- IMPORTANT INFORMATION -

A. THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE shall, save as otherwise expressly agreed in writing, apply to the provision of notarial services and services as a notary public by and between (on the one hand) Andrada Gacichevici Notary Public Ltd (referred to as “me”, “my” or “I”) practising and trading as Andrada C. Gacichevici Notary Public; and (on the other hand) my clients and prospective clients (referred to as “you” or “your”) to the exclusion (so far as allowed by the law of England and Wales) of all other terms and conditions of business.

I offer appointments during business hours and occasionally outside of business hours in exceptional circumstances. I am also prepared to make home visits or visit corporate clients at their place of business. If the notarial appointments take place outside of my office, I will make an additional charge to cover travelling time and expenses. Occasionally I may not be able to see you within the timeframe you require, or I may decide that I am not able to act for you in which case I will advise you that that is the case and will provide you with the necessary information to locate an alternative notary.

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

3. Papers to be sent to me in advance: It will save time, expense and mistakes if, as long before the appointment as possible, you can let me have the originals or photocopies of:


In cases where third party witnesses are necessary (as to which I will advise you once you have produced your documentation to me or I have otherwise ascertained the nature of the relevant documentation) you are responsible for procuring the attendance at the completion (signing) meeting of the required number of independent, adult witnesses of full capacity, and you must procure that each such witness produces to me relevant genuine original documentation evidencing their identity in accordance with Clause 4 above.

You hereby acknowledge that your failure to produce when required relevant genuine original documentation to me or materially incomplete instructions from you may cause delays in the provision or completion of notarial services or even cause me to decline to act or cease to act for you, and that I shall be entitled so to do.

4. Identification: Notaries are subject to obligations under Notaries Practice Rules positively to identify appearing parties and to keep records of the means of identification employed. You acknowledge that the identification process will involve you or your representative in a face-to-face meeting with me and that normally I cannot act for you unless such a meeting takes place. You hereby undertake and warrant that you and (where applicable) your representative, advisors, employees and agents are not party to any kind of identity fraud. I will need you to produce by way of formal identification the original of:

You must also bring in original 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.

You consent to me making a photocopy of any document produced to me for retention on my client file and otherwise to comply with my duties under the Notaries Practice Rules 2019.

5. 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 or 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.

6. 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.

The scope of my notarial practice is limited to the performance of notarial acts as a public certifying officer but I may also where I consider it to be necessary prepare affidavits and declarations and make textual or formal amendments to a document which is to be notarised, whether issued in public or private form, for example to ensure that the document is factually accurate, makes sense, and is compliant where necessary with the law of England and Wales. My responsibility and correlative liability to you in contract or otherwise is limited to my responsibility expressly undertaken in accordance with these terms and conditions. I maintain professional indemnity and fidelity insurance at a level of cover approved by the Master of the Faculties: PI insurance of £1,000,000.

You hereby acknowledge and agree that I shall have no liability to you or (where applicable) your representative in contract or otherwise for any costs losses or other harm caused by events matters or things which are not within my direct control; or caused by your failure to perform any matters or things which are, under these terms and conditions, expressed to be your responsibility or (where applicable) the responsibility of your representative; or caused by any matters or things for which my responsibility is otherwise excluded by these terms and conditions.

7. Written Translations:It is essential that you understand what you are signing.

My notarial act will primarily be in the English language, and upon considering the document and having regard to the technical and specialised vocabulary used by lawyers in all their languages, I may also agree to provide my notarial act in any of the languages Romanian, Spanish, French or Italian, upon request. I shall advise that this may not always be possible if your enquiry is urgent.

You further acknowledge that you will be responsible for the cost of any translation of my notarial act that may be required where the receiving jurisdiction is not English speaking, or the above-mentioned languages, if agreed. If you require a notarial act to be issued in England and Wales in a language other than English, or the above- mentioned languages, if agreed, you will need to refer the matter to another notary with the relevant language skills, or perhaps an appropriate official of an embassy, consulate, or diplomatic representation of the receiving jurisdiction.

