Straight answers

No. Nothing, at any point. You never pay us to send a story or to have it placed. If anyone ever asks you for money to place a story, it is not us.

Within 24 hours of your story being published with your name or your photo (any photo you sent us, whether or not you are in it). Not when you send it, and not when a journalist says they are interested, but when it actually appears. We send you the link as soon as we see it, and ask where you would like the money to go. If you spot it first, send us the link. You have 6 months to claim.

Then there is no fee. We will tell you honestly rather than leave you waiting, and you are free to take your story elsewhere. We would rather say no quickly than string you along.

Because £100 is a flat fee we can actually promise, for every story of yours that is published with your name or your photo, paid within 24 hours of it running. The very large figures you see quoted elsewhere are for rare, extreme or exclusive stories, a handful a year. We would rather be straight about what a normal story is worth than quote you a number you will probably never see.

We read everything within one working day and tell you whether we can use it. If we take it on, most stories that run do so within a few weeks. Some are quicker. Anything tied to a date we move on straight away.

It depends entirely on the story. We place work with national titles including the Daily Mail, the Express, the Mirror and the Sun, and with around sixty regional titles, often including the paper where you live. We cannot promise a specific title in advance and will not pretend otherwise.

They make an enormous difference. A story with a clear photograph of the person it is about is far more likely to be picked up than one without. In practice, no photograph usually means no story and no fee. Phone photos are completely fine.

Send it and let us decide. It costs you nothing and takes two minutes. The stories that work are rarely the dramatic ones. If it surprised you, or the people you have told, it is usually worth sending.

For most stories, yes. Newsdesks rarely run a first-person story from someone unnamed, and a real name and photograph is usually what gets it picked up. If you would rather not be named, tell us when we get in touch and we will say honestly whether we can still place it. We pay the £100 when a published story names you or shows your photo.

Yes. At any point before your story is published, tell us by email, on WhatsApp or on a call, and we will pull it, and ask any journalist we have offered it to not to use it. If it runs anyway with your name or your photo, we still pay you. Once a newspaper has published it we cannot un-publish it.

We craft your story in the style a newsdesk expects, using what you tell us as your quotes, and a paper may edit it again. We will not put words in your mouth, invent quotes, or change what happened. If there is anything you do not want included, just tell us when we speak.

Please tell us. If someone else is identifiable, especially a child, we need to know so we can get their permission properly, or use a different image. Do not send photographs of other people's children.

No. We collect true stories from people across the UK, take the time to craft each one and then take it to the newsdesks. We work with journalists and news organisations to get real people's stories published.

We use them to assess your story, come back to you about it, place it, and pay you. We do not sell your details or add you to mailing lists. You can ask us to delete your details at any time and we will, apart from payment records the law requires us to keep. The full detail is in our privacy notice.