Terms for family history research

Initial Assessment and Research Plan

In response to your initial enquiry I may ask you for additional information in order to make an assessment of the research you require. I will then create a Research Plan based on your requirements and my assessment. There is no charge for this. The Research Plan will comprise of:

the steps I will take to conduct the research
the sources I willl use
the timescale for the research
a breakdown of my fees to carry out the research
the likelihood of success.

At the same time as providing my Research Plan to you, I will provide my invoice for the total amount stated in the Research Plan. Payment must be made in full by you, and the funds be cleared by my bank, before I undertake the requested research. This will constitute a contract between us. In the case of a request expected to require a significant amount of research, it may be possible to breakdown the research - and the associated payments - into separate stages.

Research Practice

I will carry out all research on your behalf with due care and attention to details. In an ideal world the evidence (e.g. documents, references, artefacts) to fulfil your specific request will exist, be reliable and be available for research. However, sometimes this may not be the case, with the result that not all research will be successful, and that the research is vulnerable to the inaccuracies that the evidence may contain. Whilst I will make all reasonable efforts to obtain and validate such information, I cannot guarantee any particular outcome for a client.

I will provide regular updates to you by email during the course of my researches, as appropriate. I may also ask you to provide further information - if known - to help my reserach.

Within 5 working days following completion of the agreed research I will create a Research Report based on my findings and my conclusions with copies of all the supporting evidence. I will send the Research Report and any documents obtained by me to you by email, and forward by post any original documents that were purchased such as certificates.

Copyright

All Research Reports that I create and provide to you are copyright to myself and may not be reproduced without my permission.

Sharing of Information

Information provided by you, or that arises from my research, will not be shared by me with any third party unless requested by you or agreed with you beforehand.

Termination of Contract

You may terminate the research contract at any time by notifying me at christournayking@gmail.com. If the research has not been completed, I will calculate the amount of work undertaken by me up to the point of receipt of the notification to terminate the research contract, and will reimburse you at the agreed hourly rate for any unused hours and for any costs to obtain documents not yet incurred. On receipt of this payment I will send you any documentation created or obtained during the course of the research.

Complaint

In case you wish to raise a complaint you should write to me detailing the specifics of your complaint. I will evaluate the complaint and if I agree that I am responsible for an error or omission, I will either refund an amount of your fee appropriate to the complaint or seek to correct the issue and amend the Research Report (if appropriate) at no extra cost to you, subject to your agreement.