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

9. 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:

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.

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

Charges:

If the matter is simple, I will endeavour to charge a fixed fee to include disbursements such as legalisation fees, postage, consular agent fees, courier fees, travelling expenses, translating costs and so on. I do not charge VAT.

For more complicated or time-consuming matters the fee will be based on my hourly rate of £200 subject to a minimum fee of £120, plus disbursements. The fee charged may include time spent on preliminary advice, drafting and preparation time, making and receiving telephone calls, correspondence written and received in all formats, arranging legalisation and record keeping.

Disbursements: Some documents require legalisation before they will be accepted for use in the receiving jurisdiction by obtaining an apostille through the UK Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office and, for some countries, additional legalisation is required through the relevant embassy or consulate. The cost of obtaining the apostille, including agent’s fees and postage to and from the legalising authority, is £90 per apostille. The cost of posting the documents to you/another person by international tracked and signed for courier will be £55 for documents under 500g. Travelling fees start from £100.

Payment can be made by bank transfer. Payment of my fee and disbursements is due at presentation of the invoice and the latest when the document has been prepared which I may retain pending payment in full.

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 fuel price changes and so on. I will notify you of any changes in the fee estimate as soon as possible.

11. Typical Stages of a notarial transaction: Each notarial matter is different, and the requirements and timescales will vary greatly according to whether the client is a private individual or a company and in particular according to the processing times of third parties such as the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office, legalisation agents, translating agencies and couriers. We aim to arrange an appointment with you within 1 to 3 days from your first contact and obtain the apostille within 4 to 6 working days from the appointment. Some of the typical key stages are likely to include:



Where the relevant notarial act requires me to prepare documents I will normally need to do this document preparation at my principal office or a secondary office and you hereby acknowledge that in such cases more than one meeting with you or (where applicable) your representative may be necessary before the notarial act can be completed.

12. 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. My practice is a registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office. 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 our professional legal responsibilities as Notaries Public. For full details of my PRIVACY POLICY and data processing terms please see my website: www.notarypublic.network.

13. Use of e-mail: I maintain an e-mail account for my notarial practice. In performing services for you, I may wish to send messages and documents to you, your representatives, advisors, employees and agents by e- mail if you or they are able to provide me with an e-mail address for that purpose. You acknowledge that, in common with other forms of communication, e-mail carries its own risks including the possibility of unauthorised access to data by third parties, corruption of text, inadvertent misdirection, inadvertent deletion, non-delivery, and receipt without being read. Not all these risks can be avoided even by the use of passwords or encryption. Nevertheless, by providing me with an e-mail address, you hereby acknowledge that you and the users of the relevant e-mail accounts have agreed that the benefits of the use of e-mail (for example speed and economy) outweigh the risks of its, and that you and the users of the relevant e-mail accounts have consented to the use of e-mail by me.

If you receive an e-mail from me which was not intended by me to have been sent to or received by you, you must notify me immediately upon becoming aware of my error, delete the e-mail permanently from your systems, destroy any paper copies, and you must not disclose any of its contents to any other party.

You hereby acknowledge that I do not accept service of court documents or other documents which have legal effect by e-mail, and that any attempt to effect such service by e-mail shall be invalid and ineffective save as otherwise provided by the mandatory law of England and Wales.

14. Insurance: In the interests of my clients I maintain professional indemnity insurance at a level of at least £1,000,000.00 per claim.

Subject to Clause 6 above, you acknowledge that my liability to you in contract or otherwise is limited to direct costs losses or other harm directly caused by my acts or omissions (“loss”) not exceeding £50,000 (Fifty thousand pounds) in respect of any one loss or a number of losses arising out of the same act or omission, and you acknowledge that liability of any other kind (for example, indirect or consequential) is hereby excluded.

