Terms & Conditions

By commissioning Archives and Family History Services to undertake research on your behalf you agree to the following terms and conditions stated below.

Before commencing any research, we will confirm in writing our understanding of what the research is that we are being commissioned to do. This will avoid any confusion between both parties.

Research will not commence until payment has been received. The family history packages are 50% deposit is required, unless a separate arrangement has been made with the client.

Completed research will only be sent to the client after full payment has been received.

Bespoke research will be charged at an hourly rate plus any additional expenses for example travel or copying costs receipts for these can be supplied upon request.

We will not exceed any agreed budget or time limit unless authorised to do so by the client.

Should the client wish to extend the budget a further payment would be required before additional work is carried out.

It is the responsibility of the clients to ensure that all information they provide is accurate. We cannot be held responsible for any errors made through receiving and inaccurate information.

It is also the responsibility of the client to ensure that we are informed of any previous research to avoid any repetition.

We cannot guarantee the accuracy of another’s research therefore we will not use pre-created online family history trees created by a third party.

Should it become clear that it is impossible to move forward with the commissioned research we may offer a partial refund dependent upon the research already undertaken and any incurred costs. Where the amount exceeds the payment already made an invoice will be issued for the balance owing.

Clients have the right to cancel within 14 days after the commission is agreed and any payment would be refunded. However, if research has already been commenced the client would be liable for all the time spent researching and costs. Clients should submit their decision to cancel in writing.

We do reserve the right to decline any commissions. This would normally be on the grounds of limited success for example very common names such as John Smith, or lack of information provided by the client or where overseas research is required.

Payments are made for the research undertaken even when negative results are reached. This may be because of missing or damaged documents or in obtainable information due to privacy and data protection laws.

Prices of our packages are fixed and cannot be altered.

Dependent on the type of packages commissioned we would only research direct descendants not siblings or their offspring.

Contents of packages would normally include a written report, family tree, document transcriptions, copies of documents obtained during research, sources used to obtain the information, any photographs submitted by the client and advice on further research.

In the unlikely event that we have made an error please contact us in the first instance so that we can put the matter right. Any errors would be corrected, and additional packages printed and sup plied to the client at no extra cost. However, if the error was caused because of being accurate information provided by the client we would still be happy to correct the error, but any additional pages and postage would be charged to the client.

If the matter cannot be resolved, we are members of the Association of Professional Genealogists and adhere to their terms and conditions. If the client wishes they could contact them and ask for further advice and help.

While we will endeavour to be as accurate as possible, please be aware that ancestors did not always give the correct information themselves. Sometimes wishing to hide their identity age, name or legal status. Also, information compiled at the time may be subject to errors or admissions. We cannot therefore guarantee that every ancestor will be found, or the information supplied is accurate. We can only use the information provided on the original sources.

All cataloguing projects will be completed for an agreed budget and by an agreed deadline. Costs would normally include travel costs unless done remotely.

The amount charge would depend on the type of information required, number of documents to be catalogued and the physical condition of the documents.

All commission should be made in writing with clear instructions as what is to be required.