Link: IFHF Online Genealogy Database

[tootsiepie]

Another e-mail sent to IFHF asking them for an update, or at least telling me what the problem is....

If anyone has a tel.no. for the main IFHF I would appreciate it. Not the individual counties as they say it has been passed on etc....the Donegal lady who e-mailed me the first time said that she cannot access records etc.

[tootsiepie]

The saga has now ended, with a lovely letter (albeit telling me it was partly my fault), so fair's fair, a satisfactory ending.

''I’m very sorry for the delay getting back to you.

I’ve given you access to all 14 records which you should be able to view when you login to your account. Please let me know if you have any problems.

Your email instigated a complete review of the software to ensure there were no problems with the advanced search functionality, this took some time to complete. I’m please to tell you that this issue you encountered was not a glitch in the software. When you came back into the system after purchasing your 30 Euros of credit you probably didn’t realise that you then had to click on the button to purchase the “Record Set” again. You started viewing the records individually and hence after viewing 6 records your credit ran out.

We apologise for the confusion. We are going to review this part of the system with a view to simplifying the process.''

[shanew147]

Good to hear that it's been sorted out.


Shane

[tootsiepie]

Note to self- read ALL instructions in future 

[genseacher]

I would like to add my comments on IFHF. I think this site is too restrictive in their searches. I have done some searches without paying with advance search, but I refuse to pay the prices that they are charging as the records that are available to me could cost a lot of money.

I have found that children and adults may have called themselves john, mary, anne etc and they have not been christened with these names. ie. patrick john thomas- known as thomas, and to add to this that their ages on census are totally not the right age and the same goes for marriages.

Regards
Genseacher

[swebby]

Latest email I had from IFHF regarding the credit system.


Credit System

www.rootsireland.ie has introduced a credits system with various bulk buy options that give users a chance to view the detail of a record for as little as 2.00 EURO per record (based on purchasing 750 credits at 60.00 EURO). Please see below for the current purchase options.

Every user can view 10 pages of Search Results for FREE on registration. Any user that registered before March 22nd 2012 will also be able to view 10 pages of search results at no charge. If a user wishes to view the details of any record returned as part of these ten free pages of search results they will need to purchase credits to do so (subject to our terms and conditions).

Users will need to purchase credits to view additional pages of search results when they have used the 10 free pages of results or to view the details of any record.
If you have previously paid to view the details of a record you will still be able access it for 24 months from the date of purchase.

Our site currently provides access to over 19 million Irish genealogical records. Users can search an individual centre/county's records or perform a search across all centres' data. Please see Our Interactive Map of Genealogy Centres around Ireland to see what county genealogy centres have data available and their Online Sources. Many more records will be added in the coming weeks.

The current purchase options are as follows:

To view the results of any single search up to a maximum of 10 results per page will cost 1 credit.

Any single record will cost 25 Credits . By bulk buying credits you can avail of significant savings. Please see the bulk purchase options listed below.

Amount to purchase:
€5.00 - (35 Credits)
€10.00 - (73 Credits) - Bulk Saving
€18.00 - (150 Credits) - Bulk Saving
€32.00 - (320 Credits) - Bulk Saving
€60.00 - (750 Credits) - Bulk Saving


Therefore, to view one page of search results will cost 00.10 cent (EURO), and to view 10 pages of search results will cost 1.00 EURO.

A user can enter any information they know in the available search fields, e.g. Child's first name, surname, father's first name, surname, mother's first name, surname, year and county. The more specific the search the fewer results that will be returned. By searching in a particular county's dataset you can refine your search by parish/denomination. Users must check what Online Sources are available and understand that these records are not uniform and that their contents can vary. Please refer to Sample Records for further information.

You may change your registered email or password under the 'My Account' option of the website. If you have forgotten your password click on 'Reset Password' at the login page.

Credit vouchers are valid for 12 months from the time of purchase. The IFHF/www.rootsireland.ie will not be held responsible for any errors or omissions in the products and/or services it sells. While IFHF will seek to redress matters of grievance, refunds will be granted at the sole discretion of IFHF management. Credit vouchers can be purchased and spent on any part of the www.rootsireland.ie website.

We hope that you find the information that you are interested in on our site. If you have any questions please check our Help Pages and if this does not provide an answer, then do not hesitate to contact us. You can also contact any of the individual county genealogy centres with your family history query and to commission professional research.

Regards
Sean

[lucybella]

Hello
In 2009 I made great inroads into a branch of my family tree, due to the wonderful site of IFHF.  I was able to view all the pages free, and could pay 5 euros to view the certificate details, when I had searched them all.
In one instance I found a record recorded as 1812, when in fact it was mistranscribed and was actually 1882.  Had I not been able to flip through all the records for that name I would never have found it.
Now I feel that it is very mean to only be able to view a few pages free.  It has stopped my research, I cannot afford to go any further. 
At the time when I was able to see all the pages, I in fact spent quite a bit more money on the site, as I saw more possibilities and was more inclined to take a gamble and buy the record.  But I won't pay to just see the pages, so they have lost me as a customer.
Does anyone else feel like this?
I think it is an unfortunate and greedy change, and not in the spirit of helping family research. Especially as they have these records on line already, and it entails no extra work now to show them.
Rant over 
Lucy

Moderator Note: post merged with existing topic

[Bhoy]

At the time when I was able to see all the pages, I in fact spent quite a bit more money on the site, as I saw more possibilities and was more inclined to take a gamble and buy the record.  But I won't pay to just see the pages, so they have lost me as a customer.

That's my view as well.  It's a short-sighted move.   The smart thing is to entice you with the lure of records that definitely look interesting.   Like you, I spent quite a lot on that basis, but much less so now.

[oconnelljohn1]

 I AM ALSO SPENDING LESS ON THE SITE AS WELL.

JOHN.