new price for GRO certs

[Luzzu]

I still think they would rake in more money by cutting the price.

They would definitely sell more certificates if they lowered the price.

this is an appeal to everyone !! Please

put a postem on FreeBMD for every single cert you have.
If everyone did this it would be a great help to people dithering about buying a cert

Excellent idea.  Let's help each other the best we can.

Luzzu

[kerryb]

Well judging by a recent experience I have had with a non appearance of an ordered certificate, I would say they could cut costs by sorting out their staff. 

After 2 weeks of cert not appearing, I sent an email. 2 weeks later with no reply I phoned and the answer was, ahh you don't have a post code on your details on the system so the post office won't be able to find you. 

I replied something along the lines of well I've had some hundreds of successful certificates from you without a problem! 

Sorry I'll add your postcode in and can you send an email asking for a resend!!!!!

So I resent another email and eventually my certificate arrived and thankfully it was the right one!

Not exactly an efficient complaints system

Kerry

[mshrmh]

Thanks Neil for the warning!

I assume that local register offices will have to charge the same?

This is awful!  There are so many certs that I'd like to get, just to satisfy curiosity rather than to make tree progress.  Particularly now that Ancestry have made the later indexes searchable.  But I simply can't justify the expense.

I've always felt that if they charged half the price, they'd sell far more than twice the number.

If I understand the press release (from Neil's link) local offices will charge £9 (though most will either want an SAE or charge extra for P & P unless you collect) so very similar.

[Sloe Gin]

Let's just hope that the tremendously helpful ones, like Birmingham, won't be prevented from offering free checks and searches.  Without this, I wouldn't have contemplated buying some of the certs I have.

I really think not enough market research has gone into this.  There are lots I would buy if they were cheaper.  Just one example, there's a couple who died in their 50s, in the same quarter: was there an accident and one lingered longer? was it an infectious disease that claimed both? or did one not want to go on without the other?  I don't need to know, but I'm curious.  I'd probably have bought both by now if they cost a fiver, as it is, I haven't and certainly won't now.

[Rah1980]

Will local office not check now either? This is sending us all backwards not forwards, time is supposed to make things easier! Well I hope I stumble upon all my welsh ancestors suddenly all state that they came from Scotland!

I don't understand why they wouldn't send without a postcode, and how difficultwould it have been for them to find it online and send your cert on it's way, or have contacting you when they realised you hadn't provided all necessary info. I suspect A because they couldn't be bothered and B it would be using their initative.

Sarah

[Rah1980]

Perhaps we should all agree to not buy from GRO when the price goes up and only buy from the local office (i see some are online and so easier) they would be in a bit of a mess if they all did that.

[kerryb]

Trouble is my local office is even more expensive than £9.25

Kerry

[Rah1980]

What a rip off - ok everyone but Kerry!!!

[FraserandFraser]

this is why we need clarification on what a RO can charge, the published figures are currently 7 pount soon to be 9 pound but some charge a lot more.