Terms & Conditions

Definitions

In these Terms and Conditions, the following words carry the meanings set out below:

• "Quill Cypress", "we", "us", or "our" refers to Quill Cypress, operating from 7 Lorong Maarof, Bangsar, 59000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
• "Client" or "you" refers to any individual or household that engages Quill Cypress for documentary services.
• "Service" refers to any of the documentary programmes offered by Quill Cypress, namely Family Letter Transcription, Estate Photograph Catalogue, or Heritage Reference Card.
• "Materials" refers to documents, photographs, letters, records, or other physical or digital items provided by the Client for processing.
• "Deliverable" refers to the finished printed or digital output produced by Quill Cypress as part of a Service.
• "Agreement" refers to these Terms and Conditions together with any written project brief or engagement confirmation exchanged between the parties.

Acceptance of Terms

By making an enquiry, submitting Materials, or confirming an engagement with Quill Cypress, you acknowledge that you have read these Terms and Conditions and agree to be bound by them.

Our Services are available only to individuals aged 18 years or older with the legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement. By engaging us, you confirm that you meet this requirement and, where applicable, that you have authority to provide the Materials on behalf of a household or estate.

Service Description

Quill Cypress provides three documentary services to households in Malaysia:

• Family Letter Transcription — transcription of up to 40 pages of handwritten correspondence into typed text, delivered as a printed booklet alongside the originals.
• Estate Photograph Catalogue — organisation, basic dating, scanning, and arrangement of up to 200 photographs into a printed catalogue with written index.
• Heritage Reference Card — production of an A5 folded printed reference card recording family lineage to two prior generations, based on information supplied by the Client.

All Services are documentary in nature. Quill Cypress does not provide genealogical research, legal advice, financial advice, or any form of professional appraisal. Services are currently offered to clients located in Peninsular Malaysia.

Engagement & Scope

An engagement is confirmed when both parties have agreed in writing to the scope, fee, and anticipated timeline of the project. The scope of each Service is limited to what is described in Section 3 and any written project brief.

Changes to the agreed scope — such as additional pages, photographs beyond the stated limit, or additional copies of Deliverables — may be accommodated subject to a revised fee and timeline, to be agreed in writing before work proceeds.

Quill Cypress reserves the right to decline any engagement at its discretion, including where Materials are assessed to be too fragile, illegible, or otherwise unsuitable for the requested Service.

Client Responsibilities

The Client agrees to:

• Provide Materials that are in the Client's ownership or for which the Client has the right to authorise processing.
• Supply accurate and complete information when requested, including names, dates, and family details needed to complete the Service.
• Package physical Materials securely for delivery to Quill Cypress, and to arrange appropriate return postage or collection as agreed.
• Notify Quill Cypress promptly of any concerns, corrections, or changes during the project.
• Not submit Materials that contain content that is unlawful, that infringes a third party's rights, or that the Client does not have authority to share.

Quill Cypress will handle all Materials with care but accepts no liability for pre-existing damage or deterioration discovered during handling (see Section 10).

Intellectual Property

Ownership of the physical Deliverable passes to the Client upon full payment. The Client is granted a personal, non-commercial licence to make further copies of the Deliverable for private household use.

Quill Cypress retains ownership of its templates, layouts, design elements, and methodologies. The Deliverable may not be reproduced for commercial purposes or distributed publicly without the prior written consent of Quill Cypress.

The Client retains all rights in the original Materials provided. Quill Cypress will not reproduce, publish, or otherwise use the content of any Materials beyond what is required to complete the agreed Service.

Payment

Fees for each Service are stated in Malaysian Ringgit (RM) and are as follows at the time of publication of these Terms:

• Family Letter Transcription — RM 1,860
• Estate Photograph Catalogue — RM 2,980
• Heritage Reference Card — RM 320

A deposit of 50% of the agreed fee is payable upon confirmation of the engagement. The remaining balance is due upon completion of the Deliverable and before its release to the Client. Quill Cypress accepts payment by bank transfer to a Malaysian bank account, details of which will be provided on the invoice.

