Terms and Conditions
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Welcome to recordsarchive.co.uk. We help customers obtain official birth, marriage, death and divorce certificates and scanned/digital copies of the same, and we provide document legalisation / apostille services in connection with such documents. These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") govern your use of our website and your purchase of our services.
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1. These Terms
1.1 What these terms cover. These are the terms and conditions on which we supply our products and services to you (whether certificates, scanned copies, legalisation / apostille or related services) as described on our website at recordsarchive.co.uk (the "Website").
1.2 Why you should read them. Please read these Terms carefully before you submit an order. They tell you who we are, how we will provide services to you, how you and we may change or end the contract, what to do if there is a problem, and other important information. If you think there is a mistake in these Terms, please contact us to discuss it before placing an order.
1.3 Agreement. When you submit an order you will be asked to confirm that you have read and accept these Terms by ticking an "I agree" box or equivalent. If you do not agree to these Terms, we will not be able to accept your order.
2. Information About Us and How to Contact Us
2.1 Who we are. We are Anextica Ltd, trading as "recordsarchive.co.uk", a company registered in England and Wales under company number 17369502, whose registered office is at Suite A, 82 James Carter Road, Mildenhall, IP28 7DE.
2.2 Who we are not. We are not the UK Government or any government department or agency, including HM Passport Office, the General Register Office, HMRC, HM Land Registry, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office ("FCDO") or HM Courts & Tribunals Service, and we have no affiliation with any of them. Official records may be obtained directly and often more cheaply from the relevant government body; we provide a paid search, sourcing, scanning, translation, legalisation and delivery service for customers who prefer to use an intermediary.
2.3 How to contact us. You can contact our customer service team by email at support@recordsarchive.co.uk or by telephone on +44 (0) 3333 402345, or in writing to our registered office address above.
2.4 How we may contact you. If we need to contact you, we will do so by telephone or by writing to you at the email or postal address you provided with your order.
2.5 "Writing" includes email. Any reference in these Terms to writing or written includes emails and messages sent via the Website.
3. Our Contract With You
3.1 How we accept your order. Our acceptance of your order takes place when we send you an order confirmation email with a unique order reference, at which point a contract comes into existence between you and us.
3.2 If we cannot accept your order. If we are unable to accept your order we will tell you and will not charge you. This might be because: (a) you are under the age of 18; (b) we have identified an error in the price or description of the service; (c) we reasonably believe the order is fraudulent, unlawful or made for an improper purpose; (d) we are unable to verify your identity or your entitlement to the document requested where verification is required; or (e) of unexpected limits on our resources or those of a third-party record holder which we could not reasonably have planned for.
3.3 Order reference. We will give your order a reference number when we accept it. Please quote this reference whenever you contact us about your order.
3.4 Acting for someone else. If you are ordering a document or service on behalf of another person, you confirm to us that you have that person's consent (or other lawful basis) to do so and that the request otherwise complies with these Terms.
3.5 Eligibility. Certain certificates are subject to access restrictions imposed by the relevant registration authority (for example, the "open" and "closed" period rules that apply to birth, marriage and death records in England and Wales). We will only accept orders where we reasonably believe the purpose of the request is legitimate and lawful, and we may ask you to provide additional information or evidence of entitlement before we proceed.
4. Our Services
4.1 Certificates. We provide a service of searching for, locating and obtaining certified copies of birth, marriage, death and divorce (decree absolute) records from the relevant UK and, where applicable, overseas government or registration authorities, and arranging for their delivery to you.
4.2 Scanned copies. Where available, we can supply a scanned or digital copy of a certificate, typically in advance of or instead of a physical certified copy. A scanned copy is provided for reference and convenience only; it is not a substitute for an original certified certificate where an original is required by a third party.
4.3 Legalisation / apostille services. We arrange legalisation / apostille certification of documents (including via the FCDO apostille service) on your behalf. We do not issue apostilles or legalisations ourselves; these are issued by the FCDO, and we act only as your agent in submitting and collecting the relevant paperwork.
4.4 We are not responsible for the content of documents. We are not responsible for the content, accuracy or completeness of any certificate or document itself; this is the responsibility of the government body or authority that issued it. Our responsibility is limited to using reasonable care and skill in searching for, obtaining, scanning, legalising and/or delivering the document.
4.5 No match found. If, after carrying out a reasonable search, we are unable to locate a matching record, clause 10 (Refunds) applies.
4.6 Multiple possible matches. If our search identifies more than one possible matching record, we will contact you before proceeding. You may be asked to pay an additional fee for an extended or adoption-related search.
5. Your Rights to Make Changes
5.1 If you wish to change any details of your order (for example, the delivery address or the details of the person named on the certificate), please contact us as soon as possible. We will tell you if the change is possible and, if so, any impact on price, timing or other aspects of the service. If we cannot make the change, or the consequences of the change are unacceptable to you, you may be able to end the contract (see clause 8).
