Responsibility for work

The partners of the firm are ultimately responsible for the conduct of business, although other staff (including associates) will act on instructions on a day-to-day basis.

We recommend that general e-mail enquiries be addressed to notary@johnvenn.co.uk

The firm’s office hours are 09:00am - 17:30pm Monday to Friday. You may leave a voice message outside these hours.

We will:

• keep you informed of progress made on your file,
• advise you of delays and, where possible, explain why such a delay is occurring
• advise you where it becomes necessary to change the basis on which our fees are payable or calculated.

You should:

• provide us with written instructions wherever possible,
• provide us with full and accurate information regarding your affairs,
• inform us if there is any significant change in your situation.

Notarisation & identification

A primary function of a notary is to identify the client. In the case of private clients, we require proof of residential address. We will therefore ask you to produce personal documentation that can include:-

• a passport
• national identity card
• photocard driving licence
• marriage certificate or divorce judgment
• a recent gas, electricity or other bill or bank statement (for proof of address)

We will also need to establish that your company or organisation exists and that the signatory has authority to represent it. In the case of companies or organisations based in the United Kingdom, we will generally conduct our own checks. In some cases (particularly for companies or organisations established overseas) we may ask you to produce certain documents. These might include a certificate of incorporation, good standing certificate and other similar evidence. If we have to certify the signatory’s authority to represent a company or organisation, additional documentation will be requested, for example:-

• constitutional documents (e.g. memorandum and articles of association)
• a power of attorney
• board resolutions
• authorised signatory book (in the case of banks)
• extract from a commercial register (generally for foreign companies)

We will be happy to advise exactly what will be required in any particular case.

Notaries are affected by UK legislation enacted to prevent terrorism and combat organised crime and money-laundering. This requires notaries and other lawyers to report suspicious transactions to law enforcement agencies.
A notary who knows or suspects or has "reasonable grounds" for suspecting that a person has committed any of these offences must make a disclosure as soon as is practicable to the appropriate law enforcement agency.

For this reason there are compulsory checks which notaries have to make of their clients which in many cases go beyond the identification standards which notaries have traditionally applied. Being asked for additional identification does not mean you are under suspicion. The new identification requirements apply to all clients when they are asking notaries to authenticate documents or undertake certain other types of work.

A notary is entitled to refuse to act (or issue a restricted certification) if he or she has any doubt as to the facts or law.

Legalisation

If a document is notarised in the United Kingdom and is intended for use in another country, there may be a further formality of recognition. The procedure is generally described as “legalisation” although it is sometimes referred to as “consularisation”.

Countries which have accepted the international convention on legalisation (signed at The Hague in 1961) have abolished the requirement for consular legalisation. It is replaced by a single certification - known as an “apostille”.

An apostille is currently issued in the United Kingdom by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. We arrange legalisation for our clients using both the standard service and a premium service. In either case, the documents are nearly always delivered and collected by our staff from the relevant government office.

Some countries require notarial documents to be legalised by their own authorities, and the document must in these circumstances be presented to the consulate or other diplomatic representation of the country where the document is to be used. We can arrange for legalisation at all of the consulates and diplomatic missions in London.

Diplomatic missions and government departments are indifferent to commercial pressures and clients may have cause to complain about the treatment of their documentation, which can include loss, delay or refusal. Although we make our best efforts to carry out our instructions, we cannot accept liability for the actions (or the lack of action) of such bodies.

Fees

Fees are calculated using a scale which is reviewed from time to time. On request, we can provide you with a fixed price for certain work. However, we reserve the right to make additional charges if we are required to carry out additional work or if the matter proves to be unusually difficult. Translation costs are chargeable on a “per word” basis. Miscellaneous costs such as consular fees, bank charges or major photocopying or postage costs may also be passed on to you.

Fees are subject to VAT at the current rate.

You have the right to cancel your instructions at any time, in which case we will charge you a proportionate amount for any work already carried out.

If we ask you to make payment of costs and fees in advance, we will hold such money in a separate “clients account”. We do not pay interest on any balance held in this account.

We may also ask you to provide funds in advance in order to cover such things as consular disbursements, especially when these amounts are likely to be significant.

Credit will not be given on fees unless previously agreed with a Partner.

Our terms for payment of all invoices rendered are that they be settled within 30 days. Should settlement not be forthcoming within this period, we reserve the right to charge interest at 5% above base rate on all sums outstanding.

Complaints

We are confident that we will provide you with a satisfactory service. However, in the unlikely event that you should wish to complain formally then you should write to the Senior Partner, John Venn & Sons, 95 Aldwych, London WC2B 4JF. You also have the right to make a complaint to the office which regulates notaries public in England : the Faculty Office, 1 Sanctuary, London SW1P 3JT, England.

Applicable law

The contractual relationship that arises when you instruct us shall be governed by English law. In the event of a dispute the English courts shall have sole jurisdiction.