Search and refund policy.

Core principles

• Full payment upfront. Every case begins with full package payment so researchers and priests can be paid for their time from day one.
• £150 retained search fee. Where work has been carried out but no register can be located, we retain £150 to cover the researcher's documented time and travel. Any remaining amount is refunded to your original payment method.
• Admin review of every outcome. A researcher recording "not found", "partial result" or "priest refused" does not on its own trigger a refund. Our team reviews the evidence, the field notes and any photographs before classifying the case and authorising any refund.
• Refunds via Stripe to your original card. We do not pay refunds by bank transfer or cheque. Stripe refunds usually arrive within 5–10 business days.

The 14 possible outcomes

1. Register located and confirmed — Package 1

The researcher locates your family's register and you confirm the match. We deliver photographs, transcription and translation. No refund applies — the package has been fulfilled.

2. Register located and confirmed — Package 2

As above, plus the priest accepts a remote update adding the information you supplied. No refund applies.

3. Register located, photography refused by priest

A small number of priests do not permit photography of their registers. Where this happens, we provide a hand-written transcription and translation that is read back to you. No refund applies — the deliverable changes form but the work is complete.

4. Register located, priest refuses remote update (Package 2 only)

Package 2 includes a register update to record your branch. If the priest will not accept a remote update, the case converts to Package 1 and the price difference (currently £100) is refunded. Retrieval, transcription, translation and report continue.

5. Partial / limited result found

Some entries are partial — for example, dates without family names, or pages too damaged to read fully. Admin reviews the evidence before classification. You will be offered the partial result alongside an option to authorise an extended search at additional cost. No automatic refund.

6. Possible match requires family confirmation

The researcher finds a candidate register entry but cannot definitively link it to your family. We share the relevant detail and ask you to confirm. If you confirm, the case proceeds as a successful match. If you decline, the case continues searching or is classified as unsuccessful following admin review.

7. No register located after agreed search

The researcher exhausts the agreed scope (set out in your package's inclusions) without locating a register. Admin reviews the field report. £150 is retained for the documented research and the remainder of your package payment is refunded.

8. Search interrupted by priest unavailability

If a hereditary priest is unavailable for an extended period (illness, travel, festival schedule), we pause the case and inform you. No additional charge applies for the wait. Refund treatment only applies once the search is concluded.

9. Customer-provided details prove materially incorrect

If the family information supplied turns out to be substantially wrong (for example, an incorrect ancestral region) and this is discovered after work has begun, admin reviews the case. We will either continue with corrected information at no extra cost, or refund less the documented work to date — case-by-case at admin discretion.

10. Extended search offered and accepted

Where the initial scope is exhausted but there is a credible extended search worth attempting, we will quote and you choose whether to authorise it. Extended search is a separate charge and is non-refundable once work begins.

11. Extended search offered and declined

You may decline an extended search at any point. The case then falls under scenario 7 (no register located) with the retained-fee refund applied.

12. Customer cancels before research begins

If you cancel before a researcher has been assigned and accepted your case, you receive a full refund less Stripe processing fees.

13. Customer cancels after research has begun

If you cancel after a researcher has accepted the case, the retained-fee policy applies (£150) and the remainder is refunded, subject to admin review of work already carried out.

14. Dispute or chargeback

If a payment is disputed via your bank or card issuer, we pause all work and respond with the documented field report, time records and correspondence. Disputed cases are reviewed by senior admin and the outcome of the dispute determines any refund.

How admin review works

When a researcher records a search outcome on your case, the case moves to the Search outcome under review status. A member of our team reviews the field notes, any photographs or transcriptions, and the time records before either:

• confirming the outcome and notifying you, or
• sending the case back to the researcher with questions before classification, or
• escalating to senior review where the evidence is unusual or disputed.

You will see the review stage on your dashboard and will receive an email when the outcome is confirmed.

Requesting a refund or raising a concern

You don't need to "claim" a refund where one applies — they are issued automatically after admin review. If you believe a refund is due and has not been issued, or you would like to dispute an outcome, please contact us with your case reference. We aim to acknowledge within two business days and resolve within ten.

This policy is read alongside our Terms of Service, Cancellation Policy and Privacy Notice. Where this page differs from the Terms of Service, the Terms take precedence.