TOLD Terms of Service

1. The service

TOLD provides private personal history services. These may include recorded interviews, cleaned audio, transcripts, written life stories, editing, family history materials, and help preparing a private family book.

The exact materials you will receive depend on the service agreed in writing for your project.

2. Client and interviewee

The client is the person who commissions and pays for the work.

The interviewee is the person being interviewed.

The client and interviewee may or may not be the same person.

Interviews are recorded only with the interviewee's written consent. I will ask the interviewee to confirm consent in writing before recording begins.

By commissioning a project, the client confirms that, to the best of their knowledge, the interviewee has capacity to take part and give consent, or that any necessary legal guardian or attorney has been involved where required.

3. Consultation

The first consultation is free.

It is used to discuss the person, the story, the format, practical arrangements, privacy, timescale and cost.

No paid project begins until the service and price have been agreed in writing. An email confirmation from me stating the agreed service, price and timescale, together with your written acceptance by email, constitutes the written agreement for that project.

4. Prices and payment

Prices are agreed before work begins.

For a single interview project, payment is due within 48 hours after the interview. Final audio, transcript or other materials are delivered only after payment is received.

For written projects (tiers including transcript, narrative or memoir), a deposit of 30% of the agreed fee is required before work begins. Once work has started, this deposit is normally non‑refundable, except where required by law, as it secures my time and confirms your commitment to the project. The remaining balance is due before final delivery.

Third‑party costs, such as printing, design, specialist transcription, postage or travel, may be charged separately where agreed.

If payment is not received by the due date, I may pause work and delay delivery until payment is made.

Until full payment is received, I retain all rights in drafts and working materials and you must not publish, distribute or otherwise use them.

5. Cancellation and refunds

Before drafting, transcription, research or other paid work has begun you may cancel without charge.

After work has begun, any refund will take account of work already completed, time spent, third‑party costs and materials already prepared. This may mean that no refund is due for work already completed.

After a draft has been delivered, no full refund is available.

Printing, design, postage and other third‑party costs are non‑refundable once approved or incurred.

6. Interviews, recordings and materials

Interviews are audio‑recorded with the interviewee's consent.

Recordings, transcripts, notes, photographs, documents and family materials are used only for the agreed project unless separate permission is given.

The interviewee may ask for particular material to be treated as private or excluded from the final written work. I will do my best to respect those wishes within the agreed scope of the project.

7. Drafts and revisions

Written projects include two rounds of revisions unless agreed otherwise.

Revision requests must be sent within 20 days of receiving a draft.

Revisions may cover factual corrections, tone, structure, wording, clarification and reasonable changes to the text.

A major change of direction, a substantially new version, or new material added after drafting has begun may require a new quote. If you request substantial changes that go beyond the agreed scope, I will explain any additional cost in advance and ask for your written agreement before proceeding.

Factual corrections can be made before final delivery where reasonably possible.

8. Accuracy

I take reasonable care with names, dates, quotations and factual details.

The client is responsible for checking factual accuracy in drafts, especially names, dates, family relationships, spellings and sensitive details.

I do not independently verify every memory, claim or family account unless this is separately agreed as research work.

The work is based on the memories, accounts and materials the client and the interviewee provide. Memories are partial and shaped by experience. I cannot promise that every memory is complete or objective, and I do not provide legal, medical, financial or therapeutic advice.

9. Ownership and use

The final written work is prepared for the client and the family's private use.

The client receives the final agreed materials after full payment.

Copyright and usage rights in the final written text transfer to the client after full payment, unless agreed otherwise.

You (and the interviewee, where different) retain any rights you may have in your spoken words, personal photographs and other materials you supply. By commissioning the project you give me a limited licence to use those materials solely to carry out the project and to keep reasonable records as described in the Privacy Notice.

If payment is not made, final materials will not be delivered and usage rights do not transfer.

I will not publish, sell, display or use private recordings, transcripts, photographs, documents or written materials for publicity without separate permission.

I may keep private project records for legal, accounting, administrative and dispute‑resolution purposes, as described in the Privacy Notice.

10. Printing and third‑party suppliers

If printing, design, specialist transcription, postage or other third‑party services are needed, this will be discussed before they are used.

Printing costs, design costs, postage costs and other third‑party costs may be charged separately unless included in the agreed quote.

The client is responsible for approving final print files before printing. Once approved for print, printing costs are non‑refundable.

11. Privacy and confidentiality

Personal information is handled according to the TOLD Privacy Notice.

The current version of the Privacy Notice is available at /privacy-policy.

I treat interviews, drafts and family materials as confidential and only share them with trusted service providers where needed to deliver the project, as described in the Privacy Notice.

Private family materials are not shared publicly unless separate permission is given.

12. Sensitive material and other people’s rights

Personal history work may involve sensitive memories, family conflict, illness, death, religion, politics, ethnicity or other private matters.

The client and interviewee should tell me if particular material should be excluded, anonymised, restricted or treated with extra care. I will do my best to respect those wishes within the agreed scope of the project.

The stories you share may also include information about other people. You are responsible for not asking me to include material that you know is defamatory, unlawful or seriously harmful to others.

I may edit, anonymise or refuse to include material that I reasonably believe is defamatory, unlawful, discriminatory or creates serious legal, ethical or personal risk to you, me or others.

If someone raises a serious concern or legal claim about material in a project, I may pause work and discuss with you whether changes are needed before the project continues.

13. Problems and complaints

If there is a problem, contact me first at [email protected]. I aim to respond within five working days.

I will try to resolve the issue directly and fairly.

Nothing in these Terms affects your legal rights as a consumer.

14. Timescales

Indicative timescales are agreed per project before work begins and confirmed in the written project agreement. Delays caused by late feedback, missed interviews, late approvals or late delivery of materials may extend the timetable.

As a general guide:

• audio‑only projects are typically delivered within 7 working days of the interview
• projects including a transcript are typically delivered within 2 weeks
• projects including smaller scale narrative writing are typically delivered within 8–10 weeks.
• full memoir projects are typically delivered within 4–6 months

These are guides, not guarantees. The exact timescale for each project depends on its scope, the number of interviews, and the availability of both parties. I will keep you informed of progress and flag any delays promptly.

15. Portfolio and professional reference

I may refer to the existence of completed work in general, anonymised terms, for example: “a private family memoir project, 2026” or “a recorded life‑story interview project”.

I will not identify the client, interviewee, family, location, relationship, subject matter or any private details without separate written permission.

I will not quote from, reproduce, describe, display or share the content of any project without separate written permission.

If you prefer that I do not refer to the existence of the project at all, please tell me in writing before work begins.

16. Governing law

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. Any disputes will be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales, unless the law in your country of residence requires otherwise.