TERMS & CONDITIONS

Please find below Oakwood Family Trees' terms and conditions, these must be agreed to before any work will commence.

INITIAL ASSESSMENT

Once you have selected a package or provided me with details of what you would like me to research, I will provide a free evaluation and produce an estimate of how much this will cost. Once the fees are agreed, no extras shall be added without prior consultation and agreement with you.

After the initial free no obligation consultation, work will commence after payment of a 20% deposit.

I will give you an estimate of the start date for your work and of a time period in which I hope to complete it, but please be aware that this is only an estimate. There are various factors which may delay work which are beyond my control, particularly due to restricted access to archives during the COVID: 19 pandemic. I will, however, keep you informed of any delays as soon as I am aware of them.

RESEARCH

I am able to commence work from scratch with provision of some basic information or build on work already carried out. Either way, as my client you are obliged to provide me with accurate information upon which I will base my research. I cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies in information submitted to me by you. Any time spent researching the correct information will be charged at the hourly rate and so inaccurate information could lead to an increased bill.

Please be aware that although every effort will be made to deliver the agreed objectives, there is no guarantee as to how much information can be found on each person or family. This is because some records may have been destroyed, be missing, inaccurately compiled or were not created in the first place. Sometimes it is impossible to identify an ancestor or family group with certainty because of numerous candidates with the same name.

Even if I find nothing, I will still charge for the time spent on the research. However, a report will still be compiled reflecting research steps taken including negative results which will be sent on payment of the balance.

I reserve the right not to undertake work that has a reasonable chance of failure, however I will report to you why, if this is the case.

At the end of my research and once any balance owed has been paid, you will receive a full report of my research in the format agreed. This can be in the form of an e-mailed PDF document or as a hard copy in a presentation folder (extra fees apply). Official copies of birth, marriage and death certificates used in the research process will be posted to you.

FEES

Hourly rate.

My research is available at an hourly rate of £25 including time spent writing the report, plus any out-of-pocket expenses. These include:

• Travel and public transport costs where necessary, accommodation costs if research is required at archives outside the Midlands area including at the National Archives.

• The cost of acquiring, copying, photographing or downloading relevant documents,
  for example, birth, marriage, death certificates (unless included in a package), parish register entries, wills, and newspaper articles.

• Postage costs.

• Production of a printed hard copy report and presentation folder.

PACKAGES

If you opt for one of my research packages, the scope of research will not exceed that included in the package, unless previously agreed.

Research for chosen packages is usually limited to what is available online, and can extend back to the early 1800s. If research is requested outside the scope of the package, this can be ‘added on’ at the hourly rate including expenses, with your prior agreement. Each package provides copies of original certificates used in the research process, please note that extra certificates, other than those stated in the package description, may be required to further the research. These will incur an extra pre agreed charge per certificate. 

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Please note, that as with all research, results are not guaranteed. Lack of available sources may prevent the continued research of particular lines, resulting in some branches of the tree appearing blank. 

Printed reports.

Completed reports can be printed on high quality paper and presented in an attractive spring-back folder for the price of £38 + P&P.

Extra copies are available for a further £38 + P&P each.

PAYMENT

Cleared payment of 20% is usually required before work commences unless prior agreement to the contrary has been made, completed reports will be sent once the balance has been received.

Payment plans are available with prior agreement.

I accept payment by the following methods:

• Direct bank transfer (Please ensure that any bank charges are not levied my end)

• PayPal (Please note that a 6% administration fee should be added if paying via PayPal to cover fees that PayPal charge me). Let me know if you require a PayPal payment link.

• UK Cheque

GDPR POLICIES AND PRIVACY

On 25th May 2018 a new EU data protection law came into force. This new law gives individuals control over how their data is used and places certain obligations on businesses that process information of those individuals. Oakwood Family Trees believe that clients should know what data is collected and how it is used and for clients to make the best decisions about the information that they share. When clients contact Oakwood Family Trees they provide their name, address, email address and contact telephone number.  No other personal information is required. This information is used only to start communication in relation to carrying out research on your behalf. This information is not passed on to a third party or used for marketing purposes.  

• Oakwood Family Trees does not send out newsletters or retain clients’ banking details.

• Oakwood Family Trees will not contact you once the research has been carried out, unless the client initiates additional research in the future.      

• Once research has been concluded, the report and emails are archived and only an electronic copy of the report and emails are kept on computer.

• Clients can contact Oakwood Family Trees at any time about the information that is held on them.