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About

Tom Sorby

I am a Notary Public, Solicitor and registered Trust and Estate Practitioner.

I have a wide range of knowledge and experience in legal affairs of a personal and business nature both over seas and in the UK.

My office is in Worksop and I live in Sheffield. Generally, I work for clients in these two areas though I do offer my service to clients throughout South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire.

This website is dedicated to my Notarial Practice, though should you need other legal services, then please visit my law firm’s website: www.ilettclark.co.uk


About My Services

Translation Services

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What is a Notary Public

A Notary Public is a member of the third and oldest legal profession in England and Wales. The role can be traced back to the Roman Republic, where Notaries Public recorded the facts of judicial and governmental proceedings. Owing to the predominance of common law in England and Wales, the first Notaries Public appeared in England in the 13th century and were appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury by authority of the Papal Legate.

Today, a Notary Public is still appointed and regulated through the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury, though the role itself is secular.

A Notary Public can carry out a wide range of non-contentious legal work such as conveyancing and probate however a Notary Public can not undertake litigation on behalf of clients. The primary service of a Notary Public is to authenticate documents and signatures for overseas use and this is the service that you are most likely to need from a Notary Public.

A Notary Public is also able to act as a commissioner for oaths.

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Service Information

Why and When Will I Need a Notary Public?

If you are working, marrying, buying property or transacting business overseas you are likely to need a Notary Public to provide one or more of the following services : -

The list services is non-exhaustive and the requirement for a Notary Public is becoming more common as both people and businesses move between nations more freely.

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Before We Meet

Before we meet, I will need to see a full copy of the documents that need to be notarised and any letters/instructions from the receiving party as well as your identification papers - this is so that I can identify you, carry out your instructions promptly and ensure that you are not disappointed by avoidable delays.

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Timescales

Some tasks, such as simple certifications that do not require apostille, can be carried out on the day of our meeting. For other tasks that are more complicated, I will aim to complete them within 5 working days of our meeting. If your documents require apostille and/or consular legalisation then this can take longer and a timescale will be provided on a case by case basis at the outset, before I begin work but generally speaking this will be within 10 working days.

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Initial Information

Upon accepting your instructions, I will provide : -

Whilst I have to be sure that both you and I understand any document written in a foreign language, as a Notary Public, I can not advise you on the document itself or your transaction, you should seek your own independent advice, whether in this country or in the receiving jurisdiction.

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Identification Papers

To comply with various money laundering laws and regulations, I will need to see you with the original of one of the following documents : -

If you are unable to provide any of the above documents, valid at the date of our appointment, please let me know in advance so that we can explore other forms of ID that may be acceptable. It is critical that I have some existing documentation that shows your usual signature and a photographic image that shows a true likeness of you.

I will also carry out an electronic identification check on you. This check will be carried out by TransUnion Credit. You may contact this organisation if you have any queries or concerns about this service. You will be charged £10 for this service. The electronic identity check will not affect your credit rating however it will leave a footprint on your credit record to show that a check was carried out.

I will also need to see proof of your address, so you will need to provide any one of the following: -

The proof of address documents must not be more than 3 months old.

If you are unable to provide any of the above documents, less than 3 months old at the date of our appointment, please let me know in advance so that we can explore other forms of proof of address that may be acceptable. It is critical that I have some existing documentation that shows your usual address.

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Identification for Companies, LLPs and Partnerships

In addition to the ID papers referred to above, that I will need to see for the relevant persons within the company/LLP/partnership, I will need to see evidence of the constitution – I will cover this on a case by case basis depending on the type and location of the organisation.

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Price Information

My Fees

My hourly rate is £350 per hour subject to a minimum charge of £105. I do not charge VAT on my services. All fees are payable in addition to any disbursements (as described below).

Wherever possible, I shall endeavor to give you a fixed fee, as predictable costing is beneficial to both you and I.

If it is not possible to give you a fixed fee, an hourly rate will be charged. The time expended will be charged in units of 1/10 of an hour (6 minutes) rounded up to the nearest unit (eg. 17 minutes will be rounded up to 18 minutes being 3 units of time). You will be given an estimate of the likely overall cost and time at the outset.

I reserve the right to revise any costing given if the work involved materially differs from that which was expected at the outset.

For travel, I charge £150 per hour, being one half of my standard hourly rate, should you require an appointment outside of the office – these charges are subject to limitation by the various laws relating to Consumer Contracts and Discrimination.

