The initial consultation is free and allows me to discover what you are looking for and also for you to discover what is possible and what isn’t. It will be useful for me to have a look at any research that has already been done by your famiy or an outline of the documents that you already have. Once this has been done I can make an estimate of the amount of time needed to achieve your goals.  You are under no obligation to proceed  any further but if you want to, we will agree on research goals and a timeframe.

Failed searches

Sometimes despite my best efforts, there may be a person or person who cannot be found despite extensive searches.  A charge will still be payable for my time and I will provide you with a list of sources searched and terms used for future reference and research.

My research may discover events that are uncomfortable or distressing such as illegitimacies, divorces and imprisonment.  If you do not want to hear about certain issues, please tell me so that I can respect your wishes.

Any queries about any of these items, please contact me.

Privacy Policy

Basic identification and contact information which you supply to me, Clare O’Grady, trading as Herefordshire Genealogy such as:

• your name
• address
• contact number/email

will be used:

• To create invoices when the work has been completed
• To be used to record work that has been undertaken and expenses such as travel.
• To contact you during the work with any queries.

This information will be retained for five years after the end of the tax year when work was undertaken to comply with HMRC guidelines.

Genealogical Information I collect about you 

If you request genealogical research, the information you give me may include personal information about you and other people (for example, names and birthdays of people in your family). You should ensure that, if you provide personal information about people in your family who are living and not deceased, that you have the consent from the relevant individual to include that personal information.

I do not collect sensitive information about you except when you specifically knowingly provide it and have consented to this

Genealogical information provided may be used when in contact with a third party in the case of ordering certificates from outside the UK. Consent from you will always be acquired before this is done.

Disclosure to Government and their agencies.

I will not disclose any information to any company except to prevent fraud or if required to do so by law.

I will not share your personal contact information with anyone apart from HMRC in case of an audit.

How I protect your information

I follow strict security procedures in the storage and disclosure of information which you have given me, to prevent unauthorised access to, and loss, misuse or alteration of your personal information in accordance with the UK data protection legislation.

These include:

• Boundary firewalls in place
• Access control. Access to the PC is restricted to Clare O’Grady by use of a password.  Individual files also have password protection.  Passwords are changed every 6 months.
• Anti-virus or anti-malware products are regularly scanning the network to prevent or detect threats. Definitions are kept up-to-date and switched on.
• Computer equipment and software have regular maintenance to keep them running smoothly and to fix any security vulnerabilities.
• Data is never removed from the premises.
• Data is backed up to an encrypted external hard drive once a week.
• Paper based material is kept in a locked cabinet

Whilst I take steps to ensure the security of your information, there is a risk that any information transmitted over the Internet and stored on a computer may be intercepted or accessed by an unauthorised party. If you think that someone has accessed your information held by me without your permission or gained unauthorised access to your login details, you must notify me at herefordshiregen@gmail.com

Correcting your information

You are entitled under Data Protection law to require that Iupdate your personal information to ensure it is up-to-date and accurate. In order to maintain the accuracy of the information I hold, you can update your personal details by sending me an email herefordshiregen@gmail.com

For further information:

• On how your information is used
• How I maintain the security of your information
• Your rights to access information I hold on you

Please contact: Clare O’Grady 01432 760762 herefordshiregen@gmail.com

You have the right to complain to the ICO https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/ if you have any problems/concerns as to how I am using your information.