Changes to FIND MY PAST "My Records"

[rosie99]

I should have said pages, not records     I clear mine out quite often so I hate to think how many there would be if I hadn't.

[CarolA3]

I always download everything from FindMyPast and Ancestry because:

1) I don't trust them to look after my stuff and
2) I just know that they will eventually start charging me for storing and/or accessing it

Couldn't agree more.  I was a customer of FindMyPast for a few years but didn't know about 'My Records' storing all my old searches until about a year ago when it was mentioned on RC.  There were nearly 20,000  and yes, I went through the lot and saved/deleted as necessary.  My sub lapsed in January, largely because of their shocking approach to 'Customer Service'.

This looks like an attempt to make retrospective/retroactive changes to the terms of existing contracts between FindMyPast and their customers.  My knowledge of English contract law isn't up-to-date, but I wouldn't have thought this was legal.  (Of course they can do what they like in respect of future contracts.)

Would anyone with relevant legal qualifications care to comment?

Carol

[dawnsh]

There are several posts along this line on their facebook page.

The email has only been sent to those without a current sub.

Those with subs will be notified later.

They haven't decided yet when this will actually take place in September. Being cynical, they are most probably expecting lots of people to take notice of this and start going through possibly causing a surge on their servers. It doesn't seem to take much these days to break the site.

If you looked as a PayAsYouGo customer then you will be able to keep those you looked at under those terms.

[NooshieW]

I don’t have a current subscription,but I have had this email. I have messaged them,I am very very annoyed. I have 161 pages of records stored on there, but due to a change in my circumstances,I cannot afford a monthly direct debit with them. Also I purchased those records in good faith that I would always be able to access them. Now they have changed the goalposts and are holding my records to ransom. I haven’t the time to go through 161 pages to extract what I need and it would be a vast task anyway . I like to be able to look up someone again and know that having previously paid for their record I can view it again. Also why should PAYG customers have preferential treatment, we have all paid.

[chris_49]

Even though I've not had the email, I'm frantically saving the important records  (even though I'm sure I saved them already) just in case the first saves went missing.

One promise that they will have broken, that this saving won't help with,  is that the records would be updated - i.e. newly unredacted people are supposed to appear on your saved records. I've not had a chance to test this, but my father was due to appear quite soon.

[locksmith]

This looks like an attempt to make retrospective/retroactive changes to the terms of existing contracts between FindMyPast and their customers.  My knowledge of English contract law isn't up-to-date, but I wouldn't have thought this was legal.  (Of course they can do what they like in respect of future contracts.)

Would anyone with relevant legal qualifications care to comment?

Carol

Findmypast Ts&Cs, which all their customers agree to, state:

" 20.Our right to amend Records

We reserve the right to make changes to the Records and services we offer on the Site without notice at any time. "

So yes they are quite within their rights.

Simon

[smudwhisk]

FindMyPast are actually aligning the policy to be the same as Ancestry's, namely with no subscription you cannot view records you have previously viewed, and that has I think always been Ancestry's policy (definitely for quite some years).  I'm surprised in many ways that its taken them this long to do this. 

As has been posted previously, you pay the sub to have access to the records, you don't actually purchase a copy of the records from either site unless you use PAYG credits.  I've not had a FindMyPast sub for several years, although my mother does.  I do have some FindMyPast credits which expire in October but which I may not actually get to use up completely as have only been using them for Worldwide records on the site.  There is no real incentive for me to purchase any more credits to extend them since they restricted the duration the credits are active.  If I want access to any non UK records, I can view them at an LDS FHC who have access to the site.

While it may have been fairer if they had implemented the policy for all new viewed records, I suspect that this may not have been that easily to implement, hence the blanket ban.

[nowornever]

I also got the email yesterday- am not a current subscriber.
My friend who does have a subscription has not received this notification and was shocked when I showed it to her

As a consequence I spent a couple of hours printing (or REprinting as there is not enough time to open all folders to be certain that each record was originally printed) only to discover that my printer had run dry of ink - and didn't notify me. So....many blank pages! And very little time left apparently to check everything

I have always congratulated. FindMyPast for allowing access to previous records that have painstaking been discovered even when you are no longer a subscriber.   It is easy to accumulate loads and if the printer ,  upstairs,  has switched itself off,  to promise yourself that you will print in the morning and forget.
  I thought it was great customer service and a reason to promote them
That alone would make me loyal to them, when I was looking for a subscription site, (and that their Staffordshire records are excellent. )
Ask me what I think now......It seems to me there are far too many complaints about subscription sites these days. Few companies deserve loyalty. Back to the Record Offices

[carol80]

I notice that if you have a subscription you are not receiving this email.
When are they going to let their Loyal subscribers know that if they do not renew they will lose their saved Records.
If it is a new Policy you would think everyone would be notified.
Just saying.

Carol