1939 Register for FindMyPast subscribers

[PaulStaffs]

I must admit I didn't see the part "(not including the 1939 Register)" but as a returning subscriber I probably gave that page only a cursory glance - especially as I'd looked at pay as you go for the 1939 beforehand and decided that a renewal of my annual subscription would be better.

Looking at the page again it still doesn't exactly jump out at me. In my opinion the large banners pushing the 1939 register should carry the message "only available with pay as you go" or "not included in an annual subscription".

The bottom of that same page also says "Records on Findmypast can be viewed using PayAsYouGo credits instead of through a subscription" which leads you to think that subscription is an alternative to pay as you go!

I'm sure  subscribers to FindMyPast have previously chosen it because everything was included - suddenly adding chargeable content without sufficient warning is bound to cause problems.

[Blue70]

I agree there should be more clear information on the FindMyPast front page and a simple, as you said, "only available with Pay As You Go" would be more fair and honest. A lot of the people accessing the records will be of a certain age when such "small print" about what is and isn't included will be easily missed.


Blue

[smudwhisk]

To ensure absolute clarity, why not host it on a different website until it becomes part of a subscription?

I think that is really the issue, if, like the 1911 census, it had been advertised as having on a dedicated website from the launch, it would have been clear to all that separate payment would have been required. But in not doing that and not clarifying from the start that this would be the case FindMyPast have caused themselves a lot of problems. Personally I didn't think it would be included, not at the start anyway, in the existing subscriptions but had thought that, as it was to be on the same site, that it would have been a, possibly expensive, add on subscription.

That said, as with other issues, their management haven't handled it well, both before the launch and after, and it unfortunately suggests they have  learnt little about good communication and customer relations since last year.

[clairec666]

Their reason, I suppose, was so that results from the 1939 register showed up when people searched all record sets...

[Guy Etchells]

I paid for two records from the HSCIC 1939 Register Team in 2013 (total cost= £84) so you can understand my hesitance in putting off any further expenditure on these records for the time being. Those two records were transcripts too why didn't I get the images? Surely an image could have been provided for a one off purchase? The old service closed on 2 Nov 2015 and the site now refers customers to FindMyPast:-

http://www.hscic.gov.uk/register-service

It may help to provide more collections sooner in the future if we spend our money with reckless abandon every time something new appears but it can also leave a bitter taste when we look back at what we have paid out for these records over the years.


Blue

Truthfully; no I can't!

I could not wait to download an image of the register page to compare to the poor transcript the NHS were compelled to send me, much to their annoyance.

However that could be because I started my research at a time when family historians always tried to access the original records rather than accept transcripts.

Cheers
Guy

[Blue70]

I paid for two records from the HSCIC 1939 Register Team in 2013 (total cost= £84) so you can understand my hesitance in putting off any further expenditure on these records for the time being. Those two records were transcripts too why didn't I get the images? Surely an image could have been provided for a one off purchase? The old service closed on 2 Nov 2015 and the site now refers customers to FindMyPast:-

http://www.hscic.gov.uk/register-service

It may help to provide more collections sooner in the future if we spend our money with reckless abandon every time something new appears but it can also leave a bitter taste when we look back at what we have paid out for these records over the years.


Blue

Truthfully; no I can't!

I could not wait to download an image of the register page to compare to the poor transcript the NHS were compelled to send me, much to their annoyance.

However that could be because I started my research at a time when family historians always tried to access the original records rather than accept transcripts.

Cheers
Guy

One of the records I got from HSCIC (an evacuee in Wales) is closed on FindMyPast I don't have the death certificate. The other I got for the dates of birth because the people were Manx and born before registration. I may get the image for that at some point but so far through my free searches I've found some dates of birth to be wrong and so my faith in this resource has been somewhat dented.


Blue

[BettyofKent]

I can't spend any money on this even if I wanted to!

A few years ago, I made two requests under the FoI act, at no cost, for one household & one person (my father). Dad was nowhere to be found, the household gave me my mother, one sister I didn't know was there, & their mother, my only grandparent alive then so no more to look for. This was only a transcript, but I can wait to see the original.

Only one grandparent alive then, I have her birth-date, I can wait to get her address.

Dad's brother is nowhere to be found.
There's one family I am interested in, but they all seem to have vanished, no matter what search terms I use they refuse to be found.

All-in-all, this has been a real damp squib for me

Betty

[Aulus]

I must be really thick or something. I renewed my FindMyPast subscription a couple of weeks ago and wasn't in the slightest bit confused by what was and what wasn't included in the subscription. Nothing at all led me to believe the 1939 register would be included.

I don't understand all the whingeing and outrage. Other than the expecting something for nothing culture of entitlement that's all too prevalent these days.

Maybe it's because I remember what this hobby was like before the internet when you really had to put in the effort.

[PaulStaffs]

Other than the expecting something for nothing culture of entitlement that's all too prevalent these days.

If that comment was aimed at me I'm afraid you don't know how wrong you are and I suggest you re-read my posts then say something constructive. I would have been happy to pay a reasonable amount on top of the subscription if if it had been made clearer in advance.  I don't appear to have your meticulous eye for detail because I didn't spot the single sentence on a page full of text that supposedly made this clear.

Maybe it's because I remember what this hobby was like before the internet when you really had to put in the effort.

So do I, I started my research in 1989 and still have my original handwritten cards and notes.

Paul
PS Perhaps a mod would like to lock/edit or even delete this topic as it seems to be serving little purpose. My original post was merely to inform re-subscribers that they needed to be aware what was and wasn't included as it isn't made very clear in advance.... in my opinion.