance upon the results of such searches, if they should subsequently be found to be inaccurate or incomplete.
No liability will be accepted for any claim first brought outside the United Kingdom.
These limitations will apply notwithstanding any express or implied term of business or any collateral agreement or warranty, whether express or implied.
I am insured under a professional indemnity policy for an aggregated amount of up to £1,000,000.00.
16. E-mail Correspondence
It is my policy to use e-mail wherever possible. Where you have provided me with an e-mail address, e.g., by sending an e-mail, I will assume that I may use that address for the sending of unencrypted, sensitive or confidential correspondence or documents to you. I 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.
17. Confidentiality
I attach great importance to dealing with your affairs in strict confidence. However, the professional body regulating Notarial practice has rights of inspection to ensure good practice and conduct.
18. Force Majeure
I will not be liable for any loss or damage arising as a direct or indirect result of the supply of services being prevented, hindered, delayed or rendered uneconomic by reason of circumstances beyond my control, including but not limited to Act of God, war, riot, strike, lock out, trade dispute or labour disturbance, accident, breakdown of machinery or equipment, fire, flood, storm, adverse weather conditions, pandemic or epidemic circumstances, or other forms of difficulty, or increased expense in obtaining information or services of any description.
19. Foreign Law
I do not advise on foreign law but act solely in an evidential, authentication capacity.
20. Data Protection
I am required to comply with Data Protection law and regulations. I am registered as a data controller with the Information Commissioner’s Office. Your personal data may be used and disclosed to third parties in the course of providing services to you and for regulatory purposes. I am also required to maintain personal data for regulatory and insurance purposes for a period of time after conclusion of provision of services to you. Some clients’ files (and personal data therein) may occasionally be made available on a confidential basis to an external quality assessor or auditor. I reserve the right to carry out such credit or other searches in respect of you as considered appropriate.
Notarial Records and Data Protection: When I carry out my work for you, I am required to make an entry in a formal register, which is kept by me as a permanent record. I will retain a copy of the notarised documentation with that record. Personal data received from clients is held securely and not capable of being accessed externally. Data collected as part of notarial records is used solely for the purposes of meeting my professional legal responsibilities as a Notary Public.
My Privacy Notice is attached at Annex 2 and details the primary terms under which I will collect and process your personal data.
Annex 3 attached to these Terms details the specific complaints procedure if you have a complaint regarding my handling of your personal data.
You shall and you hereby agree to indemnify me, my notary 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 provided below.
In relation to personal data subjects, you warrant on a continuous basis that:
- Where applicable, you are authorised to share such personal data with me in connection with the notarial 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;
- To the extent this is required in connection with the notarial services, such personal data is accurate, complete and up to date; and
- 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 notarial services, 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.
21. Governing Law and Jurisdiction
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.
22. Use of Technology, Devices and Artificial Intelligence
To the extent that I use any automated decision-making technology, including artificial intelligence, in the course of my services, I do not rely upon the same without human intervention.
Before using any new technology including artificial intelligence, I carry out an appropriate risk assessment to ensure that your rights are not adversely affected by the same.
Please refer to my AI Policy for further provisions around my use of artificial intelligence. A copy of this AI Policy is available upon request.
23. Electronic notarization
With the increased use of electronic signatures, I provide corresponding electronic notarisation services, including assisting with obtaining e-Apostilles from the FCDO.
Where electronic notarisation is to be provided, I reserve the right to liaise with local counsel in the foreign jurisdiction to confirm and ensure that the execution of the document complies with both English law and the requirements of the country where the document is to be sent and relied upon.
Where electronic notarisation is being provided, I reserve the right, in cases where I am not satisfied with the client’s conduct or document(s), to insist on a face-to-face meeting with the client, or refuse to complete the verification and notarisation for that client. Any additional costs or fees for any further meeting(s) or for wasted time, shall be for the client’s account.
24. General
I may use the facilities of a managed services office such as a Regus office, WeWork or Mindspace office, or make such other arrangements for appointment purposes in my absolute discretion. On making an appointment I will provide you with full details of where the appointment will take place.
I generally undertake notarial appointments during normal office hours and on Saturdays but for urgent assistance alternative arrangements can be made.
