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Really peeved with FMP

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  • Really peeved with FMP

    Had an email a few days ago to say I will be getting 10% off my sub for being a loyal customer but only if you renew automatically, today got an email saying they are offering all new customers 10% off but you cannot use this if you already have the loyalty discount ??? so why bother to automatically renew then ?
    Have emailed them be interesting to see what they say .

  • #2
    The 1911 Census is also offering 10% off FMP, I've complained before about their so called loyalty but didn't get anywhere. I also queried the meaning of the word 'Always', (as in when a few months ago if you renewed promptly you would 'always' get 20% discount) in my dictionary always means 'for ever' in theirs it just means 'until we change our minds' - I didn't get a reply!

    Margaret.
    Margaret

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    • #3
      I'm another disgruntled customer!

      Jay
      Janet in Yorkshire



      Genealogists never die - they just swap places in the family tree

      Comment


      • #4
        do hope you complained to them Janet? I am surprised they didn't reply Margaret ?
        I wonder if they would get worried if noboby took them up on automatic renewal? and what trading standards would say about their methods ?

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        • #5
          I've just emailed this message:
          In common with a number of others, whom I've seen posting on the web recently, I find it disappointing that my "loyalty" discount - dependent upon renewing automatically - proves to be no different from introductory discounts readily available to any and all - for example:

          October 2011
          Dear Christine,

          October was an exciting month for our sister site, findmypast.co.uk: Find My Past the TV show began, we published thousands of new records, including Scottish censuses, and launched our 'Honour our heroes' photo collection.
          Get 10% off a findmypast.co.uk subscription

          To give your family history research a boost, we're giving you 10% off a subscription to findmypast.co.uk*

          Choose the Full subscription for access to all findmypast.co.uk's records – including the thousands of new records we add every month. The Foundation subscription is useful for access to our core records.

          To claim your 10% discount, just enter this promotional code when you subscribe: SUB10


          On that basis, I may as well switch back to manual renewal, and reconsider, much more seriously, what level of subscription I wish to maintain.

          Please understand that I am not saying that we don't get a lot of material for our money - just that the original description of that discount meant that it would always be better than what was generally available. Even 15% would feel less as if you'd stopped caring about "loyalty" (or maybe, ceased to understand what the word means.)

          Christine
          It probably won't make any difference, but they do need to know that they're throwing away goodwill by this kind of casual disregard of "loyalty".

          Christine
          Researching: BENNETT (Leics/Birmingham-ish) - incl. Leonard BENNETT in Detroit & Florida ; WARR/WOR, STRATFORD & GARDNER/GARNAR (Oxon); CHRISTMAS, RUSSELL, PAFOOT/PAFFORD (Hants); BIGWOOD, HAYLER/HAILOR (Sussex); LANCASTER (Beds, Berks, Wilts) - plus - COCKS (Spitalfields, Liverpool, Plymouth); RUSE/ROWSE, TREMEER, WADLIN(G)/WADLETON (Devonport, E Cornwall); GOULD (S Devon); CHAPMAN, HALL/HOLE, HORN (N Devon); BARRON, SCANTLEBURY (Mevagissey)...

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          • #6
            Although I was disappointed that they had reduced the loyalty discount, I was very pleased with them last week when I realised that it hadn't automatically renewed because my card had changed. I had had the reminder but forgot to sort the card out.

            One plaintive email later and they extended my sub for 48 hours so as to get the card changed and still get the discount - I wouldn't have blamed them for telling me no!!
            Caroline
            Caroline's Family History Pages
            Meddle not in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Caroline View Post
              Although I was disappointed that they had reduced the loyalty discount, I was very pleased with them last week when I realised that it hadn't automatically renewed because my card had changed. I had had the reminder but forgot to sort the card out.

              One plaintive email later and they extended my sub for 48 hours so as to get the card changed and still get the discount - I wouldn't have blamed them for telling me no!!
              True - except that they'd have looked pretty bad when there's another 10% offer in parallel!

              Christine
              Researching: BENNETT (Leics/Birmingham-ish) - incl. Leonard BENNETT in Detroit & Florida ; WARR/WOR, STRATFORD & GARDNER/GARNAR (Oxon); CHRISTMAS, RUSSELL, PAFOOT/PAFFORD (Hants); BIGWOOD, HAYLER/HAILOR (Sussex); LANCASTER (Beds, Berks, Wilts) - plus - COCKS (Spitalfields, Liverpool, Plymouth); RUSE/ROWSE, TREMEER, WADLIN(G)/WADLETON (Devonport, E Cornwall); GOULD (S Devon); CHAPMAN, HALL/HOLE, HORN (N Devon); BARRON, SCANTLEBURY (Mevagissey)...

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              • #8
                thats more or less what I told them too Christine lets hope we get a reasonable answer ?? I dont know how they can get away with it surely its misleading.

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                • #9
                  i dont understand why i received that email in the first place. my sub doesnt run out till january!

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                  • #10
                    well this is their reply cant say I'm happy


                    We have reacted to feedback from our members to make these latest offers but inevitably, some of the changes suit certain member use more than others. I will however pass your feedback on for our management to consider

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                    • #11
                      This is the reply that I got:- "Thank you for taking the time to write to us.

