So, just to clarify, they are now saying that any solicitor can sign this for us?!! What about the 'stamp' that is required on the form, as many of my legal friends are freelance and do not have a stamp!!!! Do you think if they just signed it and we sent it back it would be OK and Disney would accept this? How rigorous do you think they will be?!!!!
SO, SO CROSS about this after all the money we have given Disney over the years. We are not going to Disney until August 09 so looks like we'll have to get something done here.
Debsx
I am in the process of selling one of my DVC contracts. The paperwork arrived from the agent, and stipulates a "Notary Public" to witness the signature and affix their seal. I got my signature witnessed by my solicitor, and he signed and dated the documents, stating his professional qualifications. When I sent all this back to the agent, they said that this was not acceptable to the Florida authorities because there "has to be an official seal".
I phoned my local Notary Public, and they kindly informed me that the cost would be a MINIMUM of £80 (plus VAT) per seal, but it might be more if it is a foreign document. Since the contract requires three seals on three different pages, this is going to cost me a fortune.
I am only saying this because you need to ensure that the witness is recognised in Florida. A solicitor without a Notary seal will not work.
I am now sending the paperwork to a friend over in Kansas, who knows "loads" of Notaries Public over there, including his bank manager, his accountant etc. They will "witness"my signature by proxy and it will cost me nothing, thankfully.
It's just the way the Americans do things. They are very keen on paperwork and seals, as anyone who has sat through the legal presentation at DVC will tell you. But a Notary Public in the USA is easy to find (and cheap) because people do the job as a sideline/service to their clients, whereas here, a Notary Public usually does nothing else for a living, so they charge the earth.
We are waiting till we are at DVC in November to sign our extension waiver, but like many, I really resent the imposition placed upon us by Disney to decline something we didn't ask for in the first place!
