Tel/Fax: 0844 586 3610 International: + 44 844 586 3610
Tel (mobile): 07721679104
"The Willows",
High Street,
Swineshead,
Boston,
Lincolnshire. PE20 3LH England
Members of The Association of Professional Genealogists
Sovereign Ancestry, based in rural Lincolnshire, have researchers working throughout the UK and are able to
offer a comprehensive and professional service to anyone with an interest in
their family history, the history of their property or area.
We have researchers based in virtually all the counties of England and also
in Scotland, Wales, Ireland (North & South), The Isle of Man and The Channel
Isles.
We also have associates in Holland, USA, Canada and Australia along with a number of contacts in other countries (details upon request). This means that we can offer a completely comprehensive "one stop" service to all our clients.
Financial Policies.
1. We accept payment by a variety of means including:
UK Clients:
(a) Online & Telephone Banking - preferred payment method.
(b) Payment over the counter at any branch of Barclays Bank.
(c) Personal Cheque where none of the above are suitable.
(d) PayPal - from 1st April 2010 we will only accept payment by PayPal from UK clients (10% fee applies) and to a maximum of GBP 100.00 sterling per transaction (except for existing overseas clients who will be unaffected by this change).
(e) Cash - never.
Overseas Clients:
(a) Bank to Bank Electronic Transfer (Wire) in GBP Sterling.
(b) Sterling Bank Draft drawn on a UK Bank.
(c) PayPal - from 1st April 2010 we will only accept payment by PayPal from UK clients (10% fee applies) and to a maximum of GBP 100.00 sterling per transaction (except for existing overseas clients who will be unaffected by this change).
(d) Cash - never.
Commercial Clients & Law Firms:
(a) Bank to Bank Electronic Transfer (Wire) in GBP Sterling.
(b) Sterling Bank Draft drawn on a UK Bank.
(c) PayPal - from 1st April 2010 we will continue to accept PayPal payments from our commercial & law firm clients by prior arrangement only (10% fee applies) and to a maximum of GBP 250.00 sterling per transaction (except for existing overseas clients in this catagory who will be unaffected by this change).
(d) Cash - never.
Please see important note on client confidential contact and bank data security below.
For Data Protection compliance & Fraud Prevention we have to have full residential address details of all clients whether UK based or overseas on file. These details are never shared with third parties under any circumstances.
2. We never retain or store any financial information supplied by clients. We never share financial information with third parties. This includes credit/debit card information. Once a transaction has been completed all bank data is either deleted or shredded.
3. Refunds:
Where refunds are agreed we can only provide them via the means original payment was made. All refunds are paid net of any bank charges. When the refund is completed we will destroy all the bank details.
4. Client information and Data.
We are registered under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998.
We never share information with third parties unless we have previously
secured written permission to do so. We never sell client information on to
third parties. All material gathered during the course of research
(including material submitted by the client at the start and during the
course of the research) is stored securely within password protected pc
systems and external hard drives. All printed material is stored in our
secure archive indefinitely unless we are instructed to forward it to the
client or destroy it upon completion of the research.
Due to high bank processing cost we are unable to accept Dollar Cheques.
A note on research fees.
Most research fees are based on an hourly rate for the time taken by our researchers to review existing material, assess what research is necessary and from there begin to search various sources available to them.
These sources include:
1. Primary sources such as parish records and other material held in County Archives and Local Studies Libraries and The National Archives at Kew. These are actual primary records.
2. Secondary sources such Archive held indices, online sites and CD held databases. These sources may also include family history websites and websites of other commercial research organisations and private individuals. As such this material, if found to be potentially relevant, will be gathered and reported to the client on the basis that it has not been checked for authenticity or validity. On that basis clients will be advised as to whether or not further research is required in order to corroborate or validate the data found.
3. Specialist third party archives. Where appropriate we sometimes access privately held databases of material held by persons or organisations who charge for searches to be made on our behalf. Sometimes these results will also require follow up within primary sources. Again you will be advised accordingly.
Virtually all information sources is available in the public domain.
It is important to note that we make no charge for the actual material found when we submit our research results to you. We charge only for the time taken to search for, locate, access and where appropriate copy material.
A further important note (updated March 2008) in the course of (2) above our researchers have previously on occasion and where deemed appropriate accessed public websites such as friendsreunited and genesreunited amongst others where information can be exchanged with others researching the same, related or similar lines. Whilst we have charged in the past for the time taken to access and corroborate such data as might usefully be found we have not charged for the actual material exchanged. However, after a review of best practice and in consultation with various professional colleagues, we have now taken the decision not to make use of such sites in the future. This obviously has no bearing on clients accessing such sites themselves personally. If you require further information or clarification on this matter please 