Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1.Do you make a separate charge for travelling costs & time ?  Most researchers that I have contacted do.

2.In what form are the results presented ?

3.Why do some projects take several weeks to finish ?

4.Why do you require all fees to be paid in advance ?

Do you make a separate charge for travelling costs & time ?  Most researchers that I have contacted do.

 Travelling costs can be a major cost, often the major cost, in researching a family history.(That may be the main reason why you considered using our service in the first place). We  make no charge for travelling costs and you only pay for the time actually spent researching the relevant records. We can do this because, by careful planning and using researchers with local access to the records wherever possible, we can keep these costs to a minimum.        

In what form are the results presented ?

Unless you have chosen one of the Special Presentation options to report the results of our research for you, you will receive your results in our Standard Report format. This takes the form of an A4 printed document which includes the relevant results of our research on your behalf and photocopies/print-outs (including relevant reference numbers) wherever practical of original documents that serve as evidence for our findings. It includes an analysis and discussion of the results where we deem this will be useful as well as suggestions for further research.  It also includes any certificates etc that have been ordered on your behalf.          Top

Why do some projects take several weeks to finish ?

There are many factors that contribute to the time taken to complete a project.  Searching parish registers can be a very time-consuming business in itself, of course. By far the largest delays however tend to be those imposed by the record-holders (the record offices, libraries, etc) themselves. Some parish registers cannot be viewed on the first visit to a record office and appointments have to be booked to examine them (sometimes several days later). Competition with other researchers for limited table-space, micro-film readers etc can also cause delays. Some information, such as birth, marriage and death certificates and wills, that can only be obtained by post can take several weeks to arrive and these can cause the biggest delays. As the search for one piece of information is often dependant upon the discovery of an earlier piece these delays can be cumulative.          Top

Why do you require all fees to be paid in advance ?

We try to provide the most cost effective service we can for our clients. (Our charges are up to half those of some similar research organisations). Pre-payment of fees reduces our administration costs significantly. Most web-sites offering this type of service in effect require pre-payment before releasing the results of their research. Some for example require a deposit, and then payment by instalements, before sending their results. Most of our clients return to us again & again to continue their family history research. New clients may like to commission shorter periods of research to start with if they are concerned although this is a slighter less efficient means of working. For long projects we are happy to keep you up to date with our progress by email if you wish.         Top