new price for GRO certs

[poolqwizrd]

In that case i stand corrected 

[Rah1980]

I appreciate that being the case if they are counties apart and a 100 year difference, but more often than not mine have all come from the same book and some even only pages apart and not once have they arrived together

[kooky]

I seem to remember posting about this some time ago.
I sent to Southport for 2 or 3 certs. They all arrived separately and over several days.
When I was at a Family History Fair at Gateshead, I spoke to a lady on the GRO stand and asked her about it. She explained that there are different people for Bs Ms and Ds. Also they have specific years. If you send for a B.cert from 1840s eg,there might not be many enquiries and it can be dealt with quickly. If you are wanting a birth in 1912 eg, there may be lots of queries following on from 1911 census info. She said that there are too many searches going on in different depts to keep an order together efficiently. It was quicker to send them out separately.
I hope I have explained that properly!
Kooky
Sloe Gin has mentioned this earlier

[Lemontree]

sorry I miss calculated the 18% it is 32% 7 pound to 9.25 is 2.25 not 1.25 like I worked out, (next time use a calculator rather than my head when speaking on the phone!!) lesson learnt.

So it is a raise of 32%

What the GRO could have doen was to increase the amount every year for the last 7 years

4.57 would be the divided amount but of course the price rise would have to be less to then add the % again.

But if over the 7 years the price had been raised by approximatley 32 pence. Meaning if you order £100k worth of certificates each year it would have cost an extra £4571 each year ???mearly 32

 so over the 7 years that would equate to a saving of £31997 pounds wow 31 grand is a lot of money to me and you could purchase an extra four thousand five hundred and seventy one certificates......

It really just depends on how you look at it - raising the price of a certificate by the price of inflation each year would have been fair - but would have also cost the tax payer money in changing leaflets with prices etc every year - but this way people have saved thousads of pounds for the last 7 years.

[teaurn]

Reading through some of the posts even at £9.25 the price is still reasonable compared to some others.

I have decided I don't mind about the increase, even if they have done a large hike in one go.

[Silvilocks]

On the question of value for money, consider the following. These are all similar services i.e., produce and post a document, which is all that the GRO are seen as doing by many people.

Supply a copy bank statement - £25 per sheet. (My bank statement is three sheets each month).
Supply a replacement motor insurance certificate £40 (Incidentally, a replacement tax disc costs £7).
Amend motor insurance details other than at renewal (e.g. change of address) £25 (plus any additional premium of course).
Notify a change of address or phone no. for the registration for my dog's microchip £35 (per registration - I have two dogs).

I see some people think it would be cheaper if the GRO were replaced by private sector. Not sure where they get that idea from.

The point is, no-one is going to be doing any of the above for fun. They do it out of necessity, and therefore they're wide open to being ripped off with unreasonable charges. If you NEED a birth/marriage/death certificate, to apply for a passport or to claim a legacy, a charge of £9.25 suddenly looks pretty reasonable. If you WANT a certificate for use in a hobby, then if you don't like the price, don't pay it.

Simples!

[poolqwizrd]

I think the top and bottom of it is simply the records have to be dragged into the 21st Century, like has already been suggested.

[Snoosh]

On the question of value for money, consider the following. These are all similar services i.e., produce and post a document, which is all that the GRO are seen as doing by many people.....
 If you NEED a birth/marriage/death certificate, to apply for a passport or to claim a legacy, a charge of £9.25 suddenly looks pretty reasonable. If you WANT a certificate for use in a hobby, then if you don't like the price, don't pay it.

Simples!

Oh well said Silvilocks; a person after my own heart.  OK I am in the small time league when it comes to GRO certificates. Just a few a year and basically always when I am 'sure' they are the right ones..not just on a flight of fancy that they may be good. I cannot comprehend the big time users ordering hundreds a year, but I acknowledge the pain the rate rise will cause. As Sivilocks said, if you dont like it then dont buy them.
Service delivery from GRO to Australia has been faultless; order online for a measly seven quid and a week or so later there is the cert in my letterbox in Canberra. As one poster said, it would have been neater if the GRO had rounded the price for a cert to ten pounds. The price rise will not set me back one iota.

[BettyofKent]

I've just received the Lost Cousins newsletter. The founder, Peter Calver, is going to use the Freedom of Information Act to ask them to explain the price rise.

"How much can it possibly cost to print an A4 sheet of paper, fold it in half, and put it in an envelope?
Fortunately there is no need to conjecture, because in 2008 somebody very perspicaciously wrote to the GRO and used the Freedom of Information Act to get the answers http://www.ips.gov.uk/cps/files/ips/live/assets/documents/FOI9902_response.pdf

"I have taken two steps to protect the interests of LostCousins members and other family historians with ancestors from England or Wales. My first step was to submit a Freedom of Information request requiring them to explain how they reconcile the planned price increase with the costs quoted in 2008, and asking whether they have considered adopting the same solution that the General Register Office of Scotland chose when setting up the Scotlandspeople site (where it is possible to get the same information online instantly - and for just £1.20)."
http://lostcousins.com/newsletters/latest.htm#Certs_up


Betty