Should I remit another payment??

[Tees]

Dear Rootschatters especially Christopher,

Should I remit another payment to the Mallow Heritage Centre?

They want me to pay 5 euros so they can E-mail me the transcription of the marriage entry that I seek.

After I paid 30 euros to have them search for certain entries (a marriage entry and a baptism entry).

They came up with only one marriage entry.

This time I contacted them for the different reason--to see if they could confirm the entry I found on IGI/Family Search site and to see if they have a marriage entry.

Now, the question is should I pay for it or insist that they graciously included this in my previous payment?

Just want to see how you feel about this issue.

Kind regards,

Tees

[magsbutler]

Dear Tees,
I agree, it seems very  ungracious of them to ask you for a further 5 euros merely to send an email.
It depends how badly you want the transcription though; if you don't pay, they might not send it at all! However, if I were in your place, I would certainly ask them to reconsider. And if they still insist, I would probably end up paying, but point out to them how disappointed you are by this level of service.
Also, if you tell us what the marriage entry is that you're looking for,  there might be someone out there who could confirm it by different means - maybe the local priest still has the register, for instance?

Good luck!
Mags

[Christopher]

It seems to me you've been given poor value for your money, Tees. I'd ask them to reconsider.

Chris

[Tees]

Hi Mags & Chris,

I ended up paying 5 more euros because I know I will never get any good help from a parish priest whom I have been waiting patiently for nearly a year now.

To top it off, my 20 euros "disappeared" when I enclosed two separate donations to two different parish churches in Ireland.

The way I see it--you cannot win all. Like my Mum always said, you win some and lose some!

Aye, poor value for my money. I tried to ask them to re-consider it but the person there replied that she had spent a lot of time looking for the records which will cost me 80 euros. In other words, she believed she was doing me a wee favour by billing me 5 more euros despite that I remit a previous payment.

Now I can understand why people hesitate to use this type of service. In long run, it is best route for some people who were not sure where their ancestors were. But in my case I do know where roughly they were (they are labourers and moving around a bit).

It seems I am a step closer to close the chapter on my great granny's family now. I am not going to try to look up more on her parents or grandparents in the church records!

I must admit that I am impressed with many county record offices in England & Wales. It is a bit easy to obtain the records from there than in Ireland! Wonder why it is so different with Ireland (the South and North).

I do empathise with people who have solid Irish ancestry.

Thank you for your input on this subject! Always appreciate what other thinks.

Gratefully yours,

Tees

[Christopher]

Phoning Parish Priests and their Parish secretaries is no problem. People react much better when they receive a phone call .. It's helps others researching their ancestors as it is a means of establishing a link. I'll give an example concerning the Royal Mail. The postman sometimes delivers mail to me which is quite clearly not addressed to me so I complained to  the Post Office. They told me to complain to the Royal Mail and also told me that people rarely complain. I did and received a letter from the Royal Mail thanking me for making a complaint and assuring me that the delivery service would be improved ... I also have a reference on the letter if a further complaint is required. There's no need to lose money if it is sent to a Parish Priest with a request.

[Tees]

Hi Christopher,

I shall PM you with a wee detail.

I did include money with the request to the Parish Priest.

Aye, you have a valid point about phoning in with the request.

Kind regards,

Tees

[RJ_Paton]

This matter has now been concluded.