Our core service is our Family History Research Programme. We believe that many people who are interested in knowing more about their family's history shy away from committing to a programme because they are worried about embarking on a process for which they have no control over the eventual cost.

It is true that it is impossible to set a general price for researching a family's history. It might take several hours of painstaking work to trace even one individual in the family tree, or it might take just a couple of minutes. Obviously, the surname is one of the factors which influences this; Smiths, as a rule, are more difficult to track down than, say, Postlethwaites, but many other difficulties can arise. On the other hand, there is often an unexpected breakthrough which can lead to rapid progress.

We have devised a system which puts you, the client, in total control of the budget and means that you will never be presented with an invoice for a sum which you have not agreed in advance. Our Family History Research Programme works in a modular fashion and consists of;

1. A STARTER MODULE - this costs £75, of which £25 is payable at the start of the programme and £50 on submission of our report. On receipt of your application form and deposit we will correlate the information which you have provided and assess what we can do for you. On very rare occasions we might  conclude that we are unlikely to be able to provide you with worthwhile information at realistic cost, and if such a situation was to arise we would waive the £50 balance. We have not yet had such a case.

In all other cases we will commence our research, continue until we have reached the £75 budget, and then report to you on the progress we have made. We will also recommend, with total honesty, whether we believe that the commitment of a further budget would produce worthwhile results. If you decide to continue the next stage is; 

2. RESEARCH MODULE - each costs £100, £50 of which is payable as a deposit and £50 on submission of our report. This operates in the same way as the Starter Module, with a report and recommendation being submitted on completion. At each stage you can decide to proceed to another Research Module, or call a halt to the process.

HOW IS THE BUDGET SPENT?

The main element is the time spent on your project by our experienced researchers. In a Starter Module we would aim to spend 5-7 hours on research; in a Research Module 8-10 hours. In practice we find that these figures are usually exceeded, sometimes substantially.

The other main cost is obtaining birth, marriage and death certificates. We would normally expect to have to obtain 1 or 2 of these in a Starter Module, 3 in a Research Module. The cost of these would be included in the standard prices of £75 and £100 respectively.

If we find that we need to obtain more than this in order to progress the research, it may be that we have to charge extra for them. In these circumstances they will be charged at cost, currently £7 each. In every case we will seek the client's authority, in writing, to incur this extra cost before applying for such certificates.

The same principle will apply if we incur travel expenses in researching your family history.

AT EVERY STAGE OF THE PROCESS YOU WILL KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOUR FINANCIAL COMMITMENT IS. WE WILL NEVER SUBMIT AN INVOICE FOR A SUM WHICH YOU HAVE NOT AGREED BEFOREHAND.

INTERESTED?

Fill in the form below to request an INTRODUCTORY PACK. This pack will enable you to study our programe at your leisure and help you to make a decision as to whether to apply for an Introductory Pack.

PLEASE SEND ME, WITH NO COMMITMENT, AN INTRODUCTORY PACK FOR THE FAMILY TREE SOLUTIONS RESEARCH PROGRAMME