Advice needed for "pay as you go" websites for UK BMD and census records

[Querty]

I am finding the various websites offering a pay as you go service rather confusing. To get me started I only want information from census and BMD records.

Can anyone please offer me some advice, as some of these websites seem to be a can of worms providing information like a Russian doll? I don't want to pay and then find it is some sort of con and you have to pay even more to get the answers.

[Elaine ..Spain]

The two main websites for UK BMD and census information are Ancestry and Findmypast. Both offer a two week free trial so why not sign up and see which one you think is best. Unfortunatley for both you will have to give details of your credit card but as long as you cancel before the end of the two week period you wont be charged.

Don't forget as well to try the free sites, such as FreeBMD, FreeCen and UKBMD

You might also find something useful in our FTF Online Research Guide

[Querty]

Thank you very much for your prompt help Elaine. I was looking for "Pay As You Go" which is a one off pre payment for a set number of searches or credits.

I do not want to get involved with handing over my credit card details, as some of these sites handling British archives, seem to be USA based and I am a bit of an "old fashioned" Brit !

I will also have a look at the other resources you so kindly mentioned.

I would still like to hear of any good or bad experiences from others using the Pay As You Go systems.

[Elaine ..Spain]

I would have thought even using them as a "pay as you go" option, you would still have to enter your credit card details.

I have used both Ancestry and Findmypast for some time now, albeit on a subscription basis, but have never had any problem regards my credit card.

Personally I would avoid using Findmypast on a "pay as you go" basis. I don't think their search methods are as good as Ancestry and you may need to open many records before finding the one you actually need.
Having said that, not sure that Ancestry to a credit based system any longer - I think it is either a monthly option or annual.

I know other members, who are also wary of giving credit card details, have obtained a separate credit card for online purchases, with a maximum of say £100. In the unlikely event that it is cloned then you would not be putting yourself at risk for a large amount.

[Anne in Carlisle]

How will you pay for the 'pay-as-you-go', Querty? You would presumably still have to use a credit or debit card to pay unless you bought vouchers from elsewhere.

I would definitely give the free trials a go. I personally think the pay as you go type of payment is very poor value for money. If you choose the wrong census image (eg because there are two families with the same name) you would waste credits, whereas with a free trial/term payment type of sub you can look at as many as you like. I have (just as one example) found and downloaded over 1,000 marriage certificates for London marriages on Ancestry for my One Name Society with no extra payment other than my term sub.

Anne

[Uncle John]

I've had an Ancestry subscription for several years and have never had any credit card problems. I think the risk of attack increases with the number of times you use the card, so pay-as-you go might expose it to greater abuse. The only pay-as-you go site I use regularly is ScotlandsPeople, because that's the only option they offer. Many credt and debit cards now have extra security anyway.

[Janet]

Find My Past (FMP)is a British based site handling mainly British records. Ancestry is an American site though there is a British Tel No for contact. I have subscriptions for both as my Family History needs require both.

FMP do all the census to include 1911. Ancestry do all the census except the 1911. I have a lot of 1911 Census to research, never mind other census, and to do this by credits would have cost me my subscription twice over. Ancestry has soldiers' records post 1914, whereas FMP have soldiers' records pre about 1910 and I use both of these sites for this purpose. There are a number of English parish records on FMP though Ancestry has the London Metropolitan Archives records, both of which I use. The Irish records on Ancestry are a waste of space, but access to the American Census and Australian records through Ancestry have been great for me and I am not sure that the worldwide records are open to you on a credit basis.

In the end you have to decide what records you want, and make your decision based on that. FMP do offer an ongoing 20% discount in their subs when you are renewing. Ancestry do not offer this loyalty bonus.

As Elaine has said do make use of Free BMD which I prefer to use over both FMP and Ancestry because of its ease of use and the records now go to about 1940. Free Cen and UKBMD have already been mentioned and I also use Free Reg which is particularly good for parish registers for some counties.

