Genealogy Chat

Hello,

I have just signed this online petition and thought I would share the information. If you are resident in the UK and would like to purchase cheaper BMD certificates from GRO that are purchased solely for genealogical research you may like to sign this petition.

http://epetitions.direct.goc.uk/petitions/1792

There would be a notice printed on these copies to show that they are "uncertified" and therefore cannot be used for purposes other than research. If the Government do agree to this proposal then, when ordered online using the relevant GRO index Nos, the charge could be considerably less than the present statutory cost of £9.25 for an authorised "certified" copy.


Many thanks Lainey

This is the correct link - (gov not goc)

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/1792


Great idea (If it happens), especially when you need to order multiple certificates for elimination purposes !

The subject was discussed on here a few weeks ago.

Nice as the idea seems, sadly you are wasting your time here. The GRO service has to be self financing even if the government agree to the changes it is unlikely that there will be any significant saving as the work involved in identifying and retrieving the details are pretty much the same. The only saving there would be is in the cost of the piece of paper the cert is issued on which is insignificant, probably a few pence.

The second reason why this is futile is that any change to the current method of operation of the GRO requires a change in the law, and given the current financial situation, this is unlikely to happen. This is one reason that the digitisation program was put on hold when it was realized it could not be implemented under the current law.

I personally think the price is quite reasonable.

Roy

It would be a good idea, possibly more people would take up this hobby if the price of the certs were not so expensive.

Republic of Ireland only charge E4.00 if purchased in the country - granted it is a photocopy from the register - but still holds all the info needed to trace a tree.

Last night I spent over £90. on English certs - I have been saving nearly twelve months to buy these.

Many thanks Netty for correcting the error.

I was not sure if this had been mentioned before on GR, so thought I would share the information anyway. I would welcome cheaper certificates as this would enable me to purchase more. In this current climate I cannot always justify spending so much money on certificates when other bills take priority.

It is of course up to everyone individually whether they agree and sign.

Thanks again Lainey

Thank you for putting this on. I have just signed it.

Hazelx

I doubt that there's much point....................financing the hobbies of its citizens must be at the bottom of the Government's list of priorities.

If it isn't, it should be...................there are much more important things on which taxpayers' money should be spent.

Like all hobbies, if you cant afford it, go without

I play golf, can you all send me a couple of quid my subs are due shortly, or should i ask the government to fund my activity, or perhaps i should contact the lottery fund.

Any other suggestions welcome.clean ones please

George

Rosegarland, That would in itself cost more money because they would need extra staff to administer and supervise and i don't think every registry office could support extra staff just for our Hobby

just to add
also i would rather pay £9+ for a cert from the GRO than pay petrol money to go to the local registry for my cert and don't forget your local registry only have certs from their district so if you want to view a cert in a district 50 miles away petrol alone could be as much as £15 upto £25

Roy

as most of the records are digitised it cant take long to find what you are looking for, If you give the correct details for the certificate it should be easy to find, so at £9.50 that might seem expensive, but if your certificate is not found they dont charge you, so that search is paid for out of your last £9.50, so on the balance I think £9.50 is about right.
and as the government need every penny they can get their hands on I cant see it comming down

How would the taxpayers be financing the hobby of Genealogy?

The staff where the certificates come from, are generating an income by supplying the copy certificates!! and judging by the length of time one has to wait - they are kept fairly busy.

Gina,

The tax-payers would be subsidising our hobby because they would have to make up the shortfall in revenue if the fees were lowered.

Peter

Hi
Why can't Genesreunited or some one else set up a page so we can share our certificates online for members i have loads & loads of certificates i could load up for others it would be great if we could print them out as well Just a thought

BrummieStu, Their are already web sites for uploading unwanted certs,

GR would need to add a search able database facility to the site for it to happen on here, it has been talked about before on the boards but i don't think GR are interested as they would not be able to make money from it?
but they may get some sort of kickback from diverting members to buy certs from other sites? after members using GR for searches,

Not having used GR for such research's i would not no for sure how it works but they have to make money some how and i don't think subs alone would pay their bills,

if so not a hope in hell of them adding a search able database.


Roy

i agree....the cost of these certificates is painful...the massive jump from £7 to £9.25...is bank breaking....yes it would be great if the gov reconsidered and lowered the cost...hence i dont think theres a cat in hells chance,only out to line their own pockets ime afraid.... :-(

The £9-25 fee covers the cost of operating the GRO. The is no money lining anyones pocket, nor is there any subsidy from the taxpayer.

As I said earlier, any change to the present system requires an Act of Parliament, which itself costs millions of pounds. It simply isn't going to happen....!

Why does anyone imagine that producing certs for 'research only' should cost less? Try thinking it through...............

The whole point of a cert is that it is just that........a certificate.

As per any dictionary....................

Certificate.......

1. A document testifying to the truth of something.

How in heaven's name could you have an 'uncertified' certificate.....that's just gibberish

No, you can't view certs without ordering and paying for them.

Some local Register Offices may as a favour if they are not too busy, check and confirm details for you first but they are not supposed to do so.

Rosegarland

You cannot view any certs for free...anywhere.

And why should you be able to? Apart from anything else, there is the issue of data protection.

You can visit a County Records office and make seaches, but, by definition, those records are only for the County concerned, and you have to know in which parish's records to look.