Terms & Conditions

Please note that, by engaging my services, you agree to be bound by my Terms and Conditions:

Research
  1. As my client, any information you provide upon which I will base my research must be accurate. I cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies in information submitted to me by you.
  2. Please be aware that research is not a certain science and 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, missing or inaccurately compiled. Sometimes it is impossible to identify an ancestor with certainty. Even if I find nothing, I must still charge for the time spent on the research.
  3. I will only undertake work that I think has a reasonable chance of success or, where this chance is low, I will make this clear before I commence work. 
  4. 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. Please be aware that this is only an estimate, and work cannot necessarily be undertaken in a single contiguous period of time. There are various factors which may delay work which are beyond my control. However, I will keep you informed of any delays as soon as I am aware of them.
  5. Research quotations are valid for three months from date of issue.
  6. Please be aware that receipt of your deposit or full payment reserves your research slot. I do get very busy so, if there is a significant delay in you informing me that you wish to proceed and making your payment, then the estimated start and completion dates for your work may change. 
  7. Regular progress updates will be communicated via email, text or WhatsApp, and I will ONLY extend the search beyond the boundaries of the agreement after consultation with you.
  8. At the end of my research and once any balance owed has been paid, you will receive a full report of my research (unless for any reason you have requested not to have a written report), copies of any documents I have found regarding your case and, where relevant, a family tree presented as a PDF, which can be viewed on the computer. Apart from copies of birth, marriage and death certificates that will be posted to you, all documents and the report will be sent either by email or via WeTransfer, which is a file sharing system from which you can download your documents onto your own computer. If you wish to receive copies of documents and the report as hard copies by post, please let me know before you pay your deposit as unfortunately this does incur extra cost.
  9. All reports remain copyright to The Gene Genie and any documents are copyright to the original source. As such, the report and documents may not be copied, published or distributed without the express permission of the copyright holder.
Payment
  1. Unless prior agreement to the contrary has been made, cleared payment in sterling (GBP) is required in full before work commences.
  2. Payment should be made via direct bank transfer (BACS).
  3. Please ensure that payment does not incur any bank charges, which will be passed to you for reimbursement.
DISCLAIMER: I retain the right to withhold documents until full payment has been received.

Privacy Policy

  1. The information I hold on each client includes name, email address(es), telephone number(s) and postal address.
  2. These details are provided by each client by them in connection with research work, and are not passed on to anyone.
  3. Contacts details are stored on my computer, my external drive backup system and, in some cases, on written (paper) correspondence. These are protected by password security or (for paper storage) kept in a locked filing cabinet.
  4. All reasonable measures are taken to keep this and computer/online databases secure.