| Present |
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| The principal Mr R J H Ward is a qualified Solicitor and in 1979 the qualification was extended to include Notary Public and since approximately 1997 the company elected to practise as a Notary Public alone. |
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| A Notary is a qualified lawyer whose task it is to certify documents so that they can be effective in countries outside the United Kingdom. There are approximately 1,000 Notaries in England and Wales. |
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| A Notary is authorised to carry out all legal work with the exception of litigation. |
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| Functions of a Notary include the drawing for repayments of bonds of debenture, certifying the proper execution or signing of documents required overseas, the administration of oaths, the attestation or authentication of powers of attorney for use abroad and so forth. |
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Where a Notarial act is for use overseas, it is commonly a requirement that a Notary's execution is further witnessed by HM Government through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office who will add an 'Apostille' or certificate confirming the authenticity of the Notary's signature and seal, both of which are registered with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The process is called 'legalisation' and may be further
authenticated by the consulate of the receiving jurisdiction. As at October 2011 the fee for this is £30 per Apostille. |
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| The appointment of Notaries is established under rules made by the Master of the Faculties under powers given to him by the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990. Once appointed a Notary is subject to rules and disciplinary control regulated by the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury. |
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| A parallel company was created in the mid 1990’s under the supervision of the Council for Licensed Conveyancers. However, our core business is as Notary Public and we are regulated by The Faculty Office. |
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| Claire D Ward, the daughter of Mr R J H Ward, worked at Hanslip Ward and Company for eight years prior to gaining further experience in Auckland for one of the top tier law firms in New Zealand for four years. Having gained valuable commercial experience she has returned to the company to complete her Probate qualification with the Council for Licensed Conveyancers. She will be a fully qualified Licensed Conveyancer in May 2012. |
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| We are committed to providing an efficient, professional legal service to all our clients but in the sad event you feel we have not provided this please note our complaints procedure detailed below. This will help us to improve our standards. |
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| If you have complaints about our work please do not hesitate to contact Mr R J H Ward or Miss C D Ward directly and we will try and resolve the matter for you promptly and fairly. We will investigate your complaint and review your file and provide a prompt response. If the matter cannot unfortunately be dealt with between ourselves the following should be noted:- |
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| As stated above Hanslip Ward and Company Ltd is regulated by the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury: |
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| The Faculty Office |
| 1 The Sanctuary |
| Westminster |
| London SW1P 3JT |
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| Email: faculty.office@1thesanctuary.com |
| Website: www.facultyoffice.org.uk |
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| If the matter cannot be resolved immediately your complaint will be referred to the Notaries Society, Mr R J H Ward is a member, which has a Complaints Procedure and is approved by the Faculty Office. |
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| Alternatively, you can complain to the Notaries Society direct. Please write (but do not enclose any original documents) with full details of your complaint to:- |
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| Christopher Vaughan |
| The Secretary |
| The Notaries Society |
| Old Church Chambers |
| 23 Sandhill Road |
| St James |
| Northampton NN5 5LH |
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| Email: secretary@thenotariessociety.org.uk |
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| 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 eight weeks from the date of making the complaint to me, make your complaint direct to the Legal Ombudsman (whose contact details are set out below) if the matter has not been resolved to your satisfaction: |
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| Legal Ombudsman |
| Baskerville House |
| Centenary Square |
| Broad Street |
| Birmingham B1 2ND |
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| Tel: 0300 555 0333 |
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| Email: Enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk |
| Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk |
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| As stated above we strive to provide an efficient, professional service and if you approach us direct with any concerns we will deal with your matter promptly and fairly and to try and resolve the matter for you. |