                      We do advise in the terms and conditions that FMP and the 1911census.co.uk reserve the right to make changes to the website, including the records and services offered and this would include any alterations to site costs and charges.

                      Inevitably, we do receive a lot of feedback and suggestions from our members but please be assured that your email will be individually read by our Management team and that ALL member feedback is taken into account when deciding on future website development.

                      Thanks again for your views."

                      I never mentioned 'website development', I just griped about the fact that as anyone can get 10% off it isn't much of a 'loyalty' bonus.

                      Margaret
                      Margaret

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                      • #12
                        Are new customers getting 10% of the full price though and the rest of you getting 10% off your last years sub price? i.e. doesn't your subscription go down each year? That's how I understood it would work when they first started, but I have to admit that I couldn't see how it could keep going down and down or they would have ended up paying you

                        p.s. Didn't they also say that the offer would never be as good?
                        Chrissie passed away in January 2020.

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                        • #13
                          Chrissie, when I first joined I was told that as a reward for my loyalty I would always get 20% off the subscription, then last year they reduced it to 'always 10%'. In my dictionary the word 'always' means 'for ever' FMP read it to mean 'until we change our minds'.

                          So this year I got 10% off the subscription price, but if anyone new wishes to take out a subscription they only have to quote a code from the 1911 census site and they also get 10% off, thus paying the same as the 'loyal' subscribers. The subs don't go down each year you just get 10% off the full price.

                          Sorry I'm not very good at explaining.

                          Margaret.
                          Margaret

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            No Margaret, you explained that brilliantly. I remember now, the 20% did say always, which I took to mean for ever too. When they said that there would never be a better offer though I didn't think that they meant it would gradually get worse :(
                            Chrissie passed away in January 2020.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Thank you for your email.

                              The email that was sent from our sister site www.1911census.co.uk was only sent to registered customers.

                              To show our appreciation for their continued support of using our service and purchasing PayAsYouGo Credits to access the records we were offering a chance to purchase a subscription with a 10% discount.

                              As your an existing subscription holder you will receive the loyalty discount on renewal however, the promotions are are for a specific time period after which they expire.
                              Much as expected, really. Along with the grammatical slip of "your" for "you're".

                              Christine
                              Researching: BENNETT (Leics/Birmingham-ish) - incl. Leonard BENNETT in Detroit & Florida ; WARR/WOR, STRATFORD & GARDNER/GARNAR (Oxon); CHRISTMAS, RUSSELL, PAFOOT/PAFFORD (Hants); BIGWOOD, HAYLER/HAILOR (Sussex); LANCASTER (Beds, Berks, Wilts) - plus - COCKS (Spitalfields, Liverpool, Plymouth); RUSE/ROWSE, TREMEER, WADLIN(G)/WADLETON (Devonport, E Cornwall); GOULD (S Devon); CHAPMAN, HALL/HOLE, HORN (N Devon); BARRON, SCANTLEBURY (Mevagissey)...

                              Comment


                              • #16
                                They put the price down this year, which I presume took into account that they couldn't really charge extra for the 1911 census as other sites have now started transcribing it, but I do think that they are being sneaky by also reducing the loyalty bonus particularly as I said earlier anyone can get the subscription with the 10% reduction from the 1911 census site, it is very sharp practice. I think that we all took 'always' to mean for ever, but they just hide behind their T's & C's which are weighted heavily in their favour. As we can all take our business elsewhere perhaps one day they will get the message, certainly I will be thinking carefully before I renew next year and I can't be the only one.

                                Margaret
                                Margaret

                                Comment


                                • #17
                                  Originally posted by Christine in Herts View Post
                                  Much as expected, really. Along with the grammatical slip of "your" for "you're".

                                  Christine
                                  Not to mention the promotions are are (just in case you hadn't spotted the first are do you think?).
                                  Chrissie passed away in January 2020.

                                  Comment


                                  • #18
                                    you have to admit fmp does a better job than ancestry. they have better customer service, and are not as expensive as ancestry. they also have very accurate transcripts. and at least fmp have loyalty discounts, unlike ancestry!

                                    i do agree it is dodgy they lowered the 'loyalty discount' and then made it so anyone who signs up gets it. but they did explain on another thread here why it is that way. they lowered the prices of their subs in general, so you pay less now than you did with the 20% discount. and you get more for it. so i'm not too fussed, especially if you benefit from the changes!

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                                    • #19
                                      Yes, I must admit that they beat Ancestry hands down for everything and they do put things right quickly if they are in the wrong, it is the back-handed way that they have gone about their loyaly discount that gets up my nose.

                                      Margaret
                                      Margaret

                                      Comment


                                      • #20
                                        I'm not too familiar with FMP these days. In the early days I used to buy credits for BMD's and later for 1911 but since then I have always had Ancestry. Can someone tell me please, can you get to see (and copy) the old certificates on FMP that you can view on Ancestry?
                                        Chrissie passed away in January 2020.

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