Terms and Conditions

These Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) govern your use of this website. We are Sterling Oak Research and Investigations. By accessing or using this website — including by sending us an inquiry — you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use this website; you are welcome to contact us by phone instead. If you become our client, the written agreement between us for your matter will govern that work, and if there is any conflict between that agreement and these Terms, the agreement governs.

1. Acceptance of these Terms

These Terms form a binding agreement between you and us for your use of this website. They apply each time you visit. We may update them as described in section 13, and the version posted here at the time of your use is the version that applies to that use. Certain pages or features of this site may carry additional terms; if so, those terms also apply to your use of them.

2. Our services

We provide private investigation and research services in British Columbia, as described on this website, including general investigations, background and OSINT research, family law support, skip tracing and process serving, asset investigations, civil litigation support, cryptocurrency investigations, political consulting, and lead generation. We are Licensed and Insured. We conduct all of our services within applicable laws and professional standards, and we may decline or stop any work that we believe would be unlawful, unsafe, or inconsistent with those standards.

Descriptions on this website are summaries only. The services we can offer in any particular situation depend on the facts, the law that applies, and our assessment after a consultation. Nothing on this site is a commitment to provide a particular service to a particular person.

3. No legal advice

The content of this website is general information about our firm and our services. It is not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for advice from a lawyer about your situation. We are investigators and researchers, not your lawyers. If you need legal advice, consult a lawyer licensed in your jurisdiction. Do not rely on anything on this site, or on an initial inquiry exchange with us, as advice about your legal rights, obligations, or deadlines — including limitation periods, which can expire whether or not you contact us.

4. No client relationship or guaranteed result

• No client relationship. Using this website, reading its content, or submitting an inquiry does not create a client relationship between you and us, and does not create a solicitor–client or any other professional relationship.
• No guarantee of acceptance. We review each inquiry and decide, in our discretion, whether a consultation is appropriate and whether to accept a matter. We may decline an inquiry for any lawful reason, including conflicts, capacity, safety, or because the work requested is outside what we do.
• No guarantee of outcome. Investigations depend on facts that are often outside anyone’s control. Neither using this site nor engaging us guarantees any specific result, finding, or outcome, and no statement on this site should be read as such a guarantee.
• When a relationship begins. A client relationship begins only after a consultation and only when we confirm in writing that we have accepted your matter and the scope of work we have agreed. Until then, we have no obligation to act on your matter, monitor deadlines for you, or keep information you send us beyond what our Privacy Policy describes.

5. Scope, fees, and payment

The scope of any work, our fees, and payment terms are agreed with you during the consultation process and confirmed in writing before work begins. Fees depend on the type and complexity of a matter. Any figure mentioned on this website, or in an early conversation, is an estimate only unless we confirm it in the written scope for your matter. We may require a retainer or deposit before starting work, as set out in that written scope.

Payment is due as set out in our written agreement with you. Bitcoin payment is available on request — please contact us for details before relying on it, as the arrangements and any conversion or fee terms will be confirmed at the time. If payment is not made as agreed, we may pause or stop work, and we may hold deliverables until accounts are settled, subject to applicable law and our professional obligations.

6. Confidentiality and lawful use

We treat inquiries and client matters as confidential, as described in our Privacy Policy. In return, your use of this website and of our services must be lawful. You agree that you will not:

• Use this website, or ask us to act, for any unlawful purpose, including stalking, harassment, intimidation, extortion, fraud, or surveillance or investigation that breaks the law.
• Ask us to obtain information by unlawful means, or to access accounts, devices, records, or premises without lawful authority.
• Misrepresent who you are, your authority to act for another person, or the purpose of your inquiry.
• Submit another person’s personal information through this site except as reasonably necessary to describe your inquiry, and only where you are entitled to share it.
• Interfere with the operation or security of this website, attempt to gain unauthorized access to it or to information held by us, or use automated tools to scrape, harvest, or overwhelm it.
• Send us passwords, financial account details, medical records, or other highly sensitive information through this website.

If we reasonably believe an inquiry or request involves unlawful conduct, we may decline it, stop work, and, where required or permitted by law, report it to the appropriate authorities.

