Genealogy Chat

Last week I ordered a marriage certificate on line – nothing unusual about that. Then, last night I got an email from the ONS saying that they couldn’t find the person on the date requested so were refunding GBP4. Fair enough, I had asked for Mar Q when I should have asked for Sep Q (strange in itself as the marriage was in February according to the PR’s). I immediately emailed them back and asked them to show mercy and look it up for me in the Sep Q. I even suggested, light-heartedly, that it was nearly Xmas. Their reply, from a person who clearly doesn’t celebraterate Xmas, was that their system is fully computerised and doesn’t allow change. Is this the level of service that is the norm in the UK? Most companies that I deal with in NZ would bend over backwards to help. It’s not as though they had already credited the money back to me, it came through 16 hours later – and I have to wait until 14th before they issue the cert. I realise that the error is my fault, but I expect a higher level of customer service – all I got was non-service. Peter

Me too, put down the wrong quarter, just meant I double double check when ordering now as I stupidly didn't that time for whatever reason and when I got the message I tried to tell them it was the next quarter to no avail. I live in England!! I also rang and ordered a cert once thinking it would be quicker but the one I ordered over the net a day later came well before it, work that one out. Elaine

though this does seem bad, the reson you give the exact referance number is for them to find it straight away, and not have to search around for it, a service they charge extra for, if they did not take this line what would the point of charging a lower fee for a gro ref no, people who did not no the exact date would guess at it and hope the gro found it, i can see they were right to have charged you. i have had one this week that on 1837 the page number was unreadable and i guessed at the number, and got charged £3, its not there fault, i should have asked for the costlyer service for them to search

I'm sorry but I fail to see how you can complain about the GRO when you fully admit it was your error. I always triple check all the details before I click order. If you read the FAQ you will see that once ordered certs cannot be cancelled. Its an automated system. Learn from your mistakes and make sure next time. Margaret

''Is this the level of service that is the norm in the UK?'' I feel your generalisation is unfair, GRO deal with a vast amout of requests daily, the error was yours and I, like the other's above, would just be annoyed with myself for making the mistake

Well Gary I have ordered online (using the £7 service) where the page number was illegible - I've given them the possible page numbers as a note in the Ref Checks box (with a note explaining that the index was not clear), and they've always managed to find it OK. I guess that it depends a lot on who picks up your order and how helpful they are feeling on the day!

The ONS/GRO is great if you live outside the uk,,but i personally dont bother with it,,,I get much better service from the relevent register office and if my info is in doubt they ring me to verify and also check 5 years either side of the date at no extra cost.

the only reson i will not use local offices is for the fact they often copy out the certs not give you the original

But a GRO cert isn't ''original'' anyway!! That was a copy of the local register entry in the first place, albeit a contemporary copy. For marriages, you can get a true original (i.e. with the real signatures etc) from the parish register - but you may need to buy the cert first to find the parish, and is no good for civil marriages.

I have to agree with all here ,Sorry but it's your fault, double Check. Like Richard said tho it is useful to put a query in the Ref Check box if the ref is unreadable or like one I had which gave 4b for a ref and I knew for sure it was 4a. I have had nothing but good service from them, they are very helpful if you email or phone them. Kat

what i mean is they type in the detail as opposed to the scan of the entry you get from the gro, leaving it wide open for transcription errors, i did this once and then found the original in the parish register and the clerk at the local office had totaly missread the names and address of the people

Yes but what I mean Gary is that the scanned GRO cert is just as likely to contain transcription errors, because the details were originally copied from another source (in fact, it was copied from the same source as the copy that you get from the local offices - i.e. the local register).

it just leaves another level of transciption errors, all right the one at the gro may have 150 year old errors on it , but i dont want even more errors occuring at the local office, and i think they look so much better in the old style hand writing than just typed out on a printer

I agree with you Gary, but sometimes it is possible to get the local register office to supply a photocopy of the original certificate; for instance I managed to get one of my great-grandparents' marriage certificate - they got married at the register office - and it meant I could see their actual signatures. (There was a particular reason why I wanted to do this.) You do have to check with the register office whether this is possible for them to do before ordering, though, and then specify it on your order. In general, I would expect that people who copied out the certificates at the time were better at reading the handwriting of the day than people copying them out now, so normally I would go for GRO ones. Kate.

I added mine as a general comment as I was frustated when I found I had put down the wrong quarter and did the same as the original post. That's why I put I double double check and I should have added up to now I have received a good service from them as I always order via GRO so I can have the original copy. Was a little miffed when with the difference via net and over the phone though!!! Such is life Elaine

Sorry - I know I made a mistake - but my idea of service would be an email which said 'you appear to have made a mistake, could you please check your reference and let us know so that we can have another look' Instead, we get - there is no such entry, we are refunding 4 quid - feel free to have another try!> Peter

I expect the problem is that everyone would ask for mercy if it worked!! Merry

Sorry, Peter, nice as it sounds, it doesn't work that way. If you order using the Ref service for £7 you have to quote the correct reference and the other check details you quote have to match the entry as well. There is only one bite of the cherry.

Peter ONS/GRO is a government operated 'service', and as such, feels no need to provide any flexibility. I always use the local RO whenever possible, as these are far more flexible and approachable, often not charging for 'wrong' certs and will discuss 'possibilities' endlessly over the phone. GRO process literally thousands of certificates everyday and I can quite see their point, really - where would they draw the line, if they allowed you another 'look' for free? I am quite sure you are not the first person to have made a mistake when dealing with them - I have - and they really do have to have a set of rules in order for the whole thing to run smoothly - who, in your opinion, should have paid for the wrong cert, and what are they then supposed to do with it, its no use to them. Chalk it up to experience, you have wasted £3. When you have ordered as many wrong certs as I have, £3 is a drop in the ocean. Hope you get the right cert soon! Olde Crone

Hi It’s always annoying making mistakes; it’s something we all do from time to time. I have nothing but praise for the GRO. The BBC programmes on family history made a massive impact on their business. In March 2003 the average monthly request rate was 80,000, in March 2005 the figure was 170,000*. I have no idea what the current rate is, but after a period of initial disbelief, I think they responded reasonably well to the demand. In doing so, it does mean that automation is very much the key to providing a fast and efficient service, which is what I guess the majority of us want. I’ve been known to greet the postman at the door if I think I see a large white envelope heading in my direction. Quite rightly, we as customers demand a decent service, but I think there comes a point when we perhaps ask or expect too much. I thank them for the fast and efficient service I’ve received recently and should I make a mistake, well such is life; accept it and move on with a smile – life’s too short. Happy hunting everyone. John