Payment Terms

The following terms apply to the purchase of any of my Family Tree Packages, or ad-hoc research. Payment must be made in advance of any research work starting and to secure your research slot.

Payment in full for any commissions that are £100 or less
For commissions over £100, an initial deposit of 50% is payable
50% remaining balance will be due upon completion of work, prior to it being sent out

Once a deposit has been paid, a four-monthly payment plan can be offered for all commissions exceeding £500. A schedule of work will be agreed upon with monthly deliverables, which will be delivered after each instalment is paid, and funds have cleared.

For commissions that are undertaken on an hourly rate or ad-hoc basis, before starting any research a budget will be agreed upon. For this option, I prefer to carry out research in stages and deliver as I go, as this helps to keep costs in check. I’ll invoice weekly as work is carried out and the budget will not be exceeded without your permission

The final report and any supporting documentation will not be sent until the full cleared payment has been received.

My standard hourly rate is £40 and my minimum commission would be for four hours.

Gift Certificates must be paid for in full for the value requested, and can only be redeemed against my fixed price packages. They must be redeemed within 1 year of purchase and the recipient may extend the research to a higher value package, by paying the additional fees if they so wish.

Payments are to be made in GB Pounds sterling by cheque (UK clients only), bank transfer, or via Paypal. Where clients choose to pay by bank transfer or PayPal, ALL fees are to be settled by the client.

Fees are payable for my research time and associated costs (for example travel or cost of obtaining copies of documents). These 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 research report will detail sources that have been consulted.

Hourly rates include:

Research and preparation work onsite using the internet and public sources
Preparation to undertake research off-site such as libraries, archives
Analysing information provided to me by you
Time spent offsite in archives examining documents and specific sources as agreed with you
Time spent examining specific documents that we believe will provide information to assist with the family history story
Preparation and construction of family trees and Family History Reports
Considering next research steps
Time spent obtaining and/or copying of any certificates or documents
Travel time
Time spent communicating with You by any method (eg telephone, email, text, chat, zoom, and in-person).

Terms and Conditions

All of the above plus my terms and conditions, payment terms, fees and code of conduct can all be found in our terms and conditions, please read these for further information.

additional expenses

Below are the additional expenses that may be incurred as part of my research. These will be authorised with you beforehand and I would not proceed in anything that attracts an additional cost without your prior consent.

Travel costs (0.45p per mile or standard class rail or bus fare)
Where travel time is in excess of ½ hour each way, it is charged at my standard hourly rate
Parking Expenses
Copying and purchasing documents (including Births, Marriage, Death certificates)
Entry fees, equipment hire, and permits (photography, etc)
The cost of international postage is NOT included in package prices
For visiting archives and other repositories, there is a minimum charge of 4 hours at my standard hourly rate.
Access to specialist websites where I do not already hold a subscription, and downloading of any relevant documents or images.

>> Any questions? Please visit my FAQ page