13/03/2025
For information - please take time to read our Terms & Conditions (below). Any questions please feel free to ask.
DEFINITIONS
“We/Us/Our” means I Am My Past.
“You/Your” means the client.
Your information and instructions
1.1 Your contact and family information is treated as strictly confidential and will not be provided to any other person or organisation without your permission. If you wish us to communicate with anyone other than you regarding your family research, we will first require your written permission to do so.
1.2 If you provide details of any previous research it is your responsibility to ensure its accuracy to avoid any research being inadvertently repeated, unless you specifically instruct us to check its accuracy. Any effort expended during the course of the research which leads to information you already know, or have found yourself but have not disclosed prior to research starting, will still be billed.
1.3 You understand that we cannot guarantee we will be able to find any particular person(s), family or other information and that we cannot predict how successful a search will be, if at all. If a search is unsuccessful we reserve the right to charge for our time in conducting such a search.
Our commitment to you
2.1 We offer family history research of the highest quality, delivered in such a way as to ensure clients are happy with the service they receive and feel involved at every stage. You will be kept informed as to the status of the project at regular intervals.
2.2 We will not exceed the time commissioned by you without prior agreement.
2.3 We undertake to report the findings of the research with detailed sources of the information obtained.
2.4 Paid time includes research, analysis, drawing charts and reporting time as well as time spent communicating with you by telephone and/or email.
2.5 If in the course of our research it becomes clear that research has reached an insurmountable hurdle we may offer a partial refund of the payment received. This will depend on the length of time spent on the project before coming to this conclusion.
2.6 In the case it becomes clear that research will not take as long as initially expected or research cannot progress as anticipated any unused pre-paid research hours will be refunded to you.
Payment Terms
3.1 For any Bespoke or Research Support, on receipt of instructions an estimate will be provided along with an invoice for a deposit which we require in advance of the research starting. Invoices will then be provided at appropriate stages and where the fee is likely to exceed the estimate, we will provide an interim report and further estimate for approval before further work is undertaken.
3.2 The cost of Documents is in addition to our costs - see below.
3.3 Time is charged at £25 per hour. This includes research, analysis, drawing charts and reporting time as well as time spent communicating with you by telephone and/or email.
3.4 Where travel is required to Archive centres, we reserve the right to charge additional costs of travel at the rate of 45p per mile.
3.5 All invoices should be paid within 28 days.
Document copies
4.1 Documents are supplied at prices that will be communicated to you. No documents will be purchased without prior agreement with you.
4.2 Where a budget has been agreed, documents will be purchased without your prior agreement unless to do so would exceed the budget, in which case they will not be purchased without your prior agreement.
Likelihood of Success
5.1 It should be noted that it is sometimes not possible to trace a family back as far as expected or find the expected information in a particular document. Research time includes time spent searching with a negative outcome. However, all research may be considered positive if it is viewed that a particular document or direction has been “ruled out”. Any negative outcomes will be included in our report.
Cancellation
Your rights
6.1 You have the right to cancel your agreement with us at any time during the fourteen working days immediately following the day that you respond by email. If you choose to exercise your right to cancel, you must do so in writing. You will be liable to pay for the work we have done up to the date you cancel. The amount due will be deducted from any payment you have made to us and any balance remaining will be returned to you within 14 days of the date of cancellation.
Our Rights
6.2 We reserve the right to decline cases where we consider the likelihood of success to be low.
6.3 If payment is not made under the terms of this agreement and/or any invoice submitted to you, we reserve the right to cancel your instructions and discontinue work on your behalf. All outstanding payments will however remain outstanding.
6.4 Failure to pay may result in dispute resolution and/or court proceedings to recover any outstanding fees, which may in themselves result in further costs being payable by you.
6.5 If we have not received a reply by email within 14 days we shall assume that you do not wish to proceed, and will take no further action.
Limitation of Liability
7.1 Documents are provided and interpreted on an "as is” basis and we do not accept responsibility for any errors in those documents.
7.2 Our liability for any actual, incidental, indirect or consequential loss or damage howsoever caused, is limited to the value of the contract.
Copyright
8.1 Any documents prepared by us in the process of our research, including any charts, reports, transcriptions and translations remain our copyright and should not be published without our prior consent.
8.2 Any material which has been digitised by and obtained from websites, remains the copyright of the individual website.
8.3 Birth, Marriage and/or Death certificates provided by the relevant Register Office of Scotland or General Register Office of England & Wales either in pdf digital format or certified copies of originals, will be obtained by us acting as your agent and always remain in your ownership. Certificates remain the copyright of the Crown.
General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)
9.1 By agreeing to these terms and conditions you agree to us holding the personal details of you and your family (as are necessary for the purpose of research) and as I am required to retain by law for a minimum period of 5 years.
Complaints procedure
10.1 In the unlikely event of you not being 100% happy with the research received we will endeavour to address any issues as quickly as possible and agree a recompense where appropriate.
Applicable Law
11.1 The law applicable to this agreement shall be the law of Scotland.
Non-performance
12.1 If, for reasons of injury or ill health rendering me unable to work, I am unable to complete your instructions, I will provide a full report of work carried out to date along with full supporting information and documentation. I will also provide my written consent for such report, information and documentation to be provided to an alternative genealogist/family historian of your choosing. You agree to pay for all work completed up to that date and where pre-payment is made, any balance, after deduction for the work carried out, the balance will be returned within 14 days.
12.2 If, for reasons of my death, I am unable to complete your instructions, my Executors will provide a copy of the work carried out to date along with full supporting information and documentation as they are able to ascertain from my research records. In those circumstances these terms and conditions provide my written consent for such information and documentation to be provided to an alternative genealogist/family historian of your choosing. You agree to pay for all work completed up to that date and where pre-payment is made, any balance, after deduction for the work carried out, the balance will be returned as soon as ever possible, subject to the laws of probate.
