Genealogy Chat

I have just recieved an email from Ancestry who tell me that even though my monthly payments will remain the same (after just increasing the monthly price by £1/month) I will no longer be able to access certain records due to a pricing restructure. The records I can no longer access include Parish and Probate records, selected new record releases and Irish records. In order to access these I will have to pay even more each month, This just amounts to yet another price increase bringing the price for those who really cannot afford to pay yearly to £155.40 for access to UK records (this does not include worldwide access which paid monthly equates to £227.40 yearly).
the price of full UK records access for those who pay yearly.....now £107.40.
Has anyone else recieved this email yet and what are your views on this?

Iain

Hi Donna,
I don't mind paying a reasonable figure for access, but £155.40/year for UK access?, thats how much the worldwide access is if you pay yearly. They are penalising poeple who cannot afford a large lump each time, and not by just a small amount either.

Iain

Good point, Iain. I renewed in June and paid £79.95 (I think) for the UK membership but if it's the price you were quoted when it comes to next June I just won't be able to afford it.

£155 is a huge leap - I know prices are rising generally just now but if they increase it that much, a lot of people might just start seeing family history as an unaffordable hobby. (We all know it's not cheap but almost doubling the price seems wrong.)

£155 is the yearly price if paid monthly for full UK access, the new yearly price for full UK access if paid in one lump is £107.40, still a huge jump, but a further £50 on top for the priviledge of paying monthly is appalling. Most poeple who pay monthly do so only because they cannot afford the yearly sum in one go, so to increase like this is just making it harder for the poeple who can afford it the least.

Iain

i have just checked my emails and i dont know what to do now,

ancestry cancelled my monthly payments in july then i had to redo it at the new price increase, they then took july and august payments out with ten days of one another. i was not impressed at all.

i cant afford the one off yearly fee but now it seems they are making you pay more and more if you pay monthly. best of it is i have hardly used it for several months. i really dont think i can afford it now.

Where is the £107.40 coming from?

Most are being quoted just over £80 a year & actually paying under £70

I just checked Ancestry and the new yearly subs are 83.40 for an Essentials Membership and 107.40 for a Premium Membership. The Essentials Memb. does not include pre 1837 Parish Records and other historical records.

The World Memb. is 155.39 (Sorry I am in Canada and do not have the pound sign on my computer.)

Moonbeam.

My membership run out 4th Aug. i rang yesterday and paid £66.72 for UK access and was quoted £124.31 for worldwide this had to be paid lump sum but was worth the phone call. Give it a go if you can pay in 1 lump. I rang because of the new prices had gone up to £83 and refused to pay it.

Kaz

Madness, I was quoted £83 and just paid £66 last week by going through quidco.

With the new price structure, the price of £83 as a one off yearly payment now gives you less content than it did up until now, to get the full UK content that you were paying £83 for up until now will now cost £107.40 for the one of yearly payment or £155.40 if paid monthly.

Iain

For something that was given freely by OUR ancestors and then given freely by OUR churches to members of the LDS who gave their time freely.
Come on Ancestry it doesn't seem a very Christian thing to do !!

The amazing thing is that when they increased the price a month ago the email I recieved on 2nd July told me:-

"In addition, we have more exciting content releases coming up including the Inwards Passenger Lists 1878-1960, updates on our military collections and new parish content.

In order to maintain our quality service and provide you with new records in a timely manner, we have reviewed our pricing and from 4 June 2008 your monthly membership will increase by just £1 to £10.95 per month."

Now I am being told that to access some of this content including parish records (which I require), and some (not specified) new content I need to now pay a further £2/month. This amounts to a 25% increase in the last 2 months.

When and where will this end

Iain

I paid for the UK £83 jobby a few days ago and Ive just checked and I do have the parish records and pallots.

If you have just renewed you should be ok until your next payment is due, however for those who pay monthly like me this effect us almost immediatly.
See below

FAQ from the ancestry site

How will this affect me?
If you have UK Deluxe membership, you will be transferred to our Essentials membership package on your next renewal or payment date. This means that you will no longer be able to access records such as Parish & Probate records or Irish records. You do, however, have the option to upgrade your membership. Worldwide members will not be affected.

When will this happen?
If you have UK annual membership, we will send you a renewal email before your renewal date to tell you of these changes. If you have UK monthly membership, you will be moved to Essentials Membership on your first payment date due after the 2nd September 2008. You don't have to do anything (unless you wish to upgrade to the new Premium membership) - we will automatically transfer your membership to Essentials. For information on how to upgrade to Premium Membership or Worldwide Membership, go to My Account section on the Ancestry.co.uk site.

I've signed up just before these changes are due to take place. Am I still affected?
Yes, however you can keep your current membership you signed up to until your next renewal or payment date.


They state it is so poeple do not have to pay for records they don't use, but instead of dropping the price for those who don't now get access to those records they have removed they have kept the price the same, and then increased the price if you need to view those records to which you had access to before. They make it sound as though they are doing us a favour but we either have to pay the same for less content, or pay more for the same content.
Can't see any favour's done here.

Iain

Blimey, I sneaked in by a whisker there then. Its unfair for those who have been subbed for years and years and doubly unfair for those who sub monthly and already have to pay a premium for it.

I could understand them increasing the price, now I think about it, if all the BMDs were fully indexed so you could search the whole lot (1837-2006) by typing the name, rather than having to search c.1920-83 quarter by quarter but they aren't, and in addition not all the images load correctly when you try to view them.

In some cases I've even tried to search for a W name and found myself looking at the F pages, for instance. I think it would be good if they could get things like that sorted out.

ashworth i am searching for paul and christopher ashworth fathers name bernard embury mums name valerie ashworth she died 1972 bernard has 2 brothers david and colin embury

I joined in Feb 2007 and paid an annual fee of £79.00, for some reason it hasn't taken any money this year............I've just been on my account and it says my ANNUAL subscription is running from Feb 2007 - Feb 2009!!

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones.

Vicky X

There's one simple answer: everybody boycot ancestry. I have.

There are plenty of free sites where much of the info is available. OK it takes longer and you have to Google to find them but I would rather do that than be ripped off - and I can afford even the World membership

Is it worth trying the Genealogist? has anyone on here any experience of using the site at all and if it offers value for money?
Thanks

Iain