I am happy to visit you to deal with a notarial appointment, but I reserve the right to charge you for the time spent travelling to and from your premises or other location at my hourly rate plus any travel costs including car park charges (where applicable).
I will keep a copy of the document that I notarise for you. I also maintain a register of names and addresses of my clients, along with copies of documents provided for identification purposes, but this information is maintained by me and in accordance with
(i) the Notarial Practice Rules and
(ii) my Data Protection Policy. No information retained by me as part of my Notarial Practice is passed to any third party. On my death my notarial records will pass to a successor notary. Further details of my service and my Data Protection Policy can be found at www.notary.uk.com.
ANNEX 1
NOTARIES SOCIETY COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
1. 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
2. If you are dissatisfied about the service, you have received please do not hesitate to contact me at gregory@notary.uk.com.
3. 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.
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
P O Box 876
Chichester PO19 9ZH
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/the Faculty Office for assistance.
5. 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
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.
ANNEX 2
DATA PROTECTION PRIVACY NOTICE
1. The business of Gregory Mappledoram, Notary Public of More London – London Bridge, 3 More London, London SE1 2RE (“Business”, “we”, “us”, “our”). The Business is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) under number Z1305761.
2. If you have any questions about this privacy notice (“Notice”), please contact us by email: gregory@notary.uk.com.
3. 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”).
4. We will let you know, by posting on our website, 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.
5. 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 9.
6. “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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. In relation to personal data of data subjects, you warrant to the Business on a continuous basis that:
- 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;
- To the extent this is required in connection with the Services, such personal data is accurate, complete and up to date; and
- 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, 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?
10. The Business will only process personal data, in accordance with applicable law, for the following purposes:
(a) responding to your queries, requests and other communications;
(b) providing the Services, including, where applicable, procuring acts from foreign organisations;
(c) 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, educational verification, technical, logistical, legalisation agent services, courier or other functions, as applicable;
(d) ensuring the security of the Business and preventing or detecting fraud;
(e) administering our Business, including complaints resolution, troubleshooting of our website, data analysis, testing of new features, research, statistical and survey purposes;
(f) developing and improving our Services;
(g) 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:
(a) 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), (c) and (g);
(b) your consent, such as processing for the purposes set out in paragraph (c);
(c) processing necessary for our or a third party’s legitimate interests, such as processing for the purposes set out in paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) and (f), 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
(d) processing necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, such as processing for the purposes set out in paragraph (g); and
(e) any other applicable legal grounds for processing from time to time.
Cookie Statement
What exactly are cookies?
11. In order to collect the information including personal data as described in this Notice, I may use cookies and similar technology on my website. A cookie is a small piece of information which is sent to your browser and stored on your computer’s hard drive, mobile phone or other device. You can set your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie. This enables you to decide if you want to accept it or not. However, some of the Services offered through my website may not function properly if your cookies are disabled.
12. Cookies can be first party or third-party cookies.
- First party cookies – cookies that the website you are visiting places on your device.
- Third party cookies – cookies placed on your device through the website but by third parties, such as, Google.
The cookies placed on my website
13. I may use the following cookies on my website:
- Strictly necessary cookies. These cookies are essential in order to enable you to move around my website and use its features. Without these cookies, Services you have asked for cannot be provided. They are deleted when you close the browser. These are first party cookies.
- Performance cookies. These cookies collect information in an anonymous form about how visitors use my website. They allow me to recognise and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around the website when they are using it and the approximate regions that they are visiting from. These are first party cookies.
- Functionality cookies. These cookies allow my website to remember choices you make (such as your user name, language or the region you are in, if applicable) and provide enhanced, more personal features. These cookies can also be used to remember changes you have made to text size, fonts and other parts of web pages that you can customise. The information these cookies collect may be anonymised and they cannot track your browsing activity on other websites. These are first party cookies.
- Targeting or marketing/advertising cookies. These cookies allow me and my marketing partners to deliver information more relevant to you and your interests. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement as well as to help measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. They remember that you have visited my website and may help me in compiling your profile. These are persistent cookies which will be kept on your device until their expiration or earlier manual deletion.
