Discussing your requirements

We provide no obligation quotes free of charge and always conduct a free feasibility study in advance to be certain records are available.
In the initial consultation, we will discuss your requirements. We will ask what records you already have available as this will save both time and cost to the research. We will also attempt to provide you with an estimate regarding how long the research will take. There is no charge for this consultation and you are under no obligation to ask us to commence work on your behalf.

Contract

If you wish us to undertake work on your behalf, we will ask you to sign a contract. This protects both yourself and Pinpoint Ancestry, as it confirms our obligations to each other.

Review of documents

We do not wish to duplicate research work already performed, but there will be some necessary checking of information supplied by you if it seems that earlier researches are incomplete or incorrect or conclusions unjustified.

Sensitive issues

We will discuss with you, at the outset, whether or not you wish to be told about potentially distressing or uncomfortable discoveries. Genealogical research may uncover information relating to events listed below.

· Family events – illegitimacy, divorce, remarriage, adoption or bigamy.
· Court and legal events – arrests, imprisonments etc.
· Medical – illnesses, insanity, causes of death (including murders and suicides) etc.

Many clients wish to know the full facts about their families but experience has shown that if the research is being commissioned as a gift then the considerations of the recipient should be considered. At the initial consultation we will discuss with you whether you wish to have this information disclosed. Please inform us of this at the time.

Unsuccessful searches

There are occasions when research does not provide much or any information about an individual. There may be a number of reasons for this – change of name, incomplete record sets and record destruction are just a few of the difficulties that may arise. At Pinpoint Ancestry we will endeavour to find out as much as possible on your behalf but we may ask you to seek information from older relatives in order to overcome a ‘brick wall’.
An example of this occurred when a client requested research about her grandfather but we were unable to find any record of his birth. Information about his siblings helped us discover that he had changed his name and from there we were able to conduct research for the client. These lengthier searches take time, and we are obliged to charge you for them. However, as we undertake a free feasibility study before beginning each project we are usually able to warn you of any difficulties in advance.

Copyright and Future Use of Work Product

Once the report is complete you become the owner of the report in its physical form. However, it remains the copyright of Pinpoint Ancestry, and you must obtain our permission to publish any part of it in any format, printed or electronic and the work must be attributed to us. This protects the company’s professional integrity and credits us with having completed the research.

Payment

We charge an hourly rate of £25 for individual research and report preparation. Package prices are different and are listed in our Services section. We order documents at cost price and charge travel at 45p a mile should we need to visit an archive on your behalf. We will not visit archives without giving you advance warning. We accept payment by PayPal or UK cheque in British pounds.
By Paypal – Log in to www.paypal.com and select the money option. The e-mail address for sending monies is k88thy@gmail.com.

By cheques– Please make payable to Kathryn Burtinshaw and send to 9 Spring Gardens, Rhosddu, Wrexham, LL11 2NX. Alternatively, direct payment can be made by B.A.C.S. to Natwest bank account: Name: Kathryn Burtinshaw; Sort code 55-81-42; Account number: 08145202. Please give your SURNAME as a reference if you make a payment in this way.

We ask for 50% payment in advance and the remaining amount before we send out research. For extensive projects, a schedule of payments may be agreed.
Please contact us for a no obligation quotation.