By using this website and the services provided through this website and mobile applications, you agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions, including all amendments made from time to time. If you do not agree to these Terms of Use, do not use this website or its services. By accessing or using the service, you are accepting these terms (on behalf of yourself or the entity that you represent) and you represent and warrant that you have the right, authority and capacity to enter into these terms (on behalf of yourself or the entity that you represent). If you do not agree with all of the provisions of these terms, do not use, and/or access the site or service.
Intent
SecuriGene is intended to provide you with DNA testing services. The DNA test reports are intended to provide you with laboratory test results to be used by you, your physician or your lawyer. This service is not intended to provide you with any medical or legal advice or any other advice other than providing the results of the test for your personal use. For advice about your medical test results or your medical condition and treatment options, please contact your physician. For legal advice on your legal relationship test reports and legal options, please contact your lawyer. Reliance on any information provided by SecuriGene or third parties is solely at your own risk. We assume no responsibility for how you use the information you obtain from this site and its services.
Use of this Website and its Services
You may use this website and the services provided for your personal, non-commercial purposes. This website is intended for use by individuals who are over 16 years of age.
By using this website and its Services, I acknowledge, agree and consent to the following:
I authorize SecuriGene (and its affiliates and partners) to conduct DNA testing with the submitted DNA sample.
I understand re-collection may be required if the sample submitted is insufficient and if an insufficient sample is identified, testing time is not guaranteed.
I understand my results are not intended to diagnose, prevent, treat or cure disease and that they may include recommendations based on known predispositions associated with my genetic profile. I understand other factors which include and are not limited to: exercise, diet, medication use, environment, lifestyle may also affect outcomes. Before following any of these recommendations, I should consult with a qualified physician or healthcare professional.
I represent and warrant that I have obtained all permissions, consents, and authorizations necessary from the individual(s) submitting DNA samples (or the parent and/or guardian of such individual(s) if under 18).
I understand that samples collected without proper chain of custody cannot be verified and therefore, my results may not be admissible in a court of law.
I understand genetic mutations may sometimes occur in 1-2% of cases, and if a mutation occurs any guarantees on conclusiveness, probability and turnaround time are void.
I understand results are provided to the account holder who activates the kit. It is my responsibility to provide accurate information during activation and safeguard my login credentials.
I understand SecuriGene shall not be liable for any lost packages or late transit times incurred during shipment via USPS, UPS, FedEx or any third-party carrier.
Account Information
You must safeguard your account login information and not share the information with anyone else. You are entirely responsible for any actions taken on your account by yourself or someone who has access to your account while logged into your account, including any orders, account changes, edits or requests. SecuriGene and its Representatives will not be responsible for any unauthorized use of your account login information or any changes or actions taken through such unauthorized use. SecuriGene will not be liable for any loss you may incur as a result of someone else using your password or account, either with or without your knowledge. You may not use anyone else’s account at any time, without the express permission of the account holder.
Limitations of Liability and Disclaimer
SecuriGene and its contractors, affiliates, agents, directors, employees, suppliers or licensors, not liable in any way for any damages, costs or expenses incurred for any reason in connection with the use of SecuriGene products or services, or in connection with the DNA tests, or the use and disclosure of the test results or other personal information. In respect to direct loss, the total liability for any and all claims, whether arising from negligence or otherwise, shall not exceed the price of the amount paid, if any, directly to the laboratory for its service during the six (6) months prior to the time such a claim arose.
No Warranty
The Services are provided on an “as-is” and “as available” basis. The use of this Service is at your own risk. This service is provided without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied.
Indemnity
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless SecuriGene and its affiliated companies, suppliers, partners, directors, officers, agents, suppliers, employees and representatives of each of them, from and against all claims, losses, costs and legal fees arising out of your activities in connection with your use of this site and its services, your violation of the Terms and Conditions for using this site, and any content that you make available on SecuriGene sites including but not limited to any violations of copyright or trademark or the rights of any party.
You are not permitted to copy or distribute materials presented to you on the SecuriGene site, including but not limited to logos and text and any associated logos are Trademarks and service marks of SecuriGene.