- Social Media cookies. These cookies allow you to connect with social media networks such as LinkedIn and twitter. These are persistent cookies which will be kept on your device until their expiration or earlier manual deletion.
14. I may combine information from these types of cookies and technologies with information about you from other sources.
Cookie consent and opting out
15. I assume that you are happy for me to place cookies on your device. Most Internet browsers automatically accept cookies. However, if you, or another user of your device, wish to withdraw your consent at any time, you have the ability to accept or decline cookies by modifying your browser setting. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of my website, my platforms and Services.
16. When you arrive on my website a pop-up message could appear asking for your consent to place marketing or advertising cookies on your device. In order to provide your consent, please click ‘I understand’. Once your consent has been provided, this message will not appear again when you revisit. If you, or another user of your device, wish to withdraw your consent at any time, you can do so by altering your browser settings otherwise I will assume that you are happy to receive cookies from our website. For more information, please visit www.allaboutcookies.org and http://www.youronlinechoices.com/uk/.
Disclosure of personal data
17. 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:
(a) our subsidiaries or associated offices;
(b) 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;
(c) academic institutions to carry out verification of any awards granted by them to you;
(d) public authorities to carry out acts which are necessary in connection with the Services, such as the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office;
(e) foreign organisations to carry out acts which are necessary in connection with the Services, such as Embassies, Consulates and High Commissions;
(f) professional organisations exercising certain public functions in relation to the notaries profession, such as Chambers of Commerce, The Notaries Society and the Faculty Office;
(g) subject to your consent, my marketing partners who enable me, for example, to deliver personalised ads to your devices or who may contact you by post, email, telephone, SMS or by other means;
(h) 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;
(i) public authorities where we are required by law to do so; and
(j) any other third party where you have provided your consent.
International transfer of your personal data
18. 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.
19. 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
20. 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 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.
21. 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
22. The Business will implement technical and organisational security measures in order to prevent unauthorised access to your personal data.
23. 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.
24. Data subjects have numerous rights in relation to their personal data. For further information about your data protection rights please visit the ICO website.
(a) 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.
(b) Right to rectification. Data subjects may request that we rectify any inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
(c) 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.
(d) 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 my website, and in order to deliver targeted marketing. 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.
(e) 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.
(f) 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.
(g) 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.
(h) 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.
ANNEX 3
DATA PROTECTION COMPLAINTS HANDLING PROCEDURE
I am committed to protecting personal data. I take all complaints regarding the handling of personal data seriously. This policy sets out my procedure for managing complaints.
1. A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction regarding how I have handled personal data, including insecure data handling, failure to meet data protection rights (e.g., Subject Access Requests) or unfair or unlawful processing
2. Individuals can make a complaint by emailing me at gregory@notary.uk.com. Please include: Your name, contact details, and full details of the complaint.
3. I will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 30 days. The complaint will be investigated by me. A substantive response will be provided without undue delay.
4. I will keep records of all data protection complaints, including the nature of the complaint and the actions taken, to help improve my services.
5. If you are dissatisfied with my response, you have the right to complain directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s supervisory authority: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
ANNEX 4
INDEPENDENT ID VERIFICATION SERVICE PROVISIONS
1. The current provider of independent ID verification services to my Business and a sub-processor of your personal data is TrustID Limited, Company registration Number 5953015 and registered office: Kings Court, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AR. ICO registration number: Z3040994
2. TrustID engages LexisNexis Risk Solutions (LNRS) as a third-party processor of data for the provision of ID verification services. The full details of LNRS and other third-party processors of data, as utilised by TrustID, are available on request.
3. By agreeing to be subject to the provision of independent ID verifications services, you hereby consent to TrustID, and any other third-party processor it works with, to process your personal data for the purposes of ID verification, including as further set out in this Annex 4, any exhibits attached hereto, or any other terms provided to you from time to time.