7. Accuracy of information you provide

You are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the information you provide to us. Please be truthful, correct mistakes promptly if you discover them, and do not omit facts you know are material to your request. The quality and lawfulness of any work we do depends on the information we are given; we are not responsible for results, delays, or costs that arise from inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading information provided to us. If you are contacting us on behalf of another person or an organization, you confirm that you are authorized to do so.

8. Intellectual property

The content of this website — including text, design, layout, graphics, photographs, and our logo and brand marks — belongs to us or to those who have licensed it to us, and is protected by Canadian copyright and trademark law. You may view and print pages for your own personal, non-commercial use in connection with a genuine inquiry. You may not copy, reproduce, republish, modify, distribute, or use our content, name, or logo for any other purpose without our prior written permission. Reports and deliverables we prepare for a client are provided for that client’s use as set out in our written agreement; other rights in our methods, templates, and know-how remain ours.

9. Website content and availability

We work to keep the information on this site accurate and current, but we do not warrant that it is complete, error-free, or up to date at any moment. Service descriptions, office details, and other content may change without notice. The site is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. We may change, suspend, or discontinue any part of the site at any time. We are not responsible for technical issues beyond our reasonable control that affect your access to the site; you can always reach us by phone at (604) 817-5685.

10. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by the laws of British Columbia and Canada, we, and the people who work with us, will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, lost data, or loss of goodwill, arising from your use of — or inability to use — this website or the information on it, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages. To the same extent, our total liability arising from your use of this website will not exceed CAD $100. Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot lawfully be limited, including liability arising from fraud. Your rights as a consumer under applicable law are not affected except as permitted by that law. This section concerns use of the website; liability in connection with services we agree to provide to a client is addressed in the written agreement for that engagement.

11. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless us and the people who work with us from claims, damages, losses, liabilities, and reasonable expenses (including legal fees) arising from: your breach of these Terms; your misuse of this website; information you provide that is inaccurate, unlawful to share, or infringes another person’s rights; or your request that we act for an unlawful purpose. This indemnity survives the end of your use of this website.

12. Links to third-party sites

This website links to third-party sites and services, including Google Maps and our Google Business Profile. Those sites are not under our control, and we are not responsible for their content, terms, privacy practices, or availability. A link is not an endorsement of the linked site or its operator. If you use a third-party service, its terms govern your use of it. Please see our Privacy Policy for how those services may handle information.

13. Changes to services and these Terms

We may change our services, this website, and these Terms from time to time. Updated Terms take effect when posted on this page with a revised last-updated date. If a change is material, we will take reasonable steps to highlight it on this page. Continuing to use the website after changes are posted means you accept the updated Terms. If you do not accept them, stop using the site. Changes do not retroactively alter the written agreement for a client matter already underway, unless that agreement says otherwise.

14. Governing law and dispute resolution

These Terms, and any dispute arising from your use of this website, are governed by the laws of the Province of British Columbia and the federal laws of Canada applicable in British Columbia, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules. If a concern arises, we ask that you contact us first so we can try to resolve it directly and in good faith. If we cannot resolve a dispute that way, it will be brought exclusively in the courts of British Columbia, and you and we submit to that jurisdiction — except that either of us may seek urgent interim relief from a court of competent jurisdiction, and nothing here prevents a complaint to a regulator or oversight body where the law allows one.

15. Severability and entire agreement

If any part of these Terms is found by a court or tribunal to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, that part will be limited or removed to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining parts will stay in full force and effect. A finding that one provision fails does not affect the rest of these Terms. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of it. Headings are for convenience only. These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, are the entire agreement between you and us about your use of this website and replace any earlier understandings about that use.

16. Contact us

Questions about these Terms, or about anything on this website, can be directed to us at:

Sterling Oak Research and Investigations

Email: [email protected]

Phone: (604) 817-5685

Office: Park Place, 666 Burrard St Suite 500, Vancouver, BC V6C 3P6

Mailing address: 22420 Dewdney Trunk Rd Suite 300, Maple Ridge, BC V2X 3J5