Terms and Conditions

By commissioning research by Family Tree Searchers, you are agreeing to these terms and conditions.

General Terms

Before beginning any research for a client, I will confirm in writing my understanding of the project to be undertaken and once confirmed by the client research will commence.

It is the client’s responsibility to ensure that any previous research is disclosed to avoid any research being repeated. If I am researching from previous details provided to me by the client, it is the client’s liability that the supplied information is correct and therefore Family Tree Searchers does not accept any responsibility for any facts provided that are incorrect. Research time begins from the client’s requested starting point.

It should be noted, that sometimes it is not possible to confirm the research task will end with positive results. The documents that contain the required information may not have survived or ever existed. Ancestors sometimes went to great lengths to keep a family secret or conceal their identity. Research time includes the time spent searching resources that also results in a negative outcome. However, this is actually a positive as it is an area of research or documents that can now be ruled out.

Payment Terms

Research is commissioned to an agreed budget and will not be exceeded without prior permission from the client. For commissions of £100 and under, full payment is required to secure a research slot. For commissions exceeding £100, a 50% deposit is required in advance with the balance payable due on completion of the work and before the report and supporting documentation is released to the client.

Fees are payable as agreed with the client, regardless of if the desired information is found or not. In the event of a negative search, my report will detail sources that have been consulted.

Paid time includes:

• Research at libraries, archives, graveyards or at my premises.
• Time spent writing the research report or preparing family charts.
• Analysing information provided to me by the client.
• Preparing details for next research steps.
• Responding to correspondence with the client by email or phone.
• Travel is charged at cost.
• Documents are supplied at cost.

Cancellation

Family Tree Searchers reserves the right to cancel research for a client at any time and refund any monies paid, less fees accrued to date.

Family Tree Searchers also reserves the right to decline a research project where I consider the likelihood of success to be low or it covers a very specialised area of research.

Should a project be cancelled by the client, outstanding monies may be refunded after the work completed to date has been calculated

Copyright

Family Tree Searchers retains the copyright to all research undertaken on behalf of clients. No part or parts of the report should be reproduced publicly or online without the express permission of the copyright holder.