The exclusions and limitations of my liability imposed under these terms and conditions do not extend to my liability for any fraudulent misrepresentation, or personal injury or death caused by my negligence, or extend to any other type of liability which cannot be excluded or limited by such contract terms under the law of England and Wales, for example in relation to a particular category of contracting parties such as consumers, when those exclusions and limitations of liability shall be read and construed as not applying to that category of contracting parties to the extent that those exclusions and limitations are not permitted to be effective under the law of England and Wales.

You hereby acknowledge that the exclusions and limitations of my liability imposed and the indemnities created for my benefit under these terms and conditions are reasonable having regard to the risk profile of my notarial practice and the nature and cost of the notarial services, oaths, and any ancillary services which I have agreed to provide to you. You further acknowledge that, were it not for those exclusions, limitations and indemnities and your acknowledgment of their effectiveness, I would not have agreed to act for you without charging a much higher fee, or at all.

In the event that I incur any loss liability or harm directly or indirectly caused by breach of these terms and conditions by you or (where applicable) by or through your representative, advisors, employees or agents (including any breach of warranty) or caused by breach of any duty of care owed to me by you or (where applicable) by your representative, advisors, employees or agents or caused by fraud, misrepresentation or other unlawful act committed by you or (where applicable) by or through your representative, advisors, employees or agents, you hereby agree that you shall fully and effectually indemnify me and my personal representatives, my estate and property, and hold me and my personal representatives, my estate and property, harmless from and against such loss liability and harm and also from and against any costs including legal costs incurred by me or my personal representatives in or in connection with the legal assessment, defence, mediation, arbitration, or settlement of the same, and for any legal advice which I or my personal representatives decide to obtain in connection with those matters, on demand, without set off, counterclaim or any other deduction of any nature.

15. Lawful Purpose: You hereby undertake and warrant to me that neither you nor (where applicable) your representative nor your advisors, employees or agents will procure or allow the use of my name or status as a notary public for or in connection with any fraudulent or otherwise unlawful purpose, or procure or allow the issue or use of a notarial act, oath, or other document created or amended by me which you or (where applicable) your representative, advisors, employees or agents intend to use for or in connection with any fraudulent or otherwise unlawful purpose, or which you or (where applicable) your representative, advisors, employees or agents have reason to believe may be used for or in connection with any fraudulent or otherwise unlawful purpose.

16. Equality and Diversity: I am committed to promoting equality and diversity in all of my dealings with you and third parties.

17. Disability: I will endeavour to make any reasonably feasible adjustments in the manner of providing my services in order to facilitate their provision to or involving any person with a relevant disability.

18. Termination/ Your Right to Cancel: You may terminate your instructions to me at any time by giving me reasonable written notice. All fees and disbursements incurred up to the date of termination will be charged.

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.

If you ask us to begin work during the cancellation period, you can still cancel but you must pay me an amount in proportion to the work which I have performed and this proportion will not be reimbursed to you.

19. 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.

20. Complaints: My notarial practice is regulated through the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury:



I aim to provide you with a high and efficient standard of service. However, if you are dissatisfied about the service you have received, please do not hesitate to contact me.

If we are unable to resolve the matter you may then complain to the Notaries Society of which I am a member, who have a Complaints Procedure which is approved by the Faculty Office. This procedure is free to use and is designed to provide a quick resolution to any dispute.

In that case please write with full details of your complaint together with copies of any documents or correspondence (but do not enclose any original documents) to the Secretary of The Notaries Society at the following address:


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

Finally, even if you have your complaint considered under the Notaries Society Approved Complaints Procedure, you may at the end of that procedure, or after a period of 8 weeks from the date you first notified me that you were dissatisfied, make your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, if you are not happy with the result:


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.

21. Law and Jurisdiction: The law which governs the construction, interpretation and effect of these terms and conditions of service and my contractual relationship with you is hereby chosen to be the law of England and Wales; and you hereby agree that the courts of England and Wales shall have non-exclusive jurisdiction to adjudicate upon any dispute or claim between us.