Refund policy: If a Client cancels an engagement after the deposit has been paid but before work has commenced, the deposit is non-refundable. If cancellation occurs after work has commenced, the Client will be liable for a proportionate fee reflecting the work completed up to the point of cancellation. If Quill Cypress is unable to complete a Service due to circumstances within its control, a full refund of any amounts paid will be issued.

Delivery & Completion

Quill Cypress will provide a projected completion timeline at the time of engagement. Timelines are estimates and may be affected by the condition of Materials, the volume of work, or other circumstances communicated to the Client.

Physical Deliverables will be delivered to the Client's address within Peninsular Malaysia by tracked courier, or may be collected in person by arrangement. Postage and handling costs, where applicable, will be communicated in advance.

Original Materials supplied by the Client will be returned together with the Deliverable unless otherwise agreed. Quill Cypress does not retain copies of Materials or Deliverables after the project is closed, except as required by law.

Confidentiality

Quill Cypress treats all Materials and all information provided by the Client as confidential. We will not share, discuss, or disclose the content of any Materials or project details to any third party, except as required by applicable law or with the Client's express written consent.

Any staff or subcontractors engaged by Quill Cypress on a project are bound by equivalent confidentiality obligations.

Disclaimers

Quill Cypress provides its Services with reasonable care and skill. However, the following disclaimers apply:

• Transcriptions of handwritten materials reflect our best professional reading of the source documents. We do not warrant that every word has been transcribed with absolute accuracy where the source is fragmentary, faded, or ambiguous.
• Dates and identifications applied to photographs are based on information supplied by the Client and are not independently verified.
• Family lineage information presented on the Heritage Reference Card is sourced entirely from information provided by the Client. Quill Cypress makes no representation as to its historical accuracy.
• Quill Cypress exercises reasonable care in handling Materials but accepts no liability for pre-existing damage, fading, brittleness, or other age-related deterioration discovered upon or during handling.
• Nothing in our Services constitutes legal, genealogical, archival, financial, or any other form of professional advice.

Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by Malaysian law, Quill Cypress's total liability to the Client for any claim arising from or in connection with a Service shall not exceed the total fee paid by the Client for that specific Service.

Quill Cypress shall not be liable for any indirect, consequential, or special loss, including loss of sentimental value, loss of data, or any loss not directly and foreseeably caused by our acts or omissions.

Nothing in these Terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.

Indemnification

The Client agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Quill Cypress and its personnel from any claims, losses, or costs — including reasonable legal costs — arising from the Client's breach of these Terms, from inaccurate information provided to us, or from the Client's supply of Materials in which the Client does not have the required rights.

Termination

Either party may terminate an engagement by written notice. In the event of termination, payment obligations will be calculated in accordance with Section 7 (Refund policy).

Sections 6, 9, 11, 12, 14, and 15 of these Terms will continue to apply after any termination.

Dispute Resolution

These Terms are governed by the laws of Malaysia. Any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms shall first be referred to good-faith negotiation between the parties.

If the dispute is not resolved within 30 days of written notice, either party may refer the matter to mediation under the rules of the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration (KLRCA), or such successor body, before pursuing litigation.

The courts of Malaysia shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any unresolved disputes.

Consumer protection rights under the Consumer Protection Act 1999 (Malaysia) are not affected by these Terms.

General Provisions

• Entire agreement: These Terms, together with any written project brief, constitute the entire agreement between the parties for the relevant Service.
• Severability: If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in full force.
• Waiver: A failure to enforce any provision of these Terms does not constitute a waiver of the right to enforce it at a later time.
• Assignment: The Client may not assign rights or obligations under these Terms without the prior written consent of Quill Cypress. We may engage trusted subcontractors to assist with a project, subject to equivalent confidentiality obligations.
• Notices: Written notices may be sent by email to [email protected] or to the postal address below.

Changes to These Terms

Quill Cypress may revise these Terms from time to time. Any revised Terms will be published on this page with an updated effective date. Continued engagement with our Services after any revision constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

For projects already in progress, the Terms in effect at the time of engagement confirmation will continue to apply unless both parties agree otherwise in writing.

Contact Information

For questions or correspondence regarding these Terms, please write to: