I have a Statutory Declaration that requires the services of a Commissioner of Oaths before I can present it to the government of Ontario. Not knowing where I might find one, I went onto Google and typed in my criteria “commissioner of oaths Ajax Ont” and clicked on “search”.
Among the results were two adverts for Red Seal Notaries. The second one actually read “Red Seal Notaries – Commissioners of Oaths”. Great. The blurb said they had a local office, so “click”. Found the “locations” tab and that was when I decided that I wouldn’t be using Red Seal. They showed four locations (actually 3 – one was a duplicate) in my area. Unfortunately, the information left much to be desired.
The first was as far as it is possible to get from my home and still be in Ajax. And from what I can find from the bus schedules, if you’re using transit, you can’t get there from here. There was no telephone number listed and only a street corner for an address.
The next two – the duplicates – were just as unhelpful. One showed “Pickering Village” for a location, and the other “Kingston Road West”, again with no telephone number or street address. I live in Pickering Village and I’ve never seen anything resembling a sign advertising someone’s services as a Commissioner of Oaths. And on the map for these two, someone, and this is probably the fault of Google maps, has Duffin’s Creek labelled as “Lake Ontario.” Sorry, the lake is about two miles south of this location.
To my mind, the most blatant example of not checking for accuracy is the final location, which they have listed as “Old Kingston Road”. In this case, they show the intersection as “Kingston Road W and Brock Road, Ajax. The real problem with that is that the intersection of Kingston and Brock, as shown on the map, is at least a mile inside the City of Pickering, not in the Town of Ajax. And it is “Kingston Road”, not “Old Kingston Road” I live on OKR, and it is a relatively quiet side street.
When I look at the website I note a little box that says “call for an appointment” and an “888″ number. I don’t think I’ll be calling. If they can’t ensure their website is complete and accurate; if they aren’t willing to give potential clients sufficient information upon which to reach a decision, how can I be certain they are truly qualified to administer an oath swearing the information I’ve presented is correct? Fortunately for me, the listings also showed that the Town of Ajax has on staff a Commissioner of Oaths. And the Town gives its telephone number and address and shows its prices as well. So Friday morning, I’ll be paying a visit to Town Hall.
Enjoy your week and remember to hug an artist – we need love too.
Cat
Catseyeview 