Bogus coats of arms

[miss marple]

I have just received a digital image of a coat of arms I requested from an internet site, and paid £2.99 for. They supposedly did a search on the name I supplied and e-mailed me back to say that they had indeed got the coat of arms for that name. Needless to say, the coat or arms I received bears absolutely no relation to the real one. (It's a very unusual name and I know that only one coat of arms exists for that name – I have the written description of it but have never actually seen it.)

OK, I know it's not a lot of money (I wouldn't have risked it otherwise), but it's still annoying.  I have asked for my money back and I will be interested to see if I get it.

Anybody else had similar experiences?

Jane

[kizmiaz]

Any site that sells Coats of Arms is, I'm afraid to say, highly unlikely to give you a refund. I would guess that the vast majority of these sites are American, to supply the increasing market for those in the US tracing their families. I would bet that if you ordered 5 coats of arms from 5 different sites, they would all look totally different. Just some graphics thrown together to give a vague semblence of authenticity.

Coats of Arms are only issued by the College of Arms, and they seem to be connected to individuals rather than surnames. It says on the website that they are only usually issued if you can prove direct decendency from an individual who was awarded a Coat of Arms in the past, although they would appear to be able to create a new one if you happen to be a celebrity, or rich, or both.

Similar thing with any site which "traces" (i.e. types your name into a database) your Tartan. Tartans are not related to a specific surname, but to a clan (I think. I may be wrong on that)

[miss marple]

I received an e-mail from the company concerned this morning, apologising and refunding my payment.

I'm surprised and impressed!

I'd still like to see the coat of arms though.....

Jane