6. Our Rights to Make Changes
6.1 We may make minor changes to our services to reflect changes in relevant law or regulatory requirements, or to make minor technical adjustments and improvements that do not materially affect you.
6.2 If we need to make more significant changes to the services or these Terms, we will notify you, and you may contact us to end the contract before the changes take effect and receive a refund for services paid for but not yet provided.
7. Providing the Services
7.1 Timing. Estimated processing and delivery times are provided during the order process and on the Website. These are estimates given in good faith based on typical turnaround times of the relevant issuing authorities, or delivery carriers, and do not form part of our contractual obligations unless expressly stated as guaranteed.
7.2 Delays outside our control. If the supply of services is delayed by an event outside our reasonable control (including, without limitation, delays by a registration authority, the FCDO, a postal or courier service, industrial action, or public holidays observed locally or overseas) we will contact you as soon as reasonably possible and will not be liable for the delay, though we will take reasonable steps to minimise its effect.
7.3 Information we need from you. We may need certain information from you (such as full name, date of birth, place of registration, or identity verification documents) to provide the services. If you do not provide this within a reasonable time of us asking, or if the information you provide is incomplete or incorrect, we may charge a reasonable additional fee to cover extra work, suspend the order, or end the contract, and we will not be liable for any resulting delay.
7.4 Suspension of services. We may suspend supply of a service to deal with technical issues, to make required legal or regulatory changes, or where you fail to pay any sum due (in which case, see clause 11.6). We will tell you if we suspend the service and why, except where the issue is urgent.
7.5 Delivery of physical documents. Original or certified documents will be sent to the postal address you provide, using a mailing or courier service selected by you or by us as appropriate. We cannot offer in-person collection. Once a document has been dispatched using the chosen delivery method, we are not responsible for loss, damage or delay caused by the postal or courier provider, save where this results from our own failure to use reasonable care in selecting an appropriate delivery method.
7.6 Delivery of scanned/digital copies. Scanned or digital copies will be delivered electronically to the email address provided with your order. It is your responsibility to ensure that the email address provided is correct and able to receive attachments of a reasonable size.
8. Cancellation and Your Right to End the Contract
8.1 Limited right to cancel. Because the certificates, scanned copies and legalisation/apostille services we provide are personalised to you and, once we begin work, are performed and consumed as part of the process of sourcing and processing your specific request, you acknowledge that once we begin performing the service (which will generally be promptly after we accept your order) your statutory right to cancel under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 is lost, in accordance with those Regulations, once performance has begun with your express consent and acknowledgement that the cancellation right will be lost.
8.2 Cancelling before we begin work. You may cancel your order and receive a refund deducting the processing fee at any time before we have begun processing your request (for example, before we have submitted a search to the relevant authority).
8.3 Ending the contract because we are at fault. You may end the contract at any time, with a full refund for services not yet provided, if: (a) we have told you about an error in the price or description of the service and you do not wish to proceed; (b) we have told you the service will be significantly delayed by an event outside our control and you do not wish to wait; or (c) you have a legal right to end the contract because of something we have done wrong.
8.4 How to end the contract. To end the contract, please contact us using the details in clause 2.3, quoting your order reference.
9. Our Rights to End the Contract
9.1 We may end the contract for a service at any time by writing to you if: (a) you do not make a payment when it is due and do not pay within 7 days of us reminding you; (b) you do not, within a reasonable time, provide information necessary for us to provide the services; or (c) we reasonably believe you are using the services for an unlawful or fraudulent purpose.
9.2 If we end the contract under clause 9.1, clause 10 (Refunds) will apply; because our services are front-loaded (search, administration and third-party fees are typically incurred at the outset), we may retain fees to the extent set out in clause 10.
10. Refunds Policy
10.1 General approach. We aim to be fair with our customers. Because our service involves manual searches, third-party record and courier fees, and (where applicable) FCDO fees that are incurred by us at an early stage of the order, refunds are subject to the deductions set out below.
10.2 Cancellation after work has begun. If you cancel your order, or we are unable to complete your order for a reason that is not our fault (including, but not limited to, no matching record being found, incorrect or incomplete information being supplied by you, or a document being refused, delayed or rejected by a third party such as the FCDO for reasons outside our control), we will refund the amount paid less a deduction of 40% of the total order value, which we retain to cover administration, search and processing costs already incurred. This is in addition to (and does not include) any non-recoverable third-party fees already paid on your behalf (see clause 10.4).
10.3 Our error. Where we are unable to provide the service, or provide an incorrect service, as a result of our own error (rather than an act, omission or third-party rejection outside our control), we will refund the affected part of your order in full, without the 40% deduction referred to in clause 10.2.
10.4 Third-party fees. Any fees we have already paid to a third party on your behalf (for example, a government registration authority, embassy, consulate, the FCDO, a notary, or a courier) are non-refundable once incurred, regardless of the reason your order does not proceed, save where the third party itself refunds that fee to us. 10.5 How to request a refund. To request a refund, please email us at support@recordsarchive.co.uk with your order reference, the reason for your request, and the email address or account used for the original purchase. Refunds will be paid to the original payment method or account used to place the order.