Please note that all fees are incurred proportionally throughout the job in hand with the full amount being payable upon signature/execution of your documents. In the event that you cancel your instructions or it becomes impossible to complete your instructions, a proportionate fee to the amount of time expended will be charged. Please make sure that you have either paid your fee in full in advance of our meeting or that you bring a valid payment method with you. I can accept cash, cheque or direct bank transfer payments. Any sum outstanding after a period of 14 days from the date that your bill was issued will incur interest at 3% above the base rate of HSBC bank per calendar month going forward calculated on a daily basis up to and including the day of settlement.

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Disbursements

You may also incur what are called disbursements - these are payments that I will make to third parties on your behalf. They are not limited to but may include, apostille fees, agent’s fees, translator’s fees, swear fees etc. Any change to these fees between you giving me your instructions and the fee being incurred is beyond both your control and mine, therefore you will be expected to meet the cost of any increase. You will be made aware of any increase as soon as practicable after I become aware of that myself.

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Documents in Transit - Methods and Limitation of Liability

Draft documents will be sent to you or your agent by email or standard post. All executed documents will be sent by secure post – usually but not limited to Royal Mail Recorded or Special Delivery or by a private courier (such as DPD, DHL or FEDEX). I shall, wherever possible, anticipate this expense at the time of providing you with my costing (if required), however this may not always be possible. Please note that you, as my client, will be responsible for meeting the costs of postage and secure delivery. The documents will only be insured for the standard amount for paper offered by the postage or courier service used. All documents are posted or handed to a courier at your risk and I do not accept any liability whatsoever for documents entrusted to postal or courier services that subsequently results in failed delivery, loss, late collection and/or late delivery regardless of who commissioned the postal or courier service and regardless of the extent of the loss. Whilst I am always happy to provide replacement documents and oversee execution etc, you, as my client, will be responsible for the cost of replacement which will usually be the full cost of repeating the exercise.

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Conflict of Interest and Independence

As well as being a Notary Public, I am also a partner (director and shareholder) in the practice of Ilett and Clark Solicitors Limited. My business as a Notary Public is entirely separate to my business at Ilett and Clark Solicitors Limited though I do purchase office and secretarial services from Ilett and Clark Solicitors Limited.

I will not act for you in circumstances where I have a personal interest (actual or potential) or where the work that I will carry out for you conflicts (actual or potential) the interests of either of my notarial practice or Ilett and Clark Solicitors Limited.

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Document Retention

I will keep a register of all work that I carry out. This information must be retained indefinitely and be available for inspection by all of those who have a legitimate right in having access to and seeing that information.

As well as my register, I will keep a copy of your documents in secure storage. This may be a paper copy or an electronic copy. This information must be retained indefinitely and be available for inspection by all of those who have a legitimate right in having access to and seeing that information.

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Redress Information

Insurance and Notaries Fidelity Cover

I maintain professional indemnity Insurance in the sum of £5,000,000. My liability to any single client for claims, loss, injury, damage or other suffered of whatever nature and by whatever cause, subject to the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 is limited to £1,000,000 in respect of any individual transaction or linked series of claims relating to a single transaction.

I am also a member of the Notaries Fidelity Scheme.

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Complaint Information

If My Service Falls Below Your Expectations or You Have Concerns

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

The Faculty Office
1 The Sanctuary
Westminster
London
SW1P 3JT
Tel: 020 7222 5381
Email: facultyoffice@1thesantuary.com
Website: www.facultyoffice.org.uk

If you are dissatisfied about the service you have received please do not hesitate to contact me.

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

In that case please write (but do not enclose any original documents) with full details of your complaints to:

The Secretary of The Notaries Society
PO Box 1023
Ipswich
IP1 9XB
Email: secretary@thenotariessociety.org.uk
Tel: 01908 803527

If you have any difficulty in making a complaint in writing please do not hesitate to call The Notary Society/The Faculty Office for assistance.

Finally, even if you have your complaint considered under The Notaries Society’s Approved Complaints Procedure, you may at the end of that procedure, or after a period of eight 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
PO Box 6806
Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ
Tel: 0300 555 0333
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk

If you decide to make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman you must refer your matter to the Legal Ombudsman within one year from the act/omission or within one year from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for a complaint.

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Regulatory information

My notarial practice is regulated pursuant to the Legal Services Act 2007 through the Master of the Faculties through the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury

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