This site and services associated with this site are provided by SecuriGene without any representations or warranties of any kind regarding the operation of this site and the content contained in this site. SecuriGene makes no representations concerning the suitability, reliability or accuracy of the contents of its site or the contents posted by users to the site. In no case will SecuriGene be liable for any damages of any kind arising from the use of this site and its services, including direct, indirect, punitive damages, even if advised of the possibility thereof. SecuriGene and its affiliated companies disclaim all warranties with respect to the site and any content contained thereon and the submissions and any responsibility to archive or maintain such submissions.
SecuriGene reserves the right, at its sole discretion to terminate your use of SecuriGene sites and services for any reason, with or without cause, including a belief by SecuriGene or its Representatives that you have violated these Terms and Conditions. Termination can include deletion of your account and all related information associated with your account. Any rights and access you may have to your account terminates upon your death. Upon your death, your account may be terminated and all contents therein permanently deleted. SecuriGene is not liable to you or to any third party for any termination of your services and/or deletion of your content from the SecuriGene site.
Governing Law & Jurisdiction
The Agreement shall be governed by the laws of British Columbia, Canada. You agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Canadian courts.
Modifications to the Agreement and the Service
SecuriGene reserves the right at its sole discretion to modify or discontinue any aspect of this site and the services it provides, these disclaimers, this agreement, and the terms and conditions of this agreement at any time without notice. Any changes to this agreement will be reflected in this section of the SecuriGene website. If you continue to use SecuriGene services after a change is posted to the Terms and Conditions section of the SecuriGene website, this means that you have accepted and are bound by the changes.
Entire Terms
These terms constitute the entire agreement between you and us regarding the use of the Site and Service. The section titles are for convenience only and have no legal effect. If any provisions of these Terms is, for any reason, held to be invalid or unenforceable, the other provisions of these Terms will be unimpaired. These terms, and your rights and obligations herein may not be assigned, subcontracted, delegated or othersie transferred by you without SecuriGene’s prior written consent. The terms and conditions set forch in these Terms shall be binding upon assignees.
Prices for Additional Services
- Replacement Test Kits: $15 per individual plus shipping
- Extra Legal Reports: $50 plus shipping
- Extra Private Reports: $15 (plus shipping if applicable)
- Re-activating an account once it has been in-activated: $50
- Recollection Fee: $65 per individual
Note: additional services are general prices and may apply to certain test situations only. SecuriGene reserves the right to amend general prices from time-to-time at its sole discretion.
Legal Reports
Each legal DNA relationship test includes up to two sets of signed legal documents which must be requested at the time of ordering at no extra charge. Additional signed legal documents beyond the first two are $50 per set at the time of ordering. Once the test is completed, the service includes sending the signed legal document by regular post to the address indicated by the client at the time of ordering. After the case has been completed and closed, the cost to re-activate the case and generate additional legal documents is $80 per set of signed legal documents.
Shipping
Orders placed directly with SecuriGene received prior to 2:00 PM Pacific Time (5:00 PM Eastern Time) on business days will ship out the same day. Orders received after 2:00 PM Pacific Time (5:00 PM Eastern Time) or on weekends or holidays will ship out the following business day. Business days are Monday to Friday, excluding US and Canadian statutory holidays.
Split Kits (only available in certain cases)
If the parties to be tested live in different locations, you may request a “split kit” at the time of order and the sample kit components will be sent to each address separately. The sample kit components are individually barcoded and will be tested together once the samples arrive at the laboratory.
To order a split kit, enter “please split this kit” in the comments box of the online order form, then indicate the recipient’s name and mailing address for each test kit component. An extra shipping fee will apply for each additional address.
For legal testing, if the parties involved live in different cities, separate appointments can be arranged for each individual in their respective locations.