4. By consenting to the independent ID verification service, you hereby agree as follows:
a. Ensure that when using the ID verification services, the information provided is complete and accurate;
b. Co-operate with TrustID in all matters relating to the services as TrustID may reasonably require;
c. Grant TrustID the right to share any data, including personal data, contained in a scanned document with relevant third parties but only to the extent that it is necessary to do so to provide any third-party validation checks requested by the notary;
d. Grant TrustID and the notary the right to retain and share with third parties including the Metropolitan Police (or other UK police authority) and regulatory bodies, any data in relation to Compromised Documents and Metadata, such right to continue after the provision of the services.
5. You warrant that the information and personal data you provide belong to you and that you are fully entitled to transfer your personal data to TrustID for the purposes of ID verification services.
6. You acknowledge that the provision of the ID verification services as delivered by TrustID, incorporate data, materials and functionality made and delivered by third-party suppliers to TrustID on the basis of their own terms and conditions, which are deemed to be incorporated into and apply to the provision of the ID verification services, including but not limited to that:
a. any third-party suppliers own and retain all proprietary right, title and interest in their products and any technical information or other materials relating to their products including without limitation any and all copyrights, patents, trademarks, tradenames and other intellectual property rights embodied in or used in connection with their product documentation and materials and including without limitation any modifications, enhancements, translations, localisations or other derivative works thereof made by the third-party’s suppliers;
b. they may not use all or any of the data or any other data or results provided by the third-party suppliers to train or test directly or indirectly or either by itself or through a third-party any machine learning or artificial intelligence technology or process
c. subject to any contracted exceptions they may only use the product for the identity verification of those customers, consumers or business customers as requested by the notary, and shall not sell or transfer any results to any other third-party except for regulators who have made a lawful request to obtain results;
d. they acknowledge that the third-party suppliers and TrustID may use non personally identifiable data from the end user for its own internal purposes.
7. Where PEP & Sanction screening and or address checks are performed, you acknowledge that to undertake these checks you will be bound by the terms of the Customer’s Obligations in the LexisNexis Risk Solutions Customer Licence Terms which can be viewed here: https://www.trustid.co.uk/lnrscustomer-licence-terms/
8. Transfer of data outside of the United Kingdom and the EEA: TrustID may transfer any personal data outside the UK and the European Economic Area (EEA) as long as the following conditions are fulfilled:
a. TrustID complies with its obligations under the Data Protection Laws by providing an adequate level of protection to any personal data that is transferred; and
b. TrustID complies with reasonable instructions notified to it in advance by you or the notary with respect to the processing of personal data.
9. Security.
a. TrustID shall take reasonable steps to ensure the reliability of any employee, agent or contractor who may have access to the personal data or process the personal data, ensuring that all such individuals are subject to confidentiality undertakings or professional or statutory obligations of confidentiality;
b. TrustID shall ensure that it has in place appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect against unauthorised or unlawful processing of personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data, appropriate to the harm that might result from the unauthorised or unlawful processing or accidental loss, destruction or damage and the nature of the data to be protected, having regard to the state of technological development and the cost of implementing any measures (those measures may include, where appropriate, pseudonymising and encrypting personal data, ensuring confidentiality, integrity, availability and resilience of its systems and services, ensuring that availability of and access to the personal data can be restored in a timely manner after an incident, and regularly assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of the technical and organisational measures adopted by it);
c. Notwithstanding the generality of Clause 9(b) above, TrustID may implement additional measures from time to time (at TrustID’s discretion);
d. TrustID represents and warrants that its technical and organisational measures meet the requirements set out in Article 32 UK GDPR and the GDPR, with respect to the personal data to be processed by TrustID on behalf of the notary; and
e. Personal data processed by TrustID has been and shall be collected and processed in accordance with all applicable laws.
10. Deletion or return of personal data:
a. Personal data is retained for seven days from the completion of checks, unless otherwise provided for by TrustID;
b. TrustID shall cease processing any personal data within thirty (30) days upon the termination or expiry of the contract between it and the notary, or, if sooner, the service to which it relates and, as soon as possible thereafter at the choice of the notary, either return, or delete from its systems, the personal data. If the notary does not inform TrustID of its choice to require the return or deletion of such personal data within thirty (30) days of the termination or expiry of the contract, or if sooner, the service to which it relates, then the notary shall be deemed to have chosen the deletion of the personal data.
