Frequently Asked Questions
Please contact me on chronicology@outlook.com if you cannot find the answers to your questions here.
Why does it seem to cost so much to do Family History Research?
Everyone’s Ancestry is unique, and their history is filled with people who survived untold trials and tribulations in order to ensure your existence now. Everyone should have access to their own family story and to that end, I try to keep my costs as reasonable as possible In order to provide this service to you reasonably, there are a lot of costs that need to be covered to ensure I have all the resources available to me.
As an example, to do your own research online, you might need to cover the following subscription costs:
• Ancestry All access £224.99 + Pro Tools @£7.99pm + £27.84 pa Newspapers.com
• Findmypast £169.99 pa
• TheGenealogist £139.95 pa
• DeceasedOnline £PAYG
• BritishNewspaperArchives £79.95 pa
• ScotlandsPeople £0.25 per credit – most documents are 6 credits (£1.50 per document for BMD records)
• Probate records £1.50 ea
• MyHeritage £226.80 pa
• DNA Painter £40.84 pa
Not to mention the website and domain charges, society memberships, books, travel costs, archive cards and training costs and the countless hours of research time you would need to dedicate.
My prices are based on the time and expertise it requires to research a family tree. That’s why my standard package is in blocks of 10 hours, to reflect what is reasonable to research within the timeframe, but this research time does not reflect how long it takes to put the report together to create a product you can be happy with. I’m happy to do the hard work on your behalf.
What happens if you cannot find my relatives or come up blank on your research?
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 is positive in that a particular document or direction has been ruled out. Any negative outcomes will be included in my report.
If we cannot find a primary person identified in your requirements, then I will advise you as the client and we can come to an arrangement of the balance outstanding. 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.
Please see the Terms and Conditions for full explanations.
What if I need to cancel the research?
You can cancel my services within 14 working days immediately following the day that you return the copy of the Client Services Contract.
Please see my Terms and Conditions for full details of cancellation policy.
Chronicology 