International Shipments
We ship to most countries in the world. Please note that extra shipping charges may apply for international shipments. Please note that the shipping time for international shipments cannot be guaranteed, and may take longer than domestic shipments. If you select the regular shipping option for an international address, the delivery of the package is dependent upon the rules and speed of the mail system in that country. If you require the package to be shipped to an international country by a certain date, please contact us for a quotation for express shipping services. Please note we are not responsible for shipping delays or customs and duty fees associated with International Shipments.
Shipping to P.O. Boxes
If express shipping is the selected method of shipping, please ensure that you provide a physical address instead of a P.O. Box so that a signature can be obtained upon delivery.
Shipping to Military Addresses
The delivery time may be more than 10 business days if shipping to APO/FPO military addresses.
Incorrect Shipping Addresses - Collection Kits
If an incorrect address was provided in the order form and the kit must be re-delivered as a result of the incorrect address provided, the cost is $15 for the replacement kit plus shipping.
If an incorrect address was provided in the order form for the delivery of the legal report and the report must be to be re-delivered as a result of the incorrect address provided, the cost is $25 for the replacement legal report plus shipping.
Shipping of DNA Capsules
DNA Capsules are shipped out to the address indicated in the reporting section of the Consent Form. It is the responsibility of the client to ensure the delivery address is accurate and up-to-date.
In the event of a shipping exception, you will be notified by our shipping department. If you fail to retrieve the package from the local depot or refuse delivery, the package may be returned to us. A re-shipping fee will apply to re-ship the package back to you. Any changes you request, such as shipping to a different address, may incur additional fees which you will be notified of.
Turnaround Time
The #1 priority of the laboratory is the quality of the testing and the absolute accuracy of the results. The turnaround time cannot be guaranteed if an exception is encountered, and the laboratory will not under any circumstances sacrifice the quality of the test in order to speed up the turnaround time.
As with any biological testing, specific situations may delay the testing process, including but not limited to:
- Poor sample quality. If the sample submitted to the laboratory has low amounts of DNA due to improper sample collection or poor mouth conditions (e.g. excessive drinking, chewing gum, dry mouth, heavy smoking, etc.), the turnaround time may increase and/or recollection may be required.
- Mutation. If a mutation is detected in the genes shared by the alleged father and child, additional testing may be required.
- Low paternity index. If the genes shared by the alleged father and the child are very common, a low paternity index may be obtained. In such a situation, additional testing may be required and will result in an increased turnaround time.
- Incest or related alleged fathers. In cases of incest (e.g. where the alleged father is also the father or brother of the mother), or in cases where two or more possible fathers of the same child are closely related to each other (e.g. where the possible fathers of the child are father and son pairs or brothers), additional testing and analysis may be required and will result in an increased turnaround time.
Non-Compliant Samples
By submitting the sample, you agree that you have complied with the sample collection instructions provided in the kit. If you do not comply with the sample collection instructions and recollection is required due to non-compliance, an additional fee may apply to test a new sample.
If we discover prior to testing that your samples are non-compliant because you did not follow the collection instructions (e.g. swabs in bag, moldy swabs, insufficient number of swabs), we will attempt to notify you and ask you whether you would like us to proceed with testing the non-compliant sample or whether you would like to recollect your sample.
- If you choose to proceed and test the non-compliant sample, there is no guarantee regarding the quality of the results or whether any results can be obtained. The results will be reported “as is”. There will be a $15 charge per person if a resample is required and $65 charge per person if a retest is required.
- If you choose to recollect the sample, the replacement kit is $15 per individual (plus shipping) and will allow you to repeat the sample collection.
- If we do not have an email on file for you, or if we do not receive a response from you within 2 days after a notification is posted to your account online, we may opt to proceed with testing the non-compliant sample under the terms specified above.
- If you forgot to sign your consent form, there is a $10 processing fee per individual to send another consent form to you for return by fax or email. Written reports and emails cannot be released without a signed consent form.
If we discover after testing that your samples are non-compliant we will attempt to contact you. In some situations results may be released "as-is"; in other situations for example when a swab did not contain enough DNA to obtain a viable profile, a recollection may be required. Recollections are $65 and include retesting, and shipping of the swabs (both ways).
