Genealogy Chat

The GRO do put mistakes right when they are their mistakes. I ordered 2 death certs both for a Jane Smith in Burbage, both same page, vol and qtr. I knew this wasnt a mistake as they were both in the NBI a fortnight apart. I suspected they were mother and daughter. I put in the reference checks that I wanted both of them. They sent me 2 the same. I emailed them and they sent the other one by return of post, and apologised. I didnt have to return the wrong one either. They were mother and daughter by the way, died 2 weeks apart. Margaret

I'm really, really pleased with the service they offer. Order lots of certificates and these days they always come a day or so earlier than promised. Had a problem for the first time this week. Ordered two certs with a delivery date 5th Dec and then four more with a delivery date of 9th Dec. The four arrived yesterday but not the two earlier ones yet. I sent an email querying this and they almost immediately emailed back saying they didn't know what had happened but were going to issue them straight away.

Ann I agree. I think its brilliant! nell

I have no complaints about GRO I think they give excellent service considering their work load. If you make an error that is not their fault surely, especially knowing that the service is computerised. as with anything else computerised they can't deviate from the norm to give you special service. i think we should be grateful that we have this service and can get copy certificates usually within about a week of ordering. Ann Glos

I bet you wish you hadn't said anything now Peter! I'm with you! Jackie (who just wants everyone to be nice to eachother) Williams

Can i just add that if the GRO make a mistake they do bend over backwards to sort it out. I ordered a death cert for my Grandad and was sent the wrong one, i phoned them and was asked to send it back with covering letter with all the details on approx 4 days later i recieved the right one at no extra cost. Michelle.

If you're after a copy of a marrieg record with the original handwriting and not a transcription, you could do worse than use some of the links on www.ukbmd.org.uk to local ROs. Many of them have freely searchable databases which give specific name-matches + place of ceremony. If you know the place, then you can often get a photocopy of the register page (possibly as much as £5 if you don't go yourself, and they charge a minimum fee) from the regional (e.g. county) library or archives. Christine

If you had ordered one for John Smith there could have been many in each quarter, the GRO only carried out your instruction, and therefore they were not at fault ,sorry but your mistake. Very annoying though . I must say I too have made a mistake ordering a marriage cert for someone who was not even born ! I was 100 years out. You will only do it once hopefully . In our lifetime we all make mistakes, and learn from them, I have made so many I should be a bl**dy genius now. Merry Christmas Maurice

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

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

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.

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

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 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

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.

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

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).

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

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

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.