10.6 Timing. We aim to process valid refunds within 14 days of approving the request.
11. Price and Payment
11.1 Price. The price of our services (inclusive of VAT, where applicable) is as shown on the Website at the time you place your order.
11.2 Payment in advance. You must pay for the services in full before we begin providing them, using one of the payment methods shown on the Website at checkout.
11.3 Pricing errors. If we discover a pricing error before accepting your order, we will contact you before proceeding. If the correct price is lower than the price charged, we will charge the lower price; if higher, we will ask for your instructions before continuing.
11.4 Additional or consular surcharges. Where an embassy, consulate, the FCDO, a registration authority or an educational institution charges an additional fee (for example, for legalisation, verification or expedited processing) that was not included in your original order, we will notify you and may pass on that additional charge before proceeding further.
11.5 Late payment. If any sum due to us is not paid on time, we may charge interest on the overdue amount at 4% a year above the Bank of England base rate, accruing daily from the due date until paid.
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12. Legalisation / Apostille Services — Additional Terms
12.1 Acting as your agent. When you instruct us to obtain a legalisation or apostille, we act solely as your agent in submitting documents to the FCDO, an embassy or a consulate. We do not control, and are not responsible for, the requirements, processing times or decisions of those bodies.
12.2 No guarantee of acceptance. We do not warrant or guarantee that a legalised / apostilled document will be accepted by any receiving party, organisation or authority in any country. It is your responsibility to check the specific requirements of the receiving party before placing your order.
12.3 Delays. Legalisation / apostille turnaround times quoted on the Website are estimates only and exclude delivery time. Delays caused by the FCDO, courier disruption, industrial action or incorrect information about local requirements are outside our control and we are not liable for them, although we will keep you informed.
12.4 Document handling. Original documents submitted for legalisation or apostille will be returned to you by the delivery method selected with your order. We recommend using a tracked or signed-for delivery option for irreplaceable original documents.
13. Scanned Copies — Use Licence
13.1 Personal use only. A scanned or digital copy supplied to you is licensed for your personal, non-commercial use in connection with the purpose for which you ordered it. You must not alter, reproduce for resale, publicly display for profit, or redistribute the scanned copy to third parties otherwise than for the legitimate purpose for which it was obtained.
13.2 No transfer of ownership or IP. Supply of a scanned copy does not transfer ownership of, or any intellectual property rights in, the underlying document, which remains that of the issuing authority.
14. Our Responsibility for Loss or Damage
14.1 We are responsible for foreseeable loss and damage caused by us. If we fail to comply with these Terms, we are responsible for loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result of our breach or of our failure to use reasonable care and skill, but we are not responsible for loss or damage that is not foreseeable.
14.2 We do not exclude or limit our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.
14.3 We are not liable for loss or damage caused by a third party, including a registration authority, embassy, consulate, the FCDO, notary, courier or postal provider, except to the extent that loss arises from our own failure to exercise reasonable care and skill in selecting or instructing that third party.
14.4 We supply our services for domestic and private use. If you use our services for a commercial or business purpose, we have no liability to you for loss of profit, loss of business, business interruption or loss of business opportunity.
15. Complaints
15.1 How to complain. If you are unhappy with any aspect of our service, please contact us in writing at support@recordsarchive.co.uk with your order reference and details of your complaint.
15.2 Our process. We will acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days. If you are not satisfied with our initial response, you may request that it be escalated for review by a senior member of staff, who will respond within 10 working days. This is our final internal stage of review.
15.3 Alternative dispute resolution. If we are unable to resolve your complaint, you may be entitled to refer the matter to an approved alternative dispute resolution provider. Details will be provided to you on request.
16. How We Use Your Personal Information
16.1 We will only use your personal information as set out in our Privacy Policy, available on the Website. This includes information you provide about yourself and, where relevant, about third parties named on a certificate or document.
17. Other Important Terms
17.1 Transfer of this agreement. We may transfer our rights and obligations under these Terms to another organisation. We will tell you in writing if this happens.
17.2 You may only transfer your rights or obligations under these Terms to another person if we agree in writing.
17.3 Third-party rights. This contract is between you and us. No other person has any right to enforce any of its terms.
17.4 Severability. If a court or regulator decides that any part of these Terms is unlawful, the remaining parts will continue to apply in full.
17.5 No waiver. If we do not insist immediately that you do anything required of you under these Terms, or we delay taking steps against you for breaking the contract, this will not mean you do not have to do those things, and it will not prevent us taking steps against you later.
17.6 Governing law and jurisdiction. These Terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. Subject to your rights as a consumer to bring proceedings in your country of residence, you and we both agree that the courts of England and Wales will have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms.
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