Chain-of-Custody Specimen Collection for Legal and Immigration Testing
The collection fee for most of our collection locations within the U.S. and Canada is $50 per person. Additional fees may apply for some collection locations, especially in remote areas. We will confirm with you the final collection fee for your chosen collection site prior to booking the appointment.
Forensic Samples
The cost for testing forensic samples (e.g. toothbrush, hair, stains, etc.) is $350 per sample for the forensic DNA isolation plus the cost of the DNA test required. There is no guarantee that the forensic sample will work. If the forensic sample contains sufficient intact DNA, a profile will be obtained. However, if the forensic sample contains an insufficient amount of DNA, degraded DNA, or no DNA at all, then a partial profile or even no profile can be obtained, but the entire cost of the test will still apply.
Forensic samples provided to us will be consumed in the process of testing, and will not be returned. You may provide a written request for the return of the item, however, SecuriGene reserves the right at its sole discretion to decline the request.
DNA Capsule Storage
If you would like to retrieve a DNA Capsule from storage, you will be required to provide a signed Item Release Request form.
Mutations
Mutations in the DNA analyzed for relationship testing are rare, but are detected in approximately one in 500 individuals. If a mutation is detected in the DNA of an individual tested, it may sometimes not be possible to obtain a conclusive result. The mutation will be indicated in the results report and the report will be issued “as is”. In the case of a motherless test, you have the option to test the mother for $65 to increase the resolution of the test. The resolution of the test can also be increased by running additional markers for $65 per person. In such situations, the additional testing may be able to achieve a conclusive result in mutation cases, but there is no guarantee. If the child is male, you will also have the option to order a Y-DNA test to help resolve the mutation situation.
Kit Expiration
DNA Relationship Testing Kit Expiration
After purchasing a DNA Relationship test kit (i.e. paternity test, maternity test, sibling test, etc.), you have up to 3 months to use your kit and send your samples back to the laboratory for testing. If the samples are not received and testing is not initiated within 3 months of the purchase date, your account will be inactivated. A $50 reactivation fee will apply to reactivate your account once it has been inactivated. If you do not use your testing kit within one year from the purchase date, your account will be closed.
DNA Health and Ancestry Testing Kit Expiration
After purchasing a Health or Ancestry DNA test kit, you have up to 2 years to use your kit and send your samples back to the laboratory for testing. If the samples are not received and testing is not initiated within 2 years of the purchase date, your account will be inactivated. A $50 reactivation fee will apply to reactivate your medical or ancestry testing account once it has been inactivated.
Replacement Kits
In the event that you lose or damage your DNA Collection Kit, a replacement kit can be issued for $15 per individual plus shipping.
Cost of Testing
The cost of the testing is set at the time of the order. Additional testing at a later date will be at the current rate on the date of the additional order.
Methods of Payment Accepted
The following methods of payment are accepted: Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. Payment must be made in full before the results of the DNA test are released to the Customer.
Kits Not For Resale
Collection kits are not for resale, unless sold through an authorized distributor, retailer, funeral home, hospital or other authorized seller.
Informed Consent
By submitting a sample for analysis, the customer warrants that it has the right to take and submit such samples for DNA testing and that it provides SecuriGene Technologies Inc. and its testing laboratory with authorization to conduct the DNA testing on the samples. By submitting a sample for testing you warrant that either you are the owner of the sample or have full authority from the owner of the sample to submit the sample for testing. Minors must have approval and consent from their legal guardian.
DNA Sample Consumption
Once a DNA sample is submitted to the laboratory, it will be consumed for the purpose of the DNA test. The sample will not be returned to the submitter.
Cancellation and Refund Policy
Refund requests received within fourteen (14) days of purchase will be processed to the original method of payment in accordance with the policies set out below.
All refund requests must be accompanied by a completed copy of the Cancellation/Refund Request Form.
No refunds will be issued for cancellation/refund requests that are submitted:
- more than 14 days after the initial order date,
- after one or more samples have been received at the laboratory; or
- after testing has begun.
SEE OUR FULL REFUND POLICY HERE
If you have any questions, please contact us at support@securigene.com.