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DocuSearch™ and WillSearch™
Standards and Terms of Service of Title Research (Administration) Limited
Introduction
These standards and terms of service set out the basis upon which we will
provide you with the DocuSearch™ and WillSearch™ services.
Unless we agree in writing that they will be varied in any way, they will
apply to all dealings between us, and they should be read together with
the confirmation of your order form.
Applicable sections
If you are obtaining DocuSearch™ services, please
read Section A and Section C.
If you are obtaining WillSearch™ services, please
read Section B and Section C.
SECTION A
(applies to DocuSearch™ services)
1. DocuSearch™
1.1 Scope of the service
DocuSearch™ only searches for the following documents in England
and Wales:
1.1.1 Birth, marriage and death certificates from 1837;
1.1.2 Adoption certificates from 1927;
1.1.3 Decrees absolute from 1857; and
1.1.4 Wills and grants of representations from 1858.
1.2 Fixed Fee
You will pay us a fixed fee of £50 (plus VAT) for each certificate
that you ask us to search for. You will also pay for any disbursements
(see paragraph 5.2 below) that we incur on your behalf as they are not
included in the fixed fee.
1.3 Multiple discount
If you ask us to search for more than one certificate on one order form,
you will pay us a fixed fee of £50 (plus VAT) for the first certificate,
and a reduced fixed fee of £20 (plus VAT) for each subsequent certificate
that you ask us to search for on that same order form. This discount only
applies to multiple orders made on one order form. You will also pay for
any disbursements (see paragraph 5.2 below) that we incur on your behalf
as they are not included in the fixed fee.
1.4 Disbursements
In relation to disbursements we incur on your behalf (see paragraph 5.2
below), we will not incur disbursements of over £50 in total on
your behalf without agreeing it with you first.
SECTION B
(applies to WillSearch services)
2 WillSearch
2.1 Scope of the service
WillSearch is a service that searches for the existence of more recent
versions of wills.
2.2 Fixed Fee
You will pay us a fixed fee of £300 (plus VAT) for each search.
You will also pay for any disbursements (see paragraph 5.2 below) that
we incur on your behalf, which is not included in the fixed fee.
2.3 Disbursements
In relation to expenses we incur on your behalf (see paragraph 5.2 below),
we will not incur disbursements of over £300 in total on your behalf
without agreeing it with you first.
SECTION C
(applies to all services)
3 Our responsibilities
3.1 Third party experts
We reserve the right to instruct third parties who have expertise in an
area relevant to your case to carry out part of the search we have undertaken
on your behalf.
3.2 Client satisfaction
We will keep you informed of progress and developments in our work for
you and let you know if we become aware of any factor which may impede
the progress of your case. If you have any concerns about the quality
of our service, please let us know as soon as possible and we will try
our best to resolve any issues. If there is a problem which you have been
unable to resolve with the researcher who is dealing with your case, please
raise it with our Head of Operations.
3.3 Confidentiality
We will respect the confidentiality of any information you provide us
with and use it only for the purposes of providing our search services
to you. Unless required to do so by law, we will not disclose it to any
third party (other than our own employees or any third party consultant
we may employ to carry out research on your behalf) unless we have your
written permission to do so.
4 Your responsibilities
4.1 Providing information
You are responsible for ensuring that we are made aware of any and all
information in your possession relevant to the search we carry out for
you and for providing all authorities that we may need to progress a matter
on your behalf. You must keep us informed of any new information of which
you become aware as well as of any changes to the information in our possession
which may be relevant to our search.
4.2 Urgent instructions
You are responsible for ensuring that we are aware if any instructions
or information you give us are of time-critical significance and for confirming
that we have received them.
5 Fees generally
5.1 Transparency
Our fees are inclusive of all routine overheads, including routine correspondence,
telephone calls and photocopying, but exclude all other disbursements
incurred on your behalf (see paragraph 5.2 below) and VAT, where applicable.
5.2 Disbursements
With the exception of routine overheads, you will have to reimburse us
for all disbursements we incur on your behalf. Such disbursements include
official fees for certificates of birth, adoption, marriage, and death,
decrees absolute, other papers (such as wills and grants of representation)
and the cost of advertising in newspapers etc. These charges will be passed
on to you at cost (plus VAT where applicable).
5.3 Research assignments that do not complete
If you ask us to stop the search for any reason we will charge you the
fixed fee for the search, together with the disbursements already incurred
(whether or not we have already paid them) when you ask to stop.
6 Invoices
6.1 Invoice events
We will invoice you for fees for the search of each document on the earliest
of the following events:
6.1.1 When we have completed the search of that
document; or
6.1.2 When you instruct us to discontinue our
search under paragraph 8.4.
6.2 Our fees are payable regardless of whether the search produces
the results that you seek or any results at all.
6.3 Payment date
Payment is due when you receive our invoice.
6.4 Interest
Interest will not be charged on our invoice amounts for 30 days after
the date of issue of the invoice. After 30 days, interest may be charged
on sums invoiced and overdue from the date you received our invoice until
payment is received. The rate of interest will be 5% above the Bank of
England Base Rate, calculated daily and compounded monthly.
7 Our liability
7.1 We do not warrant the extent to which our search may produce
the results that you seek or that it will produce any results at all.
Our sole responsibility to you is to keep you informed of the progress
that we are making in accordance with our obligations to you under paragraph
2. At any stage of our search you may instruct us to discontinue our services
provided that you do so in writing. If you do this you will have to pay
our charges as set out in paragraph 5.3.
7.2 We will use reasonable care and skill to ensure the accuracy
and reliability of our search.
7.3 We warrant that the provision of certificates and search
reports will not infringe any third party's copyright.
7.4 All conditions, warranties and other terms which would otherwise
be implied by law are excluded.
7.5 Subject to paragraph 7.6, our liability to you for the search
of each document will be limited to three times the fixed fee you are
liable to pay for the search of that particular document.
7.6 Nothing in this agreement excludes or limits our liability
for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud.
7.7 Notwithstanding the Contract (Rights of Third Parties) Act
1999, this agreement does not confer on any third party any right to enforce
any term of this agreement, and the parties may exercise their rights
(if any) to rescind, terminate or vary this agreement without reference
to or the consent of any third party.
8 General
8.1 Copyright
We own the copyright in all the reports and any other original work we
produce for you. You may copy our documents for the purposes for which
they were produced, but you may not change them or re-use them for any
other purpose (nor allow anyone else to do so) without our permission.
8.2 Documents
We are entitled to withhold from you all your papers and documents while
there is any money owed to us for fees and disbursements. We archive and
store our own files for a minimum of seven years on the understanding
that we have your authority to destroy them after this time.
8.3 Communication
We may communicate with you by post, telephone, e-mail, fax or cellular
telephone, even though the last three means of communication are not secure
from inadvertent disclosure to third parties but that in the interests
of speed and efficiency we may use them on your behalf.
8.4 Termination
You may terminate your instructions by giving us written notice at any
time. You will remain responsible for all fees and any disbursements we
have already incurred (whether or not we have already paid them) when
you ask us to stop. If you fail to meet your obligations, for example
failing to pay an invoice when due or failing to carry out any of your
responsibilities under paragraph 4, your failure to act will be treated
as the termination by you of your instructions and we may elect to stop
acting on your behalf. We will write to you to inform you of this and
may exercise our right to keep your documents until we have been paid.
8.5 Governing law and jurisdiction
Our relationship including these terms of service is governed by English
law. The courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction to settle
any dispute between us. Any judgment obtained in England and Wales is
to be considered final, conclusive and binding and enforceable in any
court of any other jurisdiction.
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