Which sites to use

[matanzas]

My frustration must be same as everyones.  You have a Birth Cert or a Census print out, but when you go to Ancestry or Family Search or Find my Past there is no record.  This can be frustrating because the site is where the info came from in the first place.
I hope it's not just me and does anyone have any suggestions?

As a beginner in 2014/15 I got a lot of help on the Beginners' Board from some wonderful people.

[groom]

 Can you give us a name, place and date and someone may be able to find it for you? It could be a transcription error.

Have you found it on Freebmd or the GRO site?

[Scrumper]

Just post the details, dude.

[matanzas]

Hi

I know I can continue to ask for help from kind members on specific items, but I feel I should search myself and not rely on others and there are eight I am currently searching and trying to verify.  It's just that there a number of sites and I can only afford to pay for one.

I have tried Freebmd and Freecen2 and the GRO site.

Maybe I should free trial them all, but that doesn't seem right

[Mart 'n' Al]

Never turn down a free trial. Some people are a bit dubious about giving their credit cards details but there are laws to protect you and I've never had a bad experience. Generally there's a button on the website somewhere to unsubscribe or discontinue the trial. I've been researching my family for two and a half years, and apart from occasionally paying £1 for a free trial I haven't had to spend any money at all. I have enough data to log into my family tree program that it will probably take me the rest of the year.  Then I might think about subscribing to whichever one has given me the best service. They are tripping over themselves to win customers from each other. Go for it.

[groom]

You really need to trial them to decide which site is best for you as they cover different records. For instance, if you have family in London, Ancestry is good as they have a lot of London records including some marriage certificates, which saves buying those. On the other hand, Find My Past has the 1939 register with the original images, which is very useful.

[matanzas]

Thank you Mart'n'Al and groom.

I shall follow your good advice and take up some Free Trials, which I have avoided until now.

[Mart 'n' Al]

My one further piece of advice is to take the trials one at a time, not all at once.  Then write a Rootschat review, highlighting the best and worst aspects of each one!  Test the customer service by asking questions, so that you assess that as well.

Martin

[matanzas]

Thank you Martin for your advice.  I had thought one at a time was about all I could manage anyway with the time I have available. However, I had not thought of producing a Rootschat Review so I shall take that idea upas well.

Thanks again and best regards