Once you start to use a site for Census and BMD you will soon find that you will want to access other information like soldiers' records and parish records, and it would then be cheaper and easier to have the subscription rather than the credits.

I have no problems giving over my credit card number as there are extra securities, to the point where I forget what the passwords are!

Janet

[Jill on the A272]

You may be able to access Ancestry through your local library, try looking on your local authority website to see which libraries have it.

[Querty]

All very interesting observations thanks. I don't mind making a normal purchase off the inetrnet but a Free Trial worries me in case something goes wrong, or maybe I have an accident and they then take an entire years sub and maybe for subsequent years too. I only act from experience, as I had a bad do with the AA some years back, when they started using my credit card without my permission and I had to threaten them with legal action.

[Mike Fisher]

Personally I would have an Ancestry uk essentials subscription (thousands of british people who use their credit card to pay for it) and a pay per view for the 1911 census. I can find things more easily on Ancestry and prefer to use the 1911census site rather than to find people in FMP ,I then use the information from the 1911 census site to locate them on the FMP site for which I have a 1911 census only subscription.

[Just Mandy]

Querty - another thing is - if you ring Ancestry and explain you would like to join but wondered if there were any special offers on, they usually give you a totally different price than it says on the site - I recently called to renew mine and got it for just over £60. I paid for it on my card over the phone - talking to someone about your anxieties of a free trial on the phone may reassure you - the woman I spoke to was lovely!

[Christine in Herts]

And don't forget that there are a number of local district free sites, sometimes giving more info than the GRO index. Have a look on www.UKBMD.org.uk

Christine

[Olde Crone Holden]

I agree with Mandy, Ancestry are very easy to contact and talk to on the phone, so in the most unlikely event that Ancestry misused your card, you can at least contact them with ease and speak to a real person.

I am one of the people who has a dedicated card for use on the internet, with a very low limit (£300) and this has worked very well. Someone recently tried to use this card for a large purchase, which the card would not support, but the cc company were straight onto it anyway.

I think you may not be aware that a credit card carries certain advantages of use, the major one being that the credit card company will intervene and reverse a "wrong" transaction - they would have done this for your problem with the AA. My daughter was recently in dispute with a florist, who refused to refund the cost of some flowers which never arrived. The cresdit card company reversed the payment, end of problem.

OC

[Querty]

Thanks very much for all your advice. I now feel better equipped to examine the "small print" .

[anniern]

I agree about ancestry. It is suprising how many records you need once you get started. They also have a very good family tree facility. I have used them for a couple of years with no problem

[Christine in Herts]

I had an Ancestry sub, which has given me a lot of pleasure - and saved me a lot in certs for London-area BMD events!

I stopped the sub because my income has dropped after a career change. I realised that I could do very well with FMP, plus going to my local library if I really wanted anything from Ancestry.

Christine

[kylejustin]

ancestry is good with the family trees, and i like the london records, they are very enticing, but my family slowly appears in the records- so i get credits when i want the london records.

i have a sub for findmypast, as said before they offer a discount, and are cheaper than ancestry. they have the complete census, very good parish records, and good miltary records too. theyre transcripts are excellent. ancestry tends to butcher peoples names and places. they both have the bmds from 1916 on, which is handy tracing 20th century rellies.

freebmd is good- it has the births, deaths and marriages from 1837 in the indexes, so you dont need to suscribe to view those. there is a similar one for the census called freecen, but it mostly just has the 1841 Scottish census. all websites seem to have the 1881 england census free to search.

[modem]

Don't forget FreeReg for a growing number of Parish Records.

[Mike Fisher]

the new probate registers on Ancestry have saved me £s in travelling into Birmingham and paying for parking.
I would never have know about my London relatives without their LMA search facility.(I don't go to rip off London)
My lot appear to have been criminals too !!!.
Apart from the 1911 census the only thing I want from FMP was the Chelsea Pensioner records which I